Hines Nabs Industrial Space in Tight SoCal Market

515 E. Dyer in Santa Ana, Calif.

Hines has grabbed one of the few substantial blocks of vacant industrial space left in Orange County with the acquisition of 515 E. Dyer, a 414,309-square-foot facility in Santa Ana, Calif., that was previously occupied by Royalty Carpet Mills Inc. John Griffin of Cushman & Wakefield brokered the off-market transaction.

The family-owned carpet manufacturer founded in 1966 went out of business in June, citing the high cost of doing business in Southern California, according to Floor Covering News. 

The site has access to the SR-55 and Interstate 5 freeways and is in close proximity to John Wayne Airport, also in Santa Ana. With an industrial vacancy of about 1 percent, a site with “strong visibility, flexibility and scale in a highly desirable” market is almost impossible to find, according to Hines, which noted similar product in the area is often torn down for multifamily development.

Hines intends to implement a robust capital improvement plan, including adding a new roof, making a seismic retrofit and expanding trailer parking. The international real estate firm will also make office upgrades and landscape and signage improvements.

The goal is to position the site as a facility as “ideal for last-mile distribution or more traditional manufacturing and warehouse tenants,” the company stated. Hines also plans to use the site as a “great opportunity to plant an industrial flag” in Southern California.

Building logistics portfolio

“Hines is committed to expanding our industrial/logistics portfolio and the Southern California market presents an enormous opportunity to achieve scale in the country’s largest industrial hub,” Ray Lawler, Hines senior managing director, said in a prepared statement.

“We look forward to aggressively pursuing industrial/logistics deals of all types including development, urban infill, sale leasebacks, etc. throughout Greater L.A., the Inland Empire and Orange County,” Tom Lawless, a Hines associate, added in prepared remarks.

Last fall, Hines began work on Phase One of El Convento CityPark in Mexico City, Mexico, a logistics park development in the CTT submarket. Two of the three buildings planned in Phase One are to be completed by the end of the second quarter.  Phase One will total more than 1 million square feet. When completed, the site will have eight buildings and more than 1.7 million square feet.

Rendering courtesy of Hines