FDIC Leases 200,000 SF at Irvine Co. Project

Both the Irvine Co. and Grubb & Ellis, which advised the FDIC, declined to provide further details of the lease late Tuesday, citing confidentiality agreements, and FDIC officials were unavailable for comment. The Irvine Co. issued a statement saying that the federal agency expects to gradually move into the space starting at the end of December.

Val Wheeler, president of Irvine Co. Office Properties, said that the company had reserved 40 Pacifica for a large tenant and expects that the Irvine Spectrum location, adjacent to three freeways and near a host of amenities, should assist the government agency in recruiting talent for the new office. The FDIC's offices will be across the street from the 1.2-million-square-foot Irvine Spectrum Center, which features the nation's first pairing of Nordstrom and Target and more than 20 restaurants. It is also within walking distance of the Village at Irvine Spectrum Center, a 1,550-unit apartment complex.

The Irvine Co. opened 40 Pacifica earlier this year, and the nearby 20 Pacifica late last year. The two twin, 15-story buildings measure 310,000 square feet each for a total of 620,000 square feet. With the signing of the FDIC's lease more than half of that 620,000 square feet has been leased.

The FDIC says that it chose 40 Pacifica's location and lease terms as "the best value for the FDIC, considering mission, price and other qualitative criteria" that the agency considered in its search for space, which included a "competitive bidding process in the Southern California market." It did not name other buildings that were in the running for the lease. The FDIC will hire non-permanent employees and contractors to meet the workload needs of the office "based on the number of closings that occur west of the Rockies, the number of receiverships and the post-closing workload," the agency said.