Lowe Commercial Development Acquires Site in San Diego

SAN DIEGO — Lowe Commercial Development Co., a joint venture between Lowe Enterprises and Teachers Insurance Annuity Association, has acquired a 10-acre site from NCR Corp. in the Rancho Bernardo area.

Located adjacent to Interstate 15 corridor, the parcel is near NCR's 450,000-sq.-ft.campus for its Teradata division.

"This is an exceptional area with limited land available for development, that has proven to be attractive to major corporate users, such as Sony and Hewlett Packard," said Mike McNerney, senior vice president of Lowe Enterprises. "We are analyzing different development options and will pursue entitlements for a commercial facility that is compatible with the area. One option may be a build-to-suit for a single user."
In recent years Lowe Enterprises has completed build-to-suit facilities for corporations such as Verizon, Fluor, Sony and Specialty Laboratories.

The site is located atop a mesa with expansive views of the surrounding foothills. Rancho Bernardo has one of the lowest vacancy rates along the I-15 corridor and no new construction currently under way.

"The development model for LCDC is to pursue office and industrial projects in growing urban and suburban locations," said Phil Peters, managing director of LCDC, who leads the national Lowe-Teachers development program. "The opportunity to develop this site is a perfect fit as land is scarce, the market appears to be improving and there is strong tenant interest."

In recent years LCDC has developed a significant urban infill project in the Capitol Hill area of Washington and has completed the first phase of a Phoenix-area office campus. Also under way is a four building, 540,000-sq.-ft. warehouse and distribution campus in the Denver area.

Lowe Enterprises will begin construction this summer on Ocean Ridge, a 75,000-sq.-ft. Class A office development in Carlsbad. The 4-acre parcel is the last bluff-top office site in Carlsbad Ranch. Lowe's hotel development arm, Destination Development Group, is completing construction of the Estancia Hotel and Conference Center in La Jolla that will open this summer.

" We continue to be very involved in the market and are pursuing additional acquisitions and developments in the region," McNerney said.
LCDC was five years ago to undertake new commercial development in niche markets.

TIAA is part of TIAA-CREF, a leading financial services organization and the premier pension system for education and research employees.

Los Angeles-based Lowe Enterprises is a leading national real estate development, investment and management firm. Over the past 32 years, it developed, acquired or managed more than $6 billion of real estate assets nationwide. The firm currently manages in excess of $2.2 billion in real estate assets on behalf of pension-fund clients. In addition to its Los Angeles headquarters, Lowe Enterprises maintains offices in Atlanta, Denver, Irvine, Phoenix, San Francisco, Sacramento and Washington.