Quiksilver Rents 683,000 SF

MIRA LOMA, CA-Quiksilver, the Huntington Beach-based marketer of sports equipment and clothing, has signed a long-term lease for a new 683,000-sf distribution facility that is under construction here, according to Joe Miller of the Anaheim office of Voit Commercial Brokerage. Miller, who represented Quiksilver along with Voit's Rob Socci in the Anaheim Metro office, says this marks the first time that the Huntington Beach-based company has separated its warehouse and office operations.The new Quiksilver warehouse is at 11310 Cantu Galleano Ranch Rd. and is a development of Atlanta-based Industrial Developments International, which was represented by Bill Heim and Michael Chavez of Lee & Associates. Miller tells GlobeSt.com that Quiksilver most likely will move into the new warehouse in April or May.The new building, which will primarily be used to distribute footwear, was one of a number of options that Quiksilver considered, according to John Shipe, VP of facilities at Quiksilver. He says an analysis of location, freight and labor costs, building features, automated systems and occupancy costs indicated that the new building in Mira Loma was the best choice.Terms of the lease were not disclosed. Asking rates for comparable warehouse and distribution space run about 33 cents to 38 cents per sf per month, triple-net.Leases like the Quiksilver deal are one of the reasons that the Inland Empire industrial market posted what many called a banner year in 2005, with expectations that the industrial market will remain strong in 2006. The direct vacancy rate dipped below 3% in the fourth quarter of 2005, and the Inland Empire market finished the year with absorption of more than 23 million sf of space, up from about 20 million sf the previous year.