Santee will be the next big executive enclave if Ryan Cos. US, Inc., a national commercial real estate firm, has calculated correctly. The firm, with offices in Phoenix, Chicago and Iowa, has just opened a regional office in San Diego on Towne Centre Drive.
“Santee’s time has come,” said Matt Reid, the vice president of development for Ryan’s West division. “It’s positioned well behind a massive amount of retail, with traffic and transportation into San Diego from Santee. There are good opportunities for executives who want to commute into Santee. It will be a destination.”
The San Diego office will provide development, construction and property management services to local businesses and national companies, expanding in Southern California.
The Southwest division of Ryan has been active in San Diego County since 2002, designing and building office, industrial and retail space. According to the company, among its most important projects is the RiverView in Santee, located on more than 100 acres. The 1.9 million-square-foot, master-planned, mixed-use campus features technology, research and development, office, residential and retail space. Ryan has completed Phase 1, encompassing an 80,000-square-foot regional office for the Hartford Insurance Co. Phase II will begin construction in the fall and include about 62,000 square feet of office space, a 10- to 14-screen movie theater, and 240 residential condos.
Ryan intends to fill a missing component in Santee, said Reid.
“You can’t find office (space) out there right now,” he said. “We will have the first office market. It’s a calculated risk, but it’s Santee’s time.”
With luxury residential developments going in around the area, he said, it’s a prime place for executives to be.
Ryan Cos. also is planning to develop industrial and offices in Murrieta, Otay Mesa and Carlsbad, and is planning to serve a regional hub for national and international banks, venture and legal firms, biotech companies and lending institutions.
Any qualms about moving into a region where America’s Finest City is getting battered in the national media?
“We’re conservative about how we break into new markets,” Reid said. “When we do, we do so without second-guessing ourselves. We have never closed an office. We do good due diligence, and we put capital and the right people in place.”
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Sunshine Dollars:
Kyocera and Tucker Sadler, a San Diego-based architectural firm, have completed the design of that first-ever Solar Grove , a 186-vehicle parking lot that doubles as a solar electric generating facility.
On June 24, Kyocera unveiled the innovative project, located at its North American headquarters on Balboa Avenue.
The system consists of 25 solar “trees,” designed to form a carport in an employee parking lot, using 1,400 solar photovoltaic modules and 200 custom-manufactured, light-filtering modules.
The grand plan, according to the company, is to make the San Diego/Tijuana region “an important hub in North America’s solar energy industry.”
The system’s capacity of 251 kilowatts, we’re told, is capable of generating 421,000 kilowatt hours per year, the equivalent of meeting the needs of 68 typical San Diego homes.
“The economic viability of PV systems like this represents a milestone for businesses throughout California,” said Steve Hill, the president of Kyocera Solar, Inc., which is supplying the system. “By installing this system on a Kyocera facility, we are setting a benchmark for commercial PV installations, and jump-starting the solar revolution in San Diego.”
Kyocera Solar, Inc., based in Scottsdale, Ariz., is a supplier of solar electric energy solutions. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kyocera International, Inc., of San Diego.
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Partnering Up:
Black Mountain Ranch, LLC has taken on four partners for its Del Sur development, a new 1,800-acre residential community in North County due to open early next year.
The builders are Standard Pacific Homes, Davidson Communities, Shea Homes and William Lyon Homes, all of which have pledged to think green , as in using environmentally friendly design and construction practices.
Del Sur, with home prices ranging from the low millions to the $600,000s, is between Interstates 5 and 15 off state Route 56 , seven miles from the Pacific Ocean.
According to the company, Del Sur is sited on one of the last remaining big parcels of land left for development in the city and will include about 3,000 homes, schools, some 500,000 square feet of commercial space, a luxury resort hotel, yet to be named, and a golf course, several parks and other recreational areas, including 18 miles of trails, all built out in the next 10 years.
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Kudos:
The Baywood Collection at Santaluz earned multiple honors at the recent Gold Nugget Awards, the centerpiece of the 2005 Pacific Coast Builders Conference.
Plan 1 won the Home of the Year award and a Grand Award for best single-family detached home, while Plan 2 received a Merit Award for best single-family detached home. The collection as a whole was honored with the Grand Award for best detached community of the year.
Also, Maravilla, a 363-unit retirement community in Santa Barbara, developed by San Diego-based Senior Resource Group, LLC, was named “Best of the West” at the conference.
Allard-Jansen Associates Architecture in Solana Beach has been recognized with a Lily Award for outstanding architectural design by the Rancho Santa Fe Association.
The firm earned the award for its work on the historic Christancy House in Rancho Santa Fe, updating the home, while preserving its character.
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Big Buys:
Torrey Hills Marketplace, LLC has purchased Torrey Hills Center, a new 86,582-square-foot retail shopping center on Carmel Mountain Road, for $36.7 million.
The property was sold by John Tworoger and Sam Hall of Sorrento Hills Marketplace, LP.
Gary Levitt is president of Sea Breeze Properties, managing member of Torrey Hills Marketplace; Bill Sharon is principal in charge for Smith Consulting Architects, and Mark Bolen is serving as senior project architect; Lusardi Construction Co. is the general contractor on the project, due for completion in August.
The Lofts at 777 Sixth Ave., in the heart of the Gaslamp Quarter, has sold for $35.2 million to a joint venture between Del Mar Pacific Group LLC and Loma Corp.
The property consists of 103 platform lofts and flats, in addition to 7,180 square feet of ground floor retail space leased to LG’s Prime Steakhouse.
The seller of the property was OliverMcMillan of San Diego. CB Richard Ellis’ San Diego central office represented the seller and buyer.
Send residential and commercial real estate news to pbroderick@sdbj.com or via fax at (858) 571-3628.
