A 74,943-square-foot industrial building in Vista retrofitted for life science uses has sold for $22 million, or $294 per square foot.
The Class B building, located on a 4.13-acre lot at 2065 Thibodo Road, was purchased through a joint venture by the firms Lincoln Property Company and Angelo Gordon in 2021 for $18.5 million, according to property records.
The industrial building has 28-foot ceilings, 8,000 amps of power, a fenced parking lot with 149 parking spots, five grade-level doors and room for a dock loading well in the future, according to marketing materials from JLL.
Property records indicate the building was originally constructed in 2008 and underwent renovations in 2022. JLL arranged $27.4 million in financing for the purchase and renovation at that time, according to a press release.
According to a brochure from JLL, that renovation included a new outdoor employee amenity area, fence work, new paint, asphalt improvements in the parking lot, new landscaping, a larger break room and larger windows in the second-story office area. Further improvements converted the traditional R&D and manufacturing space into manufacturing space that meets Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) for life science users.
The building is located near Interstate 5, Interstate 15 and State Route 78, offering easy access to Orange County, Oceanside, Encinitas, Del Mar, University City, Mission Valley and Downtown San Diego.
San Diego International Airport and the Port of San Diego are both less than an hour drive from the warehouse. McClellan-Palomar Airport, a commercial and general aviation airport owned by the City of San Diego, is a short drive away. The Buena Creek transit station is within walking distance of the property.
According to a third-quarter industry report from Colliers, the sale of the North County property is a positive sign amid a San Diego industrial market still experiencing a prolonged downturn.
Since the start of 2023, the market has recorded a total of 3.74 million square feet of negative net absorption. This situation has been exacerbated by approximately 5.37 million square feet of new construction, leading to a significant increase in the vacancy rate from 2.79 percent at the end of 2022 to 7.42 percent currently. Notably, over fifty-four percent of the new construction occurred in Otay Mesa, with an additional twenty-six percent dedicated to life science and wet lab facilities in Central County.
Despite the ongoing negative demand, there are signs that this trend may stabilize. Although vacancy rates are expected to rise due to the influx of new construction in the coming quarters, there is potential for demand to improve by early next year. The countywide combined vacancy rate remains at 7.42 percent, with specific types of industrial buildings, such as manufacturing and distribution/warehouse, showing lower vacancy rates. In contrast, the flex segment, particularly life science buildings, has seen higher vacancy levels, pushing the overall vacancy rate upward.
