Large Lease The Latest In Tech Growth Along I-15 Corridor
In one of the larger recent leases in the San Diego market, communications tech firm TrellisWare Technologies inked a nine-year lease for more than 72K SF at Summit Pointe in the Interstate 15 corridor.
According to Newport National Corp. President Scott Brusseau, the attractiveness of the newly renovated property, together with the I-15 corridor's momentum as a tech market, helped bring the tenant to the property.
"The I-15 corridor is home to numerous defense, electronic and medical engineering firms," Brusseau said, noting that the corridor attracted the company for a number of reasons. For one, housing is more affordable in the area than along the coast, with the added attraction of high-quality school districts.
Also, the corridor has good connectivity.
"With the 56 connecting the I-5 and I-15, traffic can move back and forth between the coast and the I-15 corridor very easily," Brusseau said.
Newport National acquired Summit Pointe from HD Supply in late 2016 for about $31.1M in a sale brokered by Colliers International, and then spent $5M renovating the existing circa 2000, 146K SF building on the 21-acre property. The site is entitled for the development of another office building as large as 183K SF.
The renovation was a collaboration by McCardle Architects Inc., DesignCorp, Environs and Newport National Corp. Interior renovations included a transformed lobby and common areas, a bistro, a conference center with a catering kitchen, a fitness facility and a multipurpose game room.
Outdoor amenities include an amphitheater, an exterior kitchen with a barbecue station and bar counter seating, a food truck venue and botanical gardens with over 1,000 exotic species.
"Our goal was to find a new headquarters space in the right location with the right mix of outdoor and indoor amenities to help us attract and retain talent," TrellisWare President and CEO Metin Bayram said.
TrellisWare specializes in communications and signal processing systems for military and commercial markets.
Brusseau said the renovations were designed to appeal to many different types of businesses.
"However, the I-15 corridor has a strong concentration of firms with many different types of engineers," he said.
Newport National wanted to take advantage of San Diego's weather and maximize the outdoor experience.
"Amenities were incorporated into the project so these engineers and other employees could get some open space to relax and collaborate outside in a botanical garden environment," Brusseau said.
Also, the large floor plates, about 40K SF, appeal to larger firms that want to maximize efficiencies, Brusseau said.
Kidder Mathews commercial real estate broker David Crabb, along with Don Mitchell of Cresa, represented TrellisWare. JLL represented the landlord.
