Northpointe Tech Center Perks Up With $15M Lease

CARLSBAD, CA-Leasing activity is picking up at the Northpointe Tech Center, as Zimmer Dental has signed on for 95,732 sf at the 270,000-sf, mixed-use complex, which had sat largely vacant during the past several years.Zimmer Dental manufactures, markets and distributes implantable products for the oral rehabilitation market worldwide. The company plans to relocate from its existing headquarters located down the street in Carlsbad and also consolidate some of its operations in Calabasas into the new Northpointe Tech Center space, according to Steve Rosetta of Cushman & Wakefield, who represented the tenant. He tells GlobeSt.com that Zimmer Dental was drawn to this particular property for several reasons, including the fact that it offers the firm “the ability to have that much contiguous space.” In addition, “there’s a second building that is going to be delivered in the future and that coincides with the lease expiration of their existing facility, so it allowed them to get it all done at once and not incur double rent,” Rosetta adds. The tenant had looked at more than five other projects in the metro area before deciding on its new space, which stands at 6221 El Camino Real. In the end, it was the tenacity of Northpointe Tech Center’s owner, Cal West Industrial Holdings LLC c/o Rreef, which really helped to seal the transaction. “The thing that got them (Zimmer Dental) interested in the project, aside from the design and overall attractiveness of it, was the willingness of the landlord to be creative and aggressive,” Rosetta tells GlobeSt.com.Zimmer Dental will take 95,732 sf at an existing facility in the Northpointe Tech Center complex and an additional 22,675 sf in a new building slated to be completed here in August 2005. The firm plans to move into the new space in stages, starting in October of this year and ending in February of 2006. The 138-month lease is worth more than $15 million. The recent transaction is good news for both Northpointe Tech Center and the Carlsbad market, according to Rosetta. “It takes facilities that were built on spec, have gone through a couple of ownership changes (Legacy Partners was the developer and original owner) and sat vacant for three years, and filled them up,” Rosetta tells GlobeSt.com. “Just getting those buildings off the market is good for the morale of the Carlsbad market.” On the ownership side, Cal West Industrial Holdings LLC c/o Rreef was interested in Zimmer Dental because the tenant is “gigantic credit,” according to Larry Jackel of CB Richard Ellis. Jackel, along with his CBRE colleagues Matt Strockis and John Barksdale, acted on behalf of the landlord. Zimmer Dental is “a strong company that really stabilizes properties,” Jackel tells GlobeSt.com, adding that “it is a good use for the property, as the landlord wants corporate users in the project.”Zimmer Dental will be joining current tenants Sammy Video and San Diego Union Tribune. According to the CBRE brokers, another 47,021 sf of existing manufacturing space is presently available at the complex, which is only partially completed. At final build-out, Northpointe Tech Center will be comprised of five facilities that will house corporate headquarters, R&D and light industrial space. “Right now, there are three buildings in existence here,” Jackel says, explaining that in addition to the new space for Zimmer Dental that is coming down the pipeline, another new facility will be built on spec at the same time.