Industrial Conversion Lands $14M Loan

IRVINE, CA-Guthrie Development Co. of Costa Mesa has landed $14.4 million in financing from Wrightwood Capital for the recapitalization and conversion of a 122,125-sf industrial building into condominiums for sale. The property that will be converted is an eight-unit building at 2152 Alton Parkway that was built in 1973.

The new Guthrie project, called the Alton Business Center, lies within the Irvine Business Complex near the former Tustin Marine Corp Air Station. Developers in Orange County have converted a number of industrial buildings into condominiums for sale and have typically sold all of the units, a track record that Wrightwood cites as one of the factors that work in favor of the new project.

In view of the strong performance of the condo for-sale market in the county, Marty Kearney of Wrightwood Capital's Newport Beach office says that "Condominium sales activity remains strong in the Orange County area due to the strong economy, low interest rates, accessible financing and the limited supply of industrial product."

According to Kearney, who is director of investments in the Wrightwood office, the Alton property has several key advantages that include its location in the Irvine Business Complex, access to nearby highways, a wide truck courtyard and dock-high loading entrances. Kearney notes that the deal represents the eighth transaction between Guthrie and Wrightwood.

Guthrie Development has a host of developments either under way, completed or in planning in Southern California, among them a number of Orange County projects. The Orange County developments include its 132,642-sf Guthrie Lambert Business Center in Brea, where it is demolishing an existing property to make way for the new buildings; its 22-building Freeway Crossroads in Anaheim and its Guthrie Orange Business Center in the City of Orange, where it is developing 86,000 sf on five acres.