OC Industrial Is A Redevelopment Story

Orange County’s industrial vacancy rate is falling fast. According to recent research from NAI Capital, the market beat Los Angeles in rental rate growth last year. Like Los Angeles, Orange County’s biggest challenge has become land, as in there isn’t any for new industrial supply. The dearth of land has helped to fuel industrial rates, but with new options for development, David Knowlton, EVP at NAI Capital, says that redevelopment is going to be the best way to bring “new” product to the market.

“There is a lot of older industrial stock in Orange County, some of which is functionally obsolete and was built in 1960s and 1970s,” Knowlton tells GlobeSt.com. “Those are going to be the development opportunities going forward in Orange County. Everyone is scouring for those opportunities. They are looking to tear down that product and start over.”

Knowlton says that redevelopment is the next logical option because there is a limited selection of land sites in Orange County, and they all have challenges. “There is really nothing here to develop,” he says. “There is very little land available north of 3 acres, and the sites that are available are challenged. They are challenged through accessibility or topographically.”