Hines Leases 57,000 SF at 2211 Michelson

IRVINE, CA-Despite the tough economy and an escalating vacancy rate in the surrounding John Wayne Airport area market, Hines has managed to lease some 57,000 square feet at its 2211 Michelson building since the beginning of the year. The deals bring the 12-story, 266,000-square-foot building, which was completed in 2007, to about 75% occupancy.

“We’ve seen some very good velocity in first quarter,” says Hines senior vice president Doug Holte, the company’s regional partner for Orange and San Diego counties. “We’ve had a good mix of finance, insurance and real estate tenants, and now we’re getting other companies as well.” Among the tenants signed since January are Golden Gate Software Inc., which provides real-time data integration and high availability IT solutions, the law firm McKassen & Klein LLP and CG Funding, a division of San Diego-based Corporate Governance Funding.

Holte attributes the building’s ability to attract tenants in a competitive market to a combination of factors, foremost among which is the Hines name and the Houston-based company’s reputation for quality construction and superior property management. In addition, he points out the building is the first office building on the West Coast to achieve LEED silver certification, though two other Hines West Coast projects have since joined it. “Two of the new tenants are green businesses,” he says. “The LEED status gives tenants a boost to their green branding efforts.”