LAKE FOREST, CA—Guthrie Development has sold two units and has three others in escrow at Foothill Business Park, a 59,478-square-foot industrial property at 26429 and 26439 Rancho Pkwy. here. The property is designed to accommodate small business owners, with 25 separate units ranging in size from 1,517 square feet to 3,203 square feet, with the opportunity to combine units to accommodate up to 8,199 square feet.
Rob Guthrie, CEO and founder of Guthrie Development, tells GlobeSt.com, “According to Forbes and the SBA, half of the people in the US work for small businesses, and small businesses since 1995 have created 65% of net new job creation. We need to get that section of the economy rolling again for job growth.”
The spaces sold at Foothill Business Park, which encompass an aggregated 12,287 square feet, were sold within months of taking the renovated units to market, demonstrating increased interest in owning from small industrial business owners. Guthrie had acquired the property for $8 million in November 2013 from Panattoni Development and, over the course of six months, invested more than $1 million to provide interior enhancements as well as to process the entitlements to sell each unit individually.
“We recognized a unique opportunity for small business owners who are in need of space now,” says Guthrie Development. “New construction is a long process. We find that when these businesses are ready to move, they need the space immediately. We also know that our small business owners want to live closer to home. Our Lake Forest location provides an option that is ready and in the right location.” He adds that the project also provides the flexibility to accommodate a wide range of uses, including retail, office, R&D and industrial.
Steve Wagner, Zach Niles, Matt Christensen and Louis Tomaselli of Jones Lang LaSalle are handling sales brokerage for the project, and Wagner says the timing couldn't be better. “Investment activity after the recession started with Corporate America and big-box acquisitions. Then we saw the private markets start to get active. Now the recovery is finally taking hold with the small business owner, who has regained the confidence to take on space. Values have rebounded in the small to mid-size industrial range, even as recently as the last six to 12 months.”
Guthrie says the location competes well with Irvine Spectrum since buyers tend to be from the surrounding high-profile communities of Foothill Ranch, Coto de Caza and Dove Canyon. “It's back to location, location, location driving the deal, especially when the CEO lives nearby.”
Stay tuned to GlobeSt.com for a more in-depth discussion with Rob Guthrie on the impact of small business owners on the Orange County commercial real estate market.
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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.
