Business Park Benefits From Pent-Up Demand

Dirt-moving machines have barely broken ground on the speculative Grande Vista Business Park in Thousand Oaks, but already six of the planned 22 units are in or about to go into escrow, and negotiations are in process for two more.

For William Burke, a partner in the Burke Real Estate Group, which owns the 11-acre industrial site, the high level of interest illustrates the improved state of the Ventura County-Conejo Valley real estate market.

And it helps to explain why the veteran firm is developing in the region for the first time.

“It shows you the strength of the market and the pent-up demand,” said Burke, founder of the Santa Ana-based firm. “In years past, prior to the recession, we were lucky to pre-sell one or two buildings in a project this size.”

The Burke Real Estate Group and its equity partner, Heller Financial, purchased the Grande Vista site from the Silagi Development & Management Co. of Thousand Oaks. The $13-million industrial complex, the first speculative industrial venture in the Conejo Valley in about a decade, will consist of buildings ranging from 5,600 to 8,000 square feet.

The complex is expected to be completed by early next summer.

“We saw an opportunity in a market that needs the product we’re known for and are particularly adept at, which is the small-building-for-sale market,” Burke said. “We started analyzing the market and determined that there was a very low vacancy and a very high demand that is not being met and hasn’t been met for seven years.”

Burke said the makeup of the Conejo Valley and its population is quite similar to Orange County, where his development group is well-established.

“Our product follows entrepreneurs, and there are a lot of entrepreneurs [in the Conejo Valley], as there are in Orange County. It’s just a good market with a good residential base for relatively high-end industrial use,” he said. “It’s close to the beach, it’s got a good climate, great livability, great schools. Development is controlled in the right direction.”

Bob Pettit of Bob Pettit Commercial Realty, which is handling the marketing of the Grande Vista buildings, said he is targeting his pitch toward high-tech business owners.

Among the list of buyers thus far, he said, are an electronics firm, a biotech company and a business that specializes in high-end plumbing.

“There is such demand for little buildings,” said Pettit, who previously shopped the complex around for the Silagi company. “An owner can get [a Small Business Administration] loan for 10% down and he can own his own building and get the tax advantages. Some of these guys are buying a double unit. They’re going to use half of the unit and lease the other half until they grow and can use it themselves.”