As the Orange County office market improves, there’s an emerging shortage of large blocks of space (150k SF to 200k SF spaces in a freestanding HQ building or a campus environment), JLL SVP George Thomson (left, with his boys and dad) tells us. There are tremendous benefits for large firms to consolidate into modern Class-A buildings with large, efficient floorplates, George says, but it’s quickly becoming "build-to-suit only" opportunities for companies looking for that much space. Large firms in Orange County that, either through organic growth or business unit acquisitions, are splintered in various buildings, are now seeing that the high cost of new construction today outweighs a significant amount of the cost benefits of consolidating.

Large spaces users are scrambling for those few large spaces. Recently St. Joseph Heritage Healthcare inked a deal with the PRES Cos for 191k SF lease with for the entire eight-story office building located at 200 Center St in Anaheim, the largest office lease deal in OC so far this year. St. Joseph Heritage Healthcare will occupy the building for its administration services, with move-in planned for next summer. George and his colleagues James Estrada repped PRES in the lease.