Get More Creative, OC

OC isn't yet known for its creative office, but it's coming, according to Buchanan Street Partner’s Matt Haugen, who leads his company’s WorkScapes project—a creative office space property. He tells us a true creative office campus offers a sense of community between the tenants so that they feel integrated within a building, rather than isolated down a corridor. Last month, Buchanan closed on the six-building WorkScapes at 20321-20371 Irvine Ave in Newport Beach, and Matt says the company plans capital improvements to bring it up to snuff as creative office space.

“We believe true creative office space must have certain elements,” Matt tells us: exposed building materials such as steel and wood beams, elevated ceilings with rigid ducting for the HVAC, significant exposure to natural light, creative elements of graphical design and lighting, and indoor and outdoor common areas for collaboration.” Business is brisk enough in OC to spur Buchanan to hire everyone pictured last month, including Chris Herthel (left, seated), who will be an SVP in the Newport Beach office. 

According to CBRE’s Ted Snell, OC is underserved by creative office space, with users looking for open floor-plan environments and useable outdoor spaces. (Every great 21st-century company must be equipped for a lunchtime game of ultimate frisbee.) Last week, the City of Tustin picked CBRE as listing advisor for the 43-acre Cornerstone at Tustin Legacy, which is the redevelopment of the Marine base formerly on the site. Ted, along with colleagues Chris Bates and Eric Snell, says the project will be marketed to creative office and R&D users, such as those in the tech, software, and hardware industries; health services, bio-med, medical apparatus and pharmaceuticals; and active apparel design.