California Structures in Swap With Sanyo Facility : Border Area Built-to-Suit Facility Exchanged for Manufacturing Plant in Northern San Diego

In what has been termed the largest industrial exchange in San Diego history, California Structures has swapped a 324,000-square-foot, build-to-suit Otay Mesa facility for Sanyo’s 410,000-square-foot plant in Kearny Mesa.

The total value of the transaction--handled by the downtown San Diego office of Coldwell Banker--is in excess of $38-million, according to R. Michael Murphy, president of California Structures.

He added that the transaction “is a significant event for both areas. It demonstrates Sanyo’s commitment in Otay Mesa and it opens up a quality facility in Kearny Mesa, in the heart of the city, for major manufacturers.”

Last November, Sanyo moved to an $18.6-million, 324,000-square-foot facility on 38 acres in Otay Mesa, near the Mexican border. The plant, at Sanyo Avenue and Airway Road, is in the 74-acre San Diego Business Park, developed by California Structures, and was the largest build-to-suit facility west of the Mississippi River in 1986, Murphy said.

The former Sanyo facility at 4000 Ruffin Road, valued at $19,682,000, is being renovated by California Structures. Offering 410,000 square feet, it is the only major manufacturing/distribution facility in the desirable Kearny Mesa area, according to Mike Strode, senior vice president and partner with California Structures.

When the renovation is completed around April 15, the building--renamed 4000 Ruffin Road--will be divisible into modules ranging upward from 16,000 square feet, Murphy said. Sanyo will have room to expand to 750,000 square feet at the new Otay Mesa site, Murphy said, adding that it had no further expansion room at Kearny Mesa. Sanyo has nearly 1 million square feet of “twin plant” space in Tijuana, Mexico, about two miles south of the Otay Mesa plant.