Industry Experts are Bullish on North County Real Estate Prospects

LA JOLLA, CA-While massive housing costs are slowing some areas of San Diego County’s potential growth, a recent panel of commercial real estate insiders said North County’s relatively more affordable housing is helping that area boom. “North County still represents a financial advantage. There is less traffic, and housing is more affordable,” said Ken Satterlee, president and CEO of St. Croix Capital Corp., who has projects going up at Bressi Ranch Corporate Center in Carlsbad.”Satterlee was part of a panel hosted by the San Diego Chapter of NAIOP that met at the Hyatt Aventine La Jolla last week to discuss the area’s real estate market. Dennis Visser, a senior broker with Grubb & Ellis/BRE moderated the panel that included Satterlee; Chris Wood, senior director of real estate for Opus West; Matthew Reid, vice president of development for the Ryan Cos.; and Dennis Cruzan, principal and co-founder of Cruzan Monroe.Further development of Carlsbad remained a hot topic during the event. Reid said the city offers executive housing and a diverse labor force that had him focus development projects in the area.Visser added that “there is a ton of land coming available and there is liquidity in the market. These dynamics are driving the market more than anything.” Among the industries growing in the area are sporting goods companies, according to Wood. He said that K2, Calloway and Adidas have sites in the area. Wood said, “defense and technology will grow” as well in North County.For now, chief among concerns in the area are rising construction costs. “Developers have to absorb costs up front,” Satterlee said. “If costs level out, it is business as usual.”Beyond Carlsbad, panelists mentioned Vista and San Marcos as submarkets ripe for significant growth. Both Satterlee and Cruzan said those markets could experience a surge in infill projects. “It’s inevitable that we will have more density,” Cruzan said. “Density needs to occur near housing.”