ORANGE COUNTY, CA-Undeterred by the high vacancy rates in the Orange County office market, AEW Capital Management has purchased the 315,000-square-foot 2050 Main St. in Irvine, CA for an undisclosed price. The Boston-based investment advisor made the purchase on behalf of an institutional client.

AEW director Daniel Bradley, in a statement, describes the building as “a high-quality trophy property in a premier location with high tenant demand.” He adds that the building’s pending LEED Gold certification will increase its attractiveness to tenants.

The seller was a joint venture of a joint venture Westbrook Partners, Walton St. Capital LLC and Greenlaw Partners. Eastdil Secured represented the seller in sales negotiations, while the buyer repped itself.

Built in 2007, the 13-story, granite-faced building is the most recent building to be completed in the John Wayne Airport submarket. The tower is part of Irvine Concourse Corporate Center, a group of 10 office buildings combined with several hotels, restaurants and a health club.

AEW’s purchase shows faith in a market that has reported a slight improvement in vacancy rate after nearly two years of 20%-plus vacancy rates.

In the third quarter, Orange County office buildings were 19.7% vacant. In contrast, the same market reported 8.1% vacancy at the end of 2005, according to Transwestern, an Irvine-based investment firm.