Rehashing what we already have said time and time again, the Wall Street Journal Online reports that the OC is growing up and not out.
...The change is particularly evident in the hubs of Anaheim, Irvine and Santa Ana, where developers -- facing a shrinking supply of available land and rising costs -- are looking upward to maximize profit. Santa Ana alone has approved four residential towers 18 stories or higher in the last 18 months as well as a 37-story office building, said Steve Harding, deputy city manager for development services. "This is a new product type for Orange County," said Mr. Harding, noting that the city's tallest office building is 16 stories high, while residential buildings are lower. "We're out of land."
The shortage of land, continuing in-migration (+1.3% for the year ended in September), and an increase in the price of office property values has pushed developers to look skyward in order to squeeze every last dollar out of Orange County's remaining developable land. But we're ok with that. We like pretty skyscrapers.
(Image via One Broadway Plaza- Santa Ana Web Site)
· Wall Street Journal on OC Development Activity [C. Frederick Wehba II Blog]
· Orange County Builds Upward to Move Forward [Wall Street Journal Online]