Drawbridge Realty has attracted its first tenant to an 80,720-square-foot office building under construction on spec in Rancho Bernardo.
ASML, a semiconductor manufacturer based in the Netherlands, has signed a long-term lease for 55,227 square feet of Via Del Campo Court II at 16707 Via del Campo, taking the top two floors of the three-story building – the first new office building construction on spec in Rancho Bernardo in more than a decade, according to Drawbridge.
Managing Director and Senior Vice President
Drawbridge Realty
The 25,493-square-foot first floor is still available for lease, but Mike Embree, managing director and senior vice president of Drawbridge Realty, said that it may be used for future expansion of ASML.
The building was attractive to ASML because it’s a short walk from the company’s San Diego headquarters in Rancho Bernardo at 17075 Thornmint Court, Embree said.
“There’s a walking trail where they’ll be able to walk from their existing building,” he said. “It definitely was one of the selling points for them to be able to go from one building to another as they interact.”
The top floor includes a private patio and there are 132 parking spaces.
Construction of the new building is scheduled for completion by the end of October, “if everything goes well,” Embree said. “We still are struggling with some supply issues, namely electric transformer issues with SDG&E. The building itself, shell and interiors, are about 99% complete at this junction.”
Designed by HED Architects with BNBuilders as the general contractor, the building has 27,000-square-foot floorplates with 15-foot-high ceilings.
“As you look at the building, it’s not just a concrete tilt-up building. It’s got a lot of nice architectural features,” Embree said. “It’s got some interesting windows with LED lighting around some of the large windows that will light up at night.”
Taking a risk
The ASML lease comes at a time when demand for office space has declined as many companies downsize, adopting hybrid work schedules in which employees work remotely for part of the week.
“We’re finding throughout our portfolio that certain industries continue to need real estate,” Embree said, such as those working on research projects with a need for tight security.
“Those needs are still pretty prevalent in the marketplace,” he said.
In addition to signing a lease with ASML, Drawbridge in January extended Broadcom’s lease of 90,000 square feet at Discovery Corporate Center, 16340 West Bernardo Drive.
The firm also attracted high-tech companies to some of its other California property, signing a lease in June 2023 with NXP Semiconductors of the Netherlands for 40,000 square feet in San Jose and with Osemi, a semiconductor supply company, for 95,500 square feet in San Jose.
Even so, Embree said that Drawbridge was taking a risk in building a new office project with no tenants lined up in advance.
“We had the land entitled and permitted to build and our existing portfolio in San Diego remains 100% leased. We had backfilled some buildings and we had the opportunity to move forward and take the risk,” Embree said. “We’re very excited about the fact that we were able to lease two of three floors before the building is complete.”
Based in San Francisco, Drawbridge Realty’s other San Diego holdings include Discovery Corporate Center in Rancho Bernardo, Pacific View Corporate Center in Carlsbad, and Spectrum Corporate Center in Kearny Mesa, according to its website.
Drawbridge Reality
Founded: 1999
Headquarters: San Francisco
Chairman and CEO: Mark Whiting
Business: Real estate investment and development
Employees: 14
Website: www.drawbridgerealty.com
Contact: 415-391-8300
Notable: Drawbridge targets commercial property investments in growth markets across the U.S. Its portfolio primarily consists of office properties leased long-term to large corporations with an emphasis on strategically important locations
