COMMERCIAL VACANCY RATES DIPPED IN COUNTY.Byline: Christopher Noxon Daily News Staff Writer In another sign that the local economy is steadily improving, commercial real estate brokers said Thursday that vacancies fell last year in Ventura County offices, industrial parks and shopping malls. Brokers with CB Commercial Real Estate Group told a breakfast meeting that vacancy rates for commercial space continued to drop last year after hitting record highs in the early '90s. At the end of 1996, vacancy rates were recorded at 13.2 percent for office buildings, 8.9 percent for industrial real estate and 6.1 percent for retail space. The availability of commercial space dropped only slightly, falling no more than 2 percentage points over last year in any segment of the market. But the completion of high-profile projects like The Promenade promenade Public place where people walk (or, in the past, rode) at leisure for pleasure, exercise, or display. Promenades are pedestrian avenues pleasingly landscaped or commanding a view, often located along waterfronts and in parks. Vehicular traffic may or may not be restricted. at Westlake and vigorous commercial development in the Conejo Valley The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both Southeastern Ventura County and Northwest Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States. It was discovered in 1542 by Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, and eventually became part of the Rancho El Conejo land grant by indicates that the market is healthy and growing, said Paul Farry, a specialist in industrial real estate for CB Commercial. ``Anything that's built in the Conejo Valley is getting rented,'' he said. ``Rents are rising considerably. That's a good sign for the whole county.'' The increased demand for commercial real estate signals that the local economy is slowly picking up after the doldrums doldrums (dŏl`drəmz) or equatorial belt of calms, area around the earth centered slightly north of the equator between the two belts of trade winds. of the early 1990s, said Mark Schniep, director of the Economic Forecasting economic forecasting Prediction of future economic activity and developments. Economic forecasts, which range from a few weeks to many years, are widely used in business and government to help formulate policy and strategy. Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara History The predecessor to UCSB, Santa Barbara State College, focused on teacher training, industrial arts, home economics, and foreign languages. Intense lobbying by an interest group in the City of Santa Barbara led by Thomas Storke and Pearl Chase persuaded the State . ``Commercial real estate indicators and vacancy rates are good indicators of momentum,'' Schniep said. ``We normally see the consequence of a tight real estate market as more investment which leads to more income and more jobs.'' The slight fall in vacancies does not signal the kind of sudden surge in the market that occurred three years ago, however. Schniep and his team have tracked the county's economy since 1993, and he said the current growth is not overheated o·ver·heat v. o·ver·heat·ed, o·ver·heat·ing, o·ver·heats v.tr. 1. To heat too much. 2. To cause to become excited, agitated, or overstimulated. v.intr. or unsustainable. ``We accelerated very quickly out of the starting blocks start·ing block n. 1. Sports a. An apparatus that braces a runner's feet at the start of a race, consisting of two angled supports adjustably mounted on a rigid frame that is usually anchored to the track. b. in 1994,'' he said. ``We've slowed down a little since then. Now we're just a little better than slow.'' Office space vacancies continued their slow decline. Led by strong occupancy in east Ventura County, the vacancy rate for offices dropped from 14.2 percent in the third quarter of last year to 13.2 percent by the end of the year. The availability of office space, along with rising rents, varies significantly from one end of the county to the other, said Farry. Less space is available for more money in the east county, with the dividing line Noun 1. dividing line - a conceptual separation or distinction; "there is a narrow line between sanity and insanity" demarcation, contrast, line differentiation, distinction - a discrimination between things as different and distinct; "it is necessary to at the Conejo Grade, he said. ``That hill is an incredible barrier,'' he said. ``It's the dividing line between two very distinct markets.'' The same is true for industrial real estate, with vacancies higher outside the west county and the Oxnard Plain The Oxnard Plain is a large coastal plain in southwest Ventura County, California bounded by the Santa Monica Mountains, the Santa Susana Mountains, and Oak Ridge (beyond which lies the Conejo Valley) to the east, the Topatopa Mountains to the north, the Santa Clara River Valley . Availability for industrial space in the west county stood at 6.5 percent at the end of the year, while it was recorded at 12.3 percent in the eastern county. |
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