Santa Ana Warehouse Bought by Maryland Firm

A warehouse in Santa Ana has a new owner looking to make inroads into the Southern California market.

WareSpace closed the purchase of a 122,000-square-foot warehouse at 2601 South Garnsey Street, the Orange County Business Journal reported. Cerritos-based McDonald Packaging sold the building for $31.8 million, or $260 per square foot, according to CoStar records cited by the Business Journal. CBRE’s Chip Wright and Ross Fippinger brokered the deal.

The structure was reported to be empty at the time of the sale. The purchase marks WareSpace’s first venture in California; the Columbia, Maryland-based warehouse provider has 13 locations nationwide with 10 more in the works.

WareSpace plans to renovate the 45-year-old Santa Ana warehouse and look to bring in smaller local businesses as tenants. The new owner expects about 110 small businesses to move into the facility. Spaces will range between 200 and 2,000 square feet with leases ranging from six to 12 months secured with “one simple monthly payment instead of complex triple-net leases,” the company said.

“Unlike traditional industrial buildings that cater to large tenants, these are right-sized warehouses for Orange County entrepreneurs and small business — offering features typically reserved for larger facilities: loading docks, drive-in access, climate control and shared conference rooms,” WareSpace said, according to the Business Journal. The firm is “solving the warehouse space problem for small businesses who need professional infrastructure without the complexity of traditional industrial leases,” CEO Levi Cohen said in a statement.

The revamped WareSpace property is expected to open this fall.

WareSpace structures typically include a mix of shared amenities, conference rooms and lounge areas. City of Industry-based Cubework has a similar coworking-esque setup in its industrial properties, which include Orange County locations in Irvine and Buena Park.

Last month, another industrial building in Santa Ana changed hands in an eight-figure transaction. A Hines affiliate sold the 82,241-square-foot facility at 3130 South Fairview Street to Robinson Pharma for approximately $40.7 million, or about $495 per square foot. — Chris Malone Méndez