NEWPORT BEACH, CA—Modern office layouts are critical to heavier-build-out industrial users in Orange County; however, the standard best-in-class building-amenity sets continue to be the focus of the majority of users, CBRE's first VP in Newport Beach Nick Vranka tells GlobeSt.com. Vranka recently joined the firm's Occupier Advisory & Transaction Services group and will be based here; he was formerly with Colliers International.

We spoke with Vranka about what industrial tenants are seeking in Orange County and in which submarkets they are focused.

GlobeSt.com: What type of space are industrial users looking for in Orange County?

Vranka: Orange County is a diversified market that contains several different user tranches across a broad industry set. For example, North Orange County typically lends itself to traditional warehousing/distribution users requiring less of a build-out component, compared with Southern Orange County, where heavier build-out is the norm to service a larger pool of R&D and corporate headquarters uses.

GlobeSt.com: What elements must this space have in order for users to accept it?

Vranka: Modern office layouts are critical to heavier build-out users; however, the standard best-in-class building amenity sets (a.k.a., high-cube/efficient truck court plus building configuration, major freeway and arterial proximity, etc.) continue to be the focus of the majority of users. Certainly, proximity to employee amenities and desirable executive living optionality are also quite valuable for corporate-headquarters users.

GlobeSt.com: Which geographical areas are most in demand by industrial users in this market now?

Vranka: In the current hyper-constrained market environment, industrial users across the Greater Los Angeles basin are exploring all markets, from the logistical epicenter of the world port complex in L.A./Long Beach, all the way out to the extremity markets (for example, High Desert versus East Inland Empire). As the era of consolidation has redefined the parameters of a large distribution center in Greater Los Angeles, industrial users, especially those servicing more than infill Greater Los Angeles, have largely migrated to the Inland Empire where perpetual modern big-box distribution center construction provides efficient consolidation solutions. This has, however, put pressure on providers that service the Greater Los Angeles population base to look more closely at their networks, and, in many cases, has necessitated smaller “spoke” distribution centers, particularly for those providers that are B to C, where service timeframes are critical.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about industrial tenants in Orange County?

Vranka: While splitting office and distribution center components is becoming commonplace, it is important to note that the vast majority of users still prefer an “all under one roof” scenario, as redundancies coupled with managerial inefficiencies can many times trump occupancy-cost savings. It is also worth noting that the employee count at a traditional warehouse/distribution facility has increased significantly, and, as such, employee parking has become a focus for many requirements, where historically it was less of a concern.

Instant Insights /

What Today's Industrial Users are Seeking in OC

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