The building, which has been vacant for approximately two years, stands at 17200 Jamboree Rd. in Irvine. Encompassing 40,616 sf, it consists of roughly 70% office space and has a parking ratio of 5:1,000 sf.

Mike Austin of Sperry Van Ness acted on behalf of the seller, First Alliance. Larry Schuler of CB Richard Ellis spoke on behalf of the buyer, an undisclosed private investor based in Irvine. The buyer plans to occupy 50% of the building and lease out the remaining half of the property.

The Irvine deal is the latest sign of a recovering industrial market in South Orange County. According to research published by Lee & Associates, the region saw positive net absorption of 238,689 sf for the second quarter of 2002. It is the first time that this area has experienced positive net absorption since the fourth quarter of 2000.

This return to positive absorption can be largely attributed to the decrease in new construction that has occurred in the region, says Ted Rommel, senior vice president with Lee & Associates–Irvine Inc. He expects the trend to remain constant, since South Orange County's employment level continues to rise as new construction activity slows.