The Laguna Hills Urban Village Specific Plan sounds like great summer beach reading. But there's one building that won't wait to take advantage: Saddleback Financial Center.

Stream Realty’s Mike Adams tells us that the plan calls for designs evoking a downtown feel, which will help bring capital and residents back into the city. Saddleback, a 73k SF building (62% leased), is next to the I-5 Freeway and El Toro Rd and adjacent to Laguna Hills Mall. It includes medical and standard office space. (Can't any office be medical if you stub your toe in it?) Mike tells us the Urban Village Specific Plan is designed to increase density and consumer activity.

The area around the building is one of the few left in South Orange County that hasn’t been redeveloped, Mike says, and investors see opportunity. "Basically, the area needs a facelift, and it’s finally happening,” he says. Recently, Stream was tasked to manage and lease Saddleback Financial Center.

SALES

Bixby Land Co acquired Lake Park Business Center in Santa Clara, Calif. Divco West sold the seven-building, 405k SF office property for an undisclosed price. Irvine-based Bixby plans to invest $20M to reposition it into a contemporary workplace, similar to several other Silicon Valley office campus projects by Bixby in the past two years.

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Fried Asset Management sold MacArthur Plaza at 2 Hutton Centre in Santa Ana to a private investor for almost $11M. The 13k SF retail strip center, built in 2001, is 100% occupied. CBRE SVP Philip Voorhees, along with colleague Jimmy Slusher, repped the seller.

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Ladera Ranch-based Strategic Storage Trust Inc. (SSTI) acquired a 480-unit facility on West Chandler Blvd in Chandler, Ariz., for about $4.9M. The 51k SF facility will be rebranded under the SmartStop Self Storage trade name. SSTI CEO Michael Schwartz calls the area a "growth market with excellent demographics.” The three-acre property includes six single-story self-storage buildings and a single-story retail office with a manager’s apartment, and is 97% occupied.

LEASING

Speech Pathology Associates, a speech therapy specialist in Orange County, inked a lease renewal and extension for 6,900 SF of office space at the Centerstone Plaza at 4010 Barranca Pkwy in Irvine. The Saywitz Co handled the negotiations in the deal, which will involve a reconfiguration and upgrade to company’s existing space.

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Foothill Ranch-based Stirling Capital Investments’ Southern California Logistics Centre, a 2,500-acre industrial complex in Victorville, leased 7,300 SF to Solar City Corp, and expanded an existing Pacific Aviation Group lease to 119k SF. Southern California Aviation inked a 55k SF renewal. Also, Stirling Capital started buildout of office space in its two remaining vacant facilities at Southern California Logistics Centre to meet demand for space in the High Desert market.

EXECS IN MOTION

Faris Lee Investments named John Redfield as director. Previously John was a senior financial analyst with the company, and over the course of his career has been involved in over $315M in commercial real estate transactions.