Trevor Gordon, president of TIC Properties, tells GlobeSt.comthat the company will continue looking at properties in other areasof the country but considers Orange County one of the best marketsin which to buy if it can find the right kind of deal. Although TIChas acquired office and industrial properties in the past, he adds,"Our focus has turned more toward office."TIC, which bought nearly$80.6 million of industrial and office properties nationwide in2004, plans to invest approximately $80 million of equity this yearto buy the $200 million worth of new assets, according to PaulAiesi, its chief investment officer. The company entered Californiain 2004 with its purchase of the Owens Distribution Center in Tracyand feels that "there are areas throughout Southern Californiawhere we can make strong opportunistic buys in 2005," Aiesisays.While the $200 million in acquisitions will be two and a halftimes as much as TIC spent in 2004, Gordon says the target "is veryachievable, if not beatable," thanks to the continued momentum inthe tenant in common marketplace and the number of 1031 exchangebuyers flowing into the TIC pool. Gordon expects ample inventory ofproperties for sale amid rising interest rates, increasingcompetition for property increasing and growing numbers of ownersmotivated to sell. TIC Properties manages a $116-million portfolioof more than 1.1 million sf of institutional grade property in 11markets nationwide. It was founded by John Boyd, CEO, who pointsout that the company has bought assets ranging from properties indevelopment to those that are fully stabilized and "those that needa little TLC."