A local health care clinic that recently opened in a nonmedical office complex is just one sign that developers are taking it upon themselves to come up with workspace amenities geared to the mental and physical health of tenants.
That was among the takeaways from a recent symposium presented in Carmel Valley by the local chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), with the theme “Listen to the Locals.” Increasingly, the locals are complaining about recurring neck and back pain — probably not helped by sitting hunched over desks or computers at the office — and don’t always have time to see a doctor about their aches, or simply get a flu shot.
They’ve got clinics at shopping centers these days, so why not at the office? Anil Keswani, a doctor who is also corporate vice president of ambulatory care for La Jolla-based Scripps Health, told the IREM audience that the HealthExpress clinic set up in conjunction with Irvine Co. at its Plaza office complex in University Towne Center is likely going to be replicated elsewhere. It’s a natural extension of trends that are already seeing consumers use virtual technologies and convenience-oriented venues that keep them out of actual hospitals and doctors’ offices for many of their interactions with medical pros.
Dennis Cruzan, a longtime Del Mar-based investor and developer, said he has been working on overhauling his own holdings, including DiamondView Tower in East Village and more recently the Make office project in Carlsbad, to meet demands from tenants for a better quality of work life, which includes fresh air and sunshine along with gyms and fitness centers. Technology increasingly allows the inside to be brought outside — and vice versa — and owners of older properties will need to take that often expensive leap more often if the region is to compete effectively with places like Los Angeles, Silicon Valley and San Francisco for big corporate tenants.
The quest to update workplaces with modern amenities is among factors driving rising local demand for construction services, said James Roherty, president of locally based general contractors Pacific
Building Group. One downside, especially in Southern California and other West Coast markets, is that construction companies are struggling to staff up projects with qualified subcontractors, which sometimes impacts completion timetables.
In terms of employment, the industry still has not fully recovered from the days of the Great Recession, when many construction professionals left the business because work could not be found, meaning qualified current workers are spread thinner in a climate of rising demand.
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Retailers Get New North County Homes: Maiden Lane Properties LLC, doing business as Fashionphile, recently acquired a Carlsbad flex office-industrial building at 6359 Paseo del Lago, which it plans to occupy in January, CoStar Group reported. Ronald King and Bob Willingham of Kidder Mathews represented the seller, Graymark Capital, and Shane Poppen of Hughes Marino represented the buyer in the $5 million deal for the 31,000-square-foot property.
According to its website, Fashionphile sells pre-owned vintage, rare and limited-edition luxury handbags through boutiques and an online marketplace.
In Escondido, Sewingmachinesplus.com Inc., an online seller of sewing, embroidery and quilting machines, recently signed a five-year lease for a 7,517-square-foot industrial space at 1040 S. Andreasen Drive. Charles Adolphe of Lee & Associates represented the tenant, and Justin Beattie of Palomar Commercial represented the landlord in the deal, valued at $336,240.
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Beer Trend’s Reach Keeps Growing: In business operating terms, San Diego’s craft beer growth is gradually finding its way into neighborhoods well outside of the key production and tasting hubs such as Miramar and North Park. The Bay Park enclave near Mission Bay recently saw the opening of Poseidon Project, a new bottle shop at 4124 Napier St.
The 1,800-square-foot venue is described by local owners Nate Ladendorf and Justin Lopez as “a retail store, taproom and cultural center” for craft beer aficionados, with more than 300 global beers and plans for events including book signings, brewmaster visits and beer-oriented classes.
In Carlsbad, Two Rippers LLC, doing business as Board & Brew Sandwiches, recently signed a five-year lease for a 1,968-square-foot space at 2681 Gateway Road in the Bressi Village neighborhood, where it is expanding an existing venue. Stewart Keith and Bill Thaxton of Flocke & Avoyer Commercial Real Estate represented the landlord, Regency Bressi LLC, in the $514,000 deal, with Jason Kutasi of Cheviot Capital Management representing the tenant.
Board & Brew’s website notes that the company was started in Del Mar in 1979 by Tom Powers and currently has nine locations in San Diego and Orange counties.
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One Closing and More Eatery
Openings: For all of the new local restaurants that seem to be bursting onto the scene these days, there are likely just as many that quietly close up shop with little fanfare. One example is the recent exit of Kitchen 4140, owner and Executive Chef Kurt Metzger’s farm-to-table restaurant that operated for the past five years at 4140 Morena Blvd. in San Diego’s Bay Ho neighborhood.
Operators said Metzger is scouting sites, including some nearer to the downtown area, for a new restaurant set to open in 2016 but whose name and concept have not been announced.
Elsewhere, the openings continue. Locally based The Omelette Factory recently signed a five-year, $399,077 lease for a new 4,176-square-foot restaurant in a new Santee retail center known as Santee Station. The center is slated to be completed in April and the restaurant is expected to open in June at 8866 North Magnolia Ave., according to broker Kyle Clark of The Heritage Group, who represented the restaurant and the property owner, Santee Station LLC.
Another local restaurant mainstay, Pita’s Mediterranean Grill, recently signed a five-year lease for a 1,142-square-foot space at 133 N. Twin Oaks Valley Road, in San Marcos Civic Center Plaza. Flocke & Avoyer’s Thaxton represented the landlord, Civic Center Retail LLC, and the tenant represented itself.
Send commercial real estate and development news of general local interest to Lou Hirsh via email at lhirsh@sdbj.com. He can be reached at 858-277-8904.
