As the economy enters into full recovery, droves of small businesses are now entering the market for flex space in Orange County, Guthrie Development CEO Rob Guthrie tells us. He predicts a rush of small users that'll add up to large sales and leasing volume.

Recently Guthrie sold two units in Foothill Business Park, with three others in escrow, within months of taking the renovated units to market. There's an increasing number of small business owners, he says, who need space now and don’t want to wait for new construction. Rob’s snapped at the 2013 Catalina Island Gran Fondo, a 41-mile road mountain bike race, in which he finished fourth overall. Ten days later, he broke his neck on a training ride that entailed an emergency rescue and four days at Hoag. He’s fully recovered and recently started racing again--this weekend he'll racing in 12 Hours of Temecula.

Foothill Business Park is a 59k SF industrial property located at 26429 and 26439 Rancho Parkway in Lake Forest. The property is designed to accommodate small business owners; it has 25 separate units ranging in size from 1,500 SF to 3,200 SF, with the opportunity to combine units to accommodate 8,200 SF. Guthrie acquired the property in late 2013 from Panattoni Development, and has spent $1M to provide interior enhancements as well as process the entitlements to sell each unit individually. The space, Rob says, can accommodate a wide range of uses, including retail, office, R&D, and industrial.