An unnamed commercial/residential roofing distributor has agreed to a 10-year, $8.65 mil lease of a 69.9k sf ($1.03/sf/mo) industrial building currently under construction in Placentia. The property, located at 721 S. Van Buren St, is expected to be completed by early 2019. It is part of a four-building, 232.4k sf Class A industrial development called Orange County Commerce Center.

This is the first lease transaction completed for the Orange County Commerce Center, which is the only industrial development project under construction in the severely supply-constrained North Orange County submarket. The project is being developed by Panattoni Development Company Inc and Principal Real Estate Investors.

The new building to be occupied in this deal will feature 7k sf of high-quality, two-story office space, 30’ minimum warehouse clear height, ESFR sprinkler system, 100% site concrete throughout the auto parking and truck court areas, and a 132’ fully secured concrete truck court/yard with exceptional loading capabilities featuring seven dock-high doors and one grade-level door.

The development offers close proximity to five major freeways including Interstate 5, State Routes 91, 57, 55 and 241 Toll Road, and direct access to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The three other buildings not yet leased that comprise the Orange County Commerce Center are located at 711 S. Van Buren St in Placentia, and 1365 and 1367 S. Van Buren St in Anaheim.

Chris Migliori and Paul Gingrich with DAUM Commercial Real Estate Services represented Panattoni and Principal in the deal. The other three buildings, ranging from 47.8k sf to 60.8k sf, are currently available for lease. Curtis Krusie and John van Rossem with Mohr Partners repped the tenant, who currently operates in over 500 locations throughout all fifty states in the United States and is further expanding its presence in Orange County.

Jacob LeBlanc, Partner at Panattoni, points out that leasing the largest building in this project before construction completion really speaks to the strong tenant demand in the 45k sf to 70k sf size range in the Orange County industrial market.

“There continues to be particularly high demand for industrial space in North Orange County, with vacancy rates posting consistently in the 1-percent-range, and asking rental rates in the county increasing 8 percent over the past year,” notes Migliori. “With this lease, the tenant has the opportunity to occupy a best-in-class industrial building with modern, in-demand amenities in a consistent and thriving market.”