New Multi-Tenant Industrial Among the Most In-Demand in OC

Multi-tenant industrial properties have been among the most in-demand in Orange County. There is a limited supply of new, modern multi-tenant properties, and available product has become a hot commodity. Recent leasing activity at Los Patrones Business Park in Orange County is a prime example. The nearly 100,000-square-foot property secured 11 new leases in 2020, bringing the property to 50% occupancy.

“There is still strong demand for new multi-tenant industrial properties in the Orange County market. Much of the stock is older and does not meet tenants’ standards for this space, which is why Los Patrones Business Park has been so popular,” Sam Olmstead, VP and Partner at Voit Real Estate Services, which handled the leasing on behalf of the landlord, tells GlobeSt.com.

The Los Patrones Business Park hit a lot of tenants’ needs, according to Olmstead, who notes that this is the first new construction multi-unit property to deliver in more than a decade in OC. “Having shell spaces has allowed us to be more flexible in design to accommodate some unique uses that were not going to be able to utilize the second generation improvements available at our competition,” says Olmstead. “Also, the project offers 18-foot free span (no columns) warehouse height, as well as Title 24 compliant LED lighting and .6/2000 sprinkler calcs, all of which are features in demand today.”

The new delivery and the property’s features fulfilled pent-up demand for multi-tenant properties. But, it was also in an ideal location. “The fact that this property fills a geographical gap in the overall market inventory has been a help,” says Olmstead. “There really isn’t any business park availability in the immediate neighborhood. In addition, Theo Pacific, the developer here, built a beautiful, truly state-of-the-art business park that has very flexible zoning, which allows us to accommodate not just industrial users but also flex office, retail and medical users. There is no doubt our new tenants will be proud to call this stunning project their home.”

Individual units ranged from 1,824 square feet to 10,000+ square feet, helping to drive interest among small users that have little interest in the property. “We’ve had a wide variety of uses interested in the project, again due to our flexible zoning,” says Olmstead. “Because of that, beside typical industrial, the quasi-retail users that aren’t quite suited to be—or just don’t want to be—in traditional retail strip centers for example are finding that they can get great exposure to an untapped retail market at a price point that’s better than what they’ll see in a retail project.”