The agency will take 21,441 sf in a high-rise building located at 1851 E. First St. The new tenant will occupy the entire fifth floor of the facility, according to the terms of the $7.2-million agreement.

Steve Lane of Voit Commercial Brokerage's Irvine Metro office acted on behalf of the social security agency. Rick Warner of CB Richard Ellis spoke on behalf of the lessor, DL Cabrillo LLC dba Landmark Asset.

The Orange County office market has begun to show signs of improvement, especially in the neighboring regions to the south of Santa Ana. According to recently released Lee & Associates research, the South Orange County office market absorbed 151,488 sf in May 2002, as opposed to 48,989 sf in the previous month. As net absorption rose, the region's office vacancy rate declined. It dropped from 17.98% in April to 17.06% in May, the lowest vacancy rate the region has experienced all year.