VOIT DEVELOPMENT CO.'S NEW CENTER A HIT WITH TENANTS.

Byline: GREGORY J. WILCOX

It looks like Voit Development Co. scored big with its Burbank Airport Commerce Center.

The Woodland Hills-based company started work on the $44 million, 480,000-square-foot project two years ago and now the first phase is sold out and construction is under way on the second of three phases.

Tim Regan, Voit's vice president, said that it should be finished by year's end.

This is a bet that's paying off because the San Fernando Valley area's industrial real estate market is close to capacity.

``None of it was preleased when we broke ground, but we had interest,'' Regan said.

That's not quite the case now.

``We just tilted the walls ... and there are four of them in escrow and three deals are out for signature,'' he said of the second-phase buildings.

Located next to what is now Bob Hope Airport on the southwest corner of San Fernando Road and Lockheed Drive in Sun Valley, the project is a mix of free-standing buildings and condo units.

--Phase I had five buildings on their own lots and one six-unit condo. The last building was sold in November.

--Phase II features one free-standing building and 10 condo units in two buildings.

--Phase III will likely be two free-standing buildings with one built to a tenant's specifications.

The tenants are a mix of light industrial concerns, including lighting companies, prop houses serving the entertainment industry and a furniture manufacturer.

Nigel Stout, vice president of Grubb & Ellis Co.'s north Los Angeles office, said that a project like Voit's is attractive because it gives companies the option of staying on the Valley floor.

In most cases, the options are the coastal plain in the Oxnard area or the Santa Clarita Valley.

``It gives the small business owner the opportunity to purchase a state- of-the-art building,'' he said.

Both Regan and Stout agree that these kinds of projects are rare because land is scarce. And there is a lot of pressure to convert industrial land to retail, commercial and residential uses.

The industrial development that does occur probably will be infill projects like this one, a concept that is proving successful in the residential market.

``That's the frustration we have. There is no more land that I'm aware of. There might be small pieces here and there and we're trying to seek them out,'' Regan said.

Notes:

--Walnut-based Shea Homes last week partnered with state Education Secretary Richard J. Riordan to promote an educational program urging parents to read with their child 15 minutes a day. It focuses on preschool kids ages 2 to 6 years old.

The company's Web site, www.sheahomes.com, features links to favorite children's books and the benefits of reading.

``It can make all the difference in a young person's ultimate success in life,'' Riordan, the former Los Angeles mayor, said in a statement.

--Commercial real estate veteran Gary Cohen is the new senior vice president and managing director at Grubb & Ellis North Los Angeles office.

Cohen last worked for Arden Realty Inc. as a portfolio leasing manager responsible for 34 office properties in markets ranging from Calabasas to Ventura.

He's also been an industrial broker in the Glendale office of CB Richard Ellis. Cohen has a bachelor's degree in business economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an MBA from the University of Southern California. He lives in Thousand Oaks.

Gregory J. Wilcox, [phone]

greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com