REAL ESTATE

Breaking Ground: Although office construction in the county has gone into hibernation, an occasional retail complex still pops up. Witness the $20-million Plaza Antonio center, which recently broke ground in Rancho Santa Margarita.

A joint venture of the Koll Co. and Santa Margarita Co., the 15-acre retail park is scheduled for completion in the spring. Its major tenant will be a 54,000-square-foot Pavilions grocery store, owned by Vons Companies Inc.

With an 11% vacancy rate in Orange County--about half that of office buildings--retail centers have fared better than other commercial real estate ventures in the post-boom era.

“People usually build office buildings to an uncertain marketplace, whereas people build retail centers with the commitment of major tenants,” explained Gary Wescombe, a retail specialist at Newport Beach consulting firm Kenneth Leventhal & Co. RETAIL TRADE