Ricoh Leases Tile Building

Jeff Chiate of C&W says Ricoh signed a $3-million deal to occupy the 220,543 sf, which is part of 500,000 sf of the former Steelcase warehouse and showroom that Bedrosians bought from Voit Development Co. about two months ago.

Ricoh USA is the New Jersey-based office automation equipment and electronics unit of Ricoh Company Ltd. of Tokyo. It will use the space to expand its current West Coast assembly and distribution hub, located adjacent to the property. Overall, Ricoh occupies more than two million sf in Tustin. The 30-year-old building, which was recently upgraded by its former owner, is located at 1123 Warner Ave. and fronts the Newport Costa Mesa (55) Freeway. Bedrosians will use the remaining 280,000 sf for its new Orange County showroom, warehouse and corporate distribution center. The facility will house one of the largest stocks of ceramic, marble and granite tiles in the US.

Chiate and Rick Ellison, both in C&W's Irvine office, represented Bedrosians, one of the largest ceramic tile and natural stone importers and distributors in the US. Dave Desper of CB Richard Ellis represented the tenant.

The Ricoh deal continues a transformation of the former Steelcase property that began when Voit Development Co. of Woodland Hills acquired the facility, the largest building in the Irvine Business Complex, and announced plans to redevelop the site as a new business park. Steelcase moved out of the plant when it relocated to the City of Industry.

Fresno-based Bedrosians then acquired half of the one-million-sf facility from Voit in what was one of the largest purchases of an Orange County building by an owner-user in the past 15 years.

Voit has renamed its portion of the site Tustin Gateway Business Park.