JLL's Ingham: Construction Up in OC

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IRVINE, CA-Construction is increasing in Orange County in many forms, Jones Lang LaSalle's senior managing director, tells GlobeSt.com. In addition to construction of new buildings, refurbishing of existing building interiors is on the upswing.

“We're seeing a lot of construction in Fashion Island and the build-to-suits for Hyundai and PIMCO,” says Ingham. “We're seeing that not only with brand-new buildings, but as occupancies improve, construction is increasing in interiors of existing buildings, particularly for life-science companies.”

As GlobeSt.com reported earlier today, JLL research shows the total number of nonfarm jobs in the county has risen for the third straight month with a .2% increase in April over March's numbers. In addition, the area's unemployment rate continues to tighten, down .6% from 6.3% in March to 5.7% last month.

One of the growth sectors has been manufacturing, which has been expanding over the past year and spurring new construction, says Ingham. “Brand-new warehouses are being built as well as new infill construction on old warehousing. The new standard on warehouses is 30-ft.-plus clear heights and state-of-the art sprinkler systems. With the new way that companies are distributing product, they can't stay in the old buildings as they otherwise would have done.”

Regarding the employment figures reported earlier, Ingham says that on the office side, shorter-term leases are becoming the trend so that when interest rates do begin to pop up, companies will be able to right-size their businesses quickly. In addition, he notes that on a national basis, government offices and government-related contractors are decreasing their occupancy.

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