Western Digital will move to Irvine in major lease transaction

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Hard-disk drive maker Western Digital Corp. has agreed to move its headquarters to Irvine starting next year as part of an office space consolidation, the company said Monday.

Western Digital, now based in Lake Forest, has rented 365,000 square feet in the Park Place office complex on Michelson Drive in one of Southern California’s biggest office leases of the year. The company, which was added to the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in May, will move its 1,250 employees to Park Place in phases between late 2010 and late 2011.

Financial terms of the 10-year lease agreement were not disclosed, but landlord LBA Realty is asking for $2.15 per square foot per month at Park Place, according to the LBA website.

Western Digital’s growth over the last 10 years required expansion into several locations near Lake Forest. Its acquisition of SiliconSystems Inc. in March added an office in Aliso Viejo. The leases for its current locations start to expire late next year, according to real estate brokerage Studley, which represented Western Digital in the transaction.

“Consolidating all our Southern California personnel under one roof will facilitate tighter team collaboration, improve operational efficiencies, rationalize facilities costs and offer flexibility for future growth,” Chief Executive John Coyne said in a statement.

Park Place is an enormous office, retail and residential complex next to the 405 Freeway. Most of the complex was completed in 1978 and once served as the headquarters of engineering giant Fluor. It consists of interconnected buildings, including a 10-story, hexagonal tower that is a local landmark.

-- Roger Vincent