Factors That Drive Capital to Santa Ana

SANTA ANA, CA—One of Orange County’s oldest cities, Santa Ana’s Downtown area is emerging as a hip, desirable location for creative new business and young entrepreneurs, CBRE‘s EVP Philip Voorhees tells GlobeSt.com. As we recently reported, CBRE’s national retail investment group–West team has completed the sale of McCalla Centre, a 110,620-square-foot neighborhood shopping center here, to a San Diego-based private real estate investment-fund manager for $31.8 million. We spoke with Voorhees about the Santa Ana retail market, how development is looking for the region and what investors are seeking here.

GlobeSt.com: How would you characterize the retail investment market in Santa Ana?   Voorhees: All buyer types continue to favor retail properties in the coastal counties and in areas with high population density and high barriers to entry. Santa Ana is one of Orange County’s oldest cities. Its Downtown area is emerging as hip, desirable location for creative new business and young entrepreneurs. For-sale retail inventory is near historic lows in Santa Ana, and like many “urban” locations in SoCal, investor sentiment for Santa Ana is positive. GlobeSt.com: What does retail development look like for this region?