PLACENTIA, CA-Irvine, CA-based CapRock Partners recently acquired six industrial buildings totaling 90,080 square feet here from Miles Sterling for an amount undisclosed to GlobeSt.com. The buildings are within the Melrose Industrial Park, an 11-buidling development fronting the SR 57 freeway just south of Orangethorpe Ave. in North Orange County's industrial district known as the Canyon.

Christie Development Co.'s Steve Christie represented the buyer, while Jones Lang LaSalle Orange County's Zach Niles provided acquisition advisory support, and Sterling represented himself in the off-market transaction.

“The Canyon is one of the tightest submarkets in Orange County, and this property, with its freeway frontage and easy accessibility from the 57 and 91 freeways, stands to benefit as the Orange County economy continues to improve,” said Jon Pharris, principal at CapRock, in a prepared statement. “The seller needed a year-end close, and with our market knowledge and financial capabilities, we could provide Mr. Sterling with that peace of mind.”

Niles added that Orange County “remains one of the tightest and most sought-after industrial markets. Improving economic conditions and historically low interest rates are fueling demand from both investors and users alike.”

According to Voit Real Estate Services' fourth-quarter 2012 market report, the Orange County industrial market posted a modest 4.68% vacancy rate during the quarter, and both vacancy and availability continued to decrease, displaying decent percentage drops compared to 2011. Lease rates continued their upward trend, with the first quarter of 2011 marking the lowest rates of the recession, and net absorption posted nearly 4.7 million square feet of positive absorption from the second quarter of 2010 to the end of 2012. However, demand, which is ultimately being influenced by employment and overall economic stability, will need to be sustained in the coming quarters for the market to continue its pace of recovery.

As GlobeSt.com previously reported, earlier this month CapRock expanded its portfolio to 13 properties containing almost 600,000 square feet of industrial space with the acquisition of a 31,657-square-foot office/R&D building in Sunnyvale, CA. For the company, that Northern California market is hot.

Are you expanding your reach to markets outside of your “comfort zone”? Tell us about it in the comment box below.

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Carrie Rossenfeld

Carrie Rossenfeld is a reporter for the San Diego and Orange County markets on GlobeSt.com and a contributor to Real Estate Forum. She was a trade-magazine and newsletter editor in New York City before moving to Southern California to become a freelance writer and editor for magazines, books and websites. Rossenfeld has written extensively on topics including commercial real estate, running a medical practice, intellectual-property licensing and giftware. She has edited books about profiting from real estate and has ghostwritten a book about starting a home-based business.