Why Techbilt Says Yes to Spec in San Diego

Techbilt could turn to Carlsbad for its next spec industrial project following two home runs in Poway.

San Diego-based Techbilt Cos is completing two flex industrial boxes at Poway Corporate Center, both of which started as spec but are now fully leased prior to delivery. And that—plus continued strength in the industrial segment—is prompting Techbilt CEO Ted Tchang to eye going spec at Carlsbad Oakes North Business Center. Ted gave no timetable as to when the firm could break ground there.

Ted tells us the firm is still looking at what buildings it wants to put up at those sites. He sees San Diego's industrial sector as strong for at least the next two years. Even with weakness showing up in China? Ted counters that SD's industrial market never depended on Chinese import business to sustain itself, and instead is more made up of companies in the heated tech and life sciences sector as well as traditional retail and consumer companies.

Most recently, Techbilt secured a $3.1M lease for 11885 Community Rd with Best Buy, which will occupy the entire 46k SF facility once it delivers this year. On top of that, Techbilt also inked a deal with Grace Digital, a SD-based consumer electronics company, that is expanding into the new 25k SF 11895 Community Rd facility. Both projects broke ground in 2014 and were the first spec developments along the I-15 corridor in some eight years. “We were confident that the San Diego market was in the beginning of a rebound then and will continue to be with our plans to build the next spec building in the Poway Corporate Center,” Ted says. That includes 100k SF, he says, that will close out the third phase of Poway Corporate Center's overall development that began in 1990 and now has more than 1.5M SF of flex office and industrial space. Colliers International's Ted Cuthbert brokered both deals for Techbilt.