Central County Leads Airport Area

Central Orange County edged the John Wayne Airport area in net absorption of office space in the first half of 1989, according to a Grubb & Ellis survey. The two regions accounted for 72% of the county’s first-half total of 1.7 million square feet of absorbed space, which the broker defines as square footage occupied by tenants minus square footage vacated.

But while developers are busy providing new space in the airport region, hammers and saws are gathering cobwebs in the central county. Grubb & Ellis said only 81,155 square feet of office space is under construction in central county, contrasted with 3.3 million in the airport region and 5.1 million countywide.

The lack of construction in central county will “further tighten the availability of space in the near term,” said Tom Stilley of Grubb & Ellis’ Anaheim office. Still, the central county’s 23% vacancy rate was higher than the countywide rate of 21%. The central county has been a focal point of office construction in recent years. And the broker said more than 5 million additional square feet of space is planned for that region--nearly half the 10.3 million square feet planned countywide.

SURVEY OF OFFICE SPACE FOR FIRST HALF OF 1989

Existing Space Space Space Vacancy Under (6 months) Market Area (Sq. Ft.) Rate (%) Construction 1989 Greater Airport 21,990,642 20 3,261,736 599,715 South County 3,337,271 20 1,484,028 311,265 Central County 13,820,255 23 81,155 616,402 North County 3,545,897 27 252,967 97,367 West County 4,269,167 17 45,454 55,160 County Totals 46,963,232 21 5,125,340 1,679,909

Absorbed (12 months) Market Area 1988 Greater Airport 1,593,664 South County 210,530 Central County 1,265,902 North County 234,789 West County 304,880 County Totals 3,609,765

Source: Grubb & Ellis Research Services Group