The Conejo Valley office market built on a successful first quarter to have one of its best quarters since 2010. Vacancy rates in the area dropped a little more than a point to 18.5 percent, according to data from Colliers International. But unlike the first quarter, which featured a few major leases, the second quarter movement was a collection of smaller deals. The region saw 67,400 square feet of space come off the market, more than double the first quarter. Only the West San Fernando Valley had more absorption in the Business Journal’s coverage area. The highlight of the first quarter was the 43,000-square-foot lease signed by American Homes 4 Rent Inc. to move its headquarters from Malibu to Agoura Hills, and an additional 18,000 square feet taken by Nationwide Medical Inc. to its space in Agoura Hills. Those two deals alone accounted for about half of the first-quarter movement. Arty Maharajh, vice president of research at the Los Angeles office of Cassidy Turley Inc. of St. Louis, said the second quarter absorption was a positive step for the area. “The story for the Conejo Valley is pretty compelling,” he said. “This could potentially keep up speed for the remainder of the year and into next year.” It doesn’t hurt that landlords in the Conejo Valley are willing to deal. Despite the rising demand, average asking lease rates remained flat at $2.10 per square foot, still lower than any submarket in the San Fernando or Santa Clarita valleys. But Lee Black, executive managing director at Cassidy Turley in Los Angeles, said complete correction to a healthier vacancy rate of 12 to 13 percent is still a few years away. “We still have a ways to go, but the area is doing well,” he said. Black brokered one of the bigger lease deals of the quarter, Equinox Fitness of New York leasing 36,392 square feet at Lakeview Corporate Center at 112 S. Lakeview Canyon Road in Westlake Village. The lease is for 20 years at the 259,539-square-foot building, which was just 56 percent leased before the deal. On the sales side, office parks saw some movement. In May, Miami real estate investment firm LNR Property Corp. sold the 74,880-square-foot Promenade Office Park at 4165 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. in Westlake Village to Selvin Commercial Properties for $10.5 million. Selvin has deep roots in the region, and purchased and redeveloped the Palm Garden Hotel in Thousand Oaks last year. In one of the larger deals in the quarter, Los Angeles firm ICO Investment Group Inc. bought the Canwood Corporate Center in Agoura Hills for $12.4 million from Laguna Hills investment group Muller Co. The two-building property is 85 percent leased to tenants including Countrywide Entertainment Group and National Veterinary Associates Inc. The industrial market – dominated by flex space that has at least 30 percent office – showed minor improvement to 2.9 percent vacancy from 3.5 percent in the first quarter. In the second quarter, only 72,000 square feet of industrial space came off the market, far less than in the Santa Clarita, Antelope or San Fernando Valleys. The lack of available space has kept prices up at 76 cents a square foot, almost double the Santa Clarita market and the highest in the greater Valley area. And prices still may rise. “What you’re going to see is that for good quality industrial buildings that aren’t flex, values will start to go up because there isn’t a lot of product,” said Patrick DuRoss, associate vice president at Colliers’ Encino office. – Elliot Golan Main Events – Miami real estate investment firm LNR Property Corp. sold the 74,880-square-foot Promenade Office Park at 4165 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. in Westlake Village to Selvin Commercial Properties in May for $10.5 million. – Equinox Fitness leased 36,392 square feet at Lakeview Corporate Center, 112 S. Lakeview Canyon Road, in Westlake Village. The company, which has area gyms in Woodland Hills and Encino, inked a 20-year deal. Before the deal, the 259,539-square-foot building was just 56 percent leased. – In one of the larger office sales, Canwood Corporate Center was acquired by Los Angeles firm ICO Investment Group Inc. for $12.4 million from Laguna Hills investment group Muller Co. The two-building property is 85 percent leased to tenants including Countrywide Entertainment Group and National Veterinary Associates Inc. – New media investment group TownsgateMedia acquired four office condos in Vantage at Westlake from Westcord Commercial Real Estate Services for $2 million. Most of the building’s 24 tenants are lessees, and the acquisition makes Townsgate the largest occupant of the building.
