Lennar Corp. to Move Offices to Aliso Viejo

Homebuilder Lennar Corp. will merge offices into a new regional headquarters in Aliso Viejo as part of a $27-million lease agreement, the largest of the year in Orange County.

Lennar will move about 500 employees from Mission Viejo and other offices in Orange County to a new 137,352-square-foot building in mid-2004.

The property at 25 Enterprise in the Summit Office Campus is owned by developer Parker Properties and its partner, Cigna Investments Inc.

The 7 1/2-year agreement brings the suburban campus to 92% leased, said Russ Parker, principal of Parker Properties.

The Summit Office Campus south of state Highway 73 eventually will include 1.7 million square feet of commercial buildings on 60 acres. The project will consist of office space, outdoor plazas, walkways and gardens. Amenities will include a hotel, restaurants and a sports club.

About 970,000 square feet of office space has been completed. Other tenants include computer storage networking company Q Logic, insurance services company A.J. Gallagher, Chevy Chase Bank and financial services company MBNA.

Lennar is California’s biggest homebuilder and one of the largest homebuilders in the United States. The company posted a $545-million profit last year on revenue of $7 billion.

Shares of Lennar closed down 4 cents Thursday to $92.54 on the New York Stock Exchange.