WESTLAKE VILLAGE,
CA -- Traditional office space users who had been "standing on the
sidelines" during the recent heated competition for space are now stepping up to the
plate to meet their expansion needs while providing major impetus to the continued health
of the Conejo Valley market, according to a top official of a leading area real estate
company.
Tony Principe,
executive vice president of Westlake Village, CA-based Westcord Commercial Real Estate
Services, reports that inquiries for office space in increments of from 25,000 to 100,000
sq. ft. have intensified since the beginning of the year. "The good news is that we
now have the office space inventory to accommodate these tenants," Principe said. He
explained that there was a flurry of interest on the part of developers to construct new
office space in the Conejo Valley during the latter half of 2000 and early 2001, notably
to meet the onslaught of both dot.com companies and local firms expanding.
"But in early 2002, the dot.coms began to unravel. Fortunately, Conejo Valley
was not as severely impacted as the Westside. The upside was that most of these new
office buildings were already in the pipeline, so when the traditional users, including
law firms, biotech and health care companies, who chose not to compete with the dot.coms
for high rents returned to the marketplace late last year and early this year, the market
was ready," said Principe.
When Sept. 11 hit, it was
primarily a psychological blow for the market, he said. "For about three to four
months after Sept. 11, no one wanted to make any decisions about office space needs until
things settled down. Today, that has changed and we have product available we didn't
have 12 months ago," Principe explained. He added that not only is some one-half
million square feet of new office space now available, but in excess of one-quarter of a
million square feet of sublease space has come on the market. "What we're seeing is
that we are simply getting back to a more traditional and healthy market," Principle
declared. "I honestly believe we needed product because of the dynamics of this
market. For this reason, I'm confident that we will absorb the new space during
2002, and that it will be a strong year for leasing."
He noted that Conejo Valley is unique in that it has traditionally been a controlled
market with a substantial amount of leasing activity because of its desirable
location. "Therefore, the addition of newly constructed space, as is now
occurring, does not have as much of an impact as in other markets." This is buoyed,
said Principe, by the small office tenant market with requirements from 2000 square feet
and up, which he said has never tailed off in Conejo Valley.
Westcord is one of the Los
Angeles area's top 25 commercial real estate companies with offices in Westlake Village,
CA, and Van Nuys, CA. |
