ORANGE, CA-Guthrie Development Co. of Costa Mesa has sold out its 15-building Guthrie Orange Business Center, a newly developed industrial park, for $15 million. All of the buildings were sold before the completion of the project, according to Robert Guthrie, president of the company.

Guthrie describes his company's new development as a response to "severe pent-up demand for small industrial space in North Orange County." He notes that the project generated substantial demand from light distribution and manufacturing firms because of the development site's location next to four Orange County freeways.

The project is located near the intersection of Meats and Glassell avenue, within three miles of the 57, 55, 22 and 5 freeways. It is composed of 15 freestanding industrial buildings ranging from 4,400 sf to 7,650 sf with 16-foot clear heights and ground-level loading.

Guthrie Development was represented by Mitch Zehner, Louis Tomaselli and Mike Boomer of Voit Commercial Brokerage's Anaheim Metro office in the sales of its 15 buildings. Zehner, Tomaselli and Boomer also represented 12 of the 15 buyers.

Demand for the buildings was evident when Guthrie kicked off construction of the Orange Business Center last year, starting the project with buyers already lined up for 74% of the 86,000 sf at the five-acre industrial project. Guthrie, which developed the industrial park on the site of a former nursery, had entered escrow on 11 of the 15 buildings at the center shortly after it broke ground.

The latest market reports from Voit show that demand for industrial buildings for sale has continued to grow, with the average asking selling price climbing to $156.75 per sf during the fourth quarter of 2006. That established a new record and represented an increase of 21.35% when compared to the average asking price a year earlier.