MOORPARK SEES BOOM IN COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE.

Byline: Paul O'Donoghue Daily News Staff Writer

Boom! That's the word these days about Moorpark's commercial real estate market.

In his 11 years working in the area, industrial and commercial real estate broker Mike Tingus said he has never seen it so good.

``Its time has come,'' said Tingus, an executive with the Encino-based Seeley Company.

An indication of the market's robust state is the latest commercial development springing up on Condor Drive near the Los Angeles Avenue on-ramp to the Ronald Reagan Freeway.

Tingus brokered the deal between the landowner and the developer for the project, which will have two buildings - an 18,000-square-foot structure being built on spec, and a 41,000-square-foot structure that will be leased by Aquaria Inc., one of the nation's largest manufacturers of aquariums, which is also setting up an adjacent plant.

Construction began on the 3.5-acre lot about a month ago, and the project is one of several in the area brokered by Tingus' company, which is part of Colliers International, one of the area's biggest commercial and industrial real estate brokers.

And like the rest of the eastern part of the county, several factors are fueling the Moorpark boom, where the vacancy rate for industrial and commercial property is below 5 percent, which is lower than last year's rate of 6.5 percent.

``There are a lot of companies expanding, and a lot of them have migrated from the West San Fernando Valley,'' says Tingus, who is also chairman of the Calabasas Planning Commission.

Among reasons for the moves are desires by many companies - especially those in the computer, Internet and biotechnology businesses - to move into newer buildings. Companies are also attracted to the area's housing, good schools and proximity to skilled workers, real estate experts say.

``The word has gotten out about this end of Ventura County,'' said real estate agent Pat Evans, president of the 900-member Conejo Valley Association of Realtors, who sees a similar boom in the housing market.

She said there is practically no rental housing available and that while people are not selling their homes in the area, people continue to want to move here, creating an ever-tighter market.

``People are tired of having to live with problems with schools, smog, weather and crime (elsewhere),'' she said.

For businesses, Tingus said Moorpark has lower sales tax than cities in neighboring Los Angeles County and lower lease rates than other parts of Ventura County.

Lease rates in Moorpark are about about 55 cents per square foot - compared to 50 cents in 1998 - and compared to rates as high as 72 cents in other parts of Ventura County.

But there has been a downside to the boom - some companies leave Moorpark because they can't find suitable buildings to expand into, says Tingus.

Sometimes Moorpark and neighboring Simi Valley end up seeing companies cross back and forth, as they seek buildings to house their firms.

As an example, Tingus cited Computer Parts Unlimited, which has moved out of a 40,000-square-foot facility in Moorpark to a 104,000-square-foot building in Simi Valley.

``There's a spillover effect,'' he said. ``There was nothing available for them there.''

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO (Color) An artist's rendering shows a commercial development, now a month into construction, on a 3.5-acre lot on Condor Drive in Moorpark.