In one of the biggest real estate deals as of late in the greater San Fernando Valley area, Valencia-based Advanced Bionics leased a five-story 144,000 square foot building in the city of Santa Clarita. The medical device company is consolidating its corporate headquarters in Valencia and its manufacturing headquarters in Sylmar. Upwards of 500 employees, 350 in Sylmar and 150 in Valencia will move to the new facility located at 28515 Westinghouse Place in Santa Clarita. “The new building will bring both headquarters under one roof,” said Jeffrey H. Greiner, CEO of Advanced Bionics. “We’re excited about consolidating our talented and specialized staff.” Doug Marlow and David Solomon of CB Richard Ellis represented the landlord, and Craig Peters of CB Richard Ellis represented Advanced Bionics. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed by press time. “The deal is significant not only because of the size of the building but because it’s net new absorption in the Los Angeles area,” said Doug Marlow. “It’s also a testimonial to the strength of the biotech industry and the Valencia market.” In the first quarter 2009, Santa Clarita Valley’s industrial real estate market experienced positive net absorption of 54,000 square feet, the only Valley-area market to do so. The area’s office vacancy rate was 27.9 percent and industrial vacancy rate was 2.9 percent, according to Colliers International. The City of Santa Clarita kicked-in $10,000 worth of permit fees and waived the cost of expedited permit fees to facilitate the deal, according to Andree Walper of the Economic Development Division of the city. “It’s part of our 21-point plan to stimulate business in Santa Clarita and bring high paying jobs to the city,” said Walper. Advanced Bionics now has more than 700 employees worldwide and offices in California, France and Japan. The City of Santa Clarita’s designation as an Enterprise Zone allows it to provide certain incentives to businesses wanting to relocate to the area. The Santa Clarita Valley is also home to medical device makers, Neotech and Mannkind Corp, and a host of other technology companies.
