Xircom to Move to Former Northrop Facility

Xircom Inc. will become the first tenant at the long-idled former Northrop Grumman Corp. manufacturing complex in Thousand Oaks.

The mobile networking company will relocate its corporate headquarters from a trio of cramped nearby facilities to a pair of custom-built 100,000-square-foot buildings at the 100-acre property, now known as the Conejo Spectrum.

Xircom, which has been headquartered within walking distance of the Conejo Spectrum for several years, signed a 10-year lease for the two buildings with the project’s developers. The company also retains an option to expand its corporate campus to a similarly sized development as the company grows.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. But Conejo Valley real estate sources pegged the deal for the first 200,000-square-foot phase at about $35 million.

The headquarters operation employs about 400, Xircom’s general counsel, Randall Holliday, said. But booming business should double the count by the time the new buildings are ready, he said.

“We’re choking at the seams. We have no choice but to expand,” Holliday said.

The rapid evolution from desktop computing to mobile computing is primarily responsible for Xircom’s growth, Holliday said. Company management searched for sites from the Oxnard Plain to Warner Center, but was for the most part intent on remaining in the tech-heavy Conejo Valley.

Xircom’s future landlord is the Conejo Spectrum development team, which includes Investment Development Services and its undisclosed financial partners.

Xircom, which employs about 1,800 people worldwide and sells products in more than 100 nations, expects to move about 800 home office staffers to the new facility upon completion in next year’s second quarter.

Xircom’s new home was designed by AHT Architects, with HOK Interiors providing space planning and interior design services.

John DeGrinis and Michael Tingus of Seeley Co. represented the development team, and CB Richard Ellis’ Ken Ashen and Laura O’Brien helped Xircom seek a new site and negotiate the relocation deal.

Investment Development Services bought the former Northrop property on behalf of its investor clients as vacant commercial space along the Conejo Valley/Ventura Freeway corridor dwindled with the improving economy.

Brokerage Cushman & Wakefield reports that office vacancies in the Thousand Oaks/Newbury Park vicinity have fallen from about 15% a year ago to just over 10% today. Rents averaged about $1.85 per square foot monthly a year ago, but recent transactions have typically been in the $1.90-to-$2.15 range.