Valencia to Get $40-Million Commercial Development

Razor-slim industrial vacancy in Valencia has prompted one Seattle-based investment advisor to proceed with plans for a $40-million industrial park.

Kennedy Associates Real Estate Counsel Inc. said Tuesday it will build a four-building, 703,000-square-foot business park on 36 acres of land purchased from Newhall Land and Farming.

The company has hired Investment Development Services of Los Angeles to construct and manage the new park, which will be located near Interstate 5 and California 126 in the Valencia Commerce Center.

The first phase of the project, which will break ground in April, contains two buildings of 320,000 square feet. Two additional buildings will begin construction after the land is graded next summer, said Dave Mgrublian, managing director of Investment Development Services.

So far no tenants have been signed for the as-yet-unnamed project, but Mgrublian said his company will proceed with development regardless of whether tenants have signed leases. He’s confident the project will fill up.

The industrial vacancy rate in Valencia has averaged less than 1% during the fourth quarter of this year, according to a survey by Grubb & Ellis.

The region’s industrial sector has boomed in recent months, as entertainment and technology executives have moved all or part of their company’s operations to more modern space close to suburban neighborhoods and schools.