SAN DIEGO – H.G. Fenton Company announces that it will begin construction on a major expansion of Carlsbad Corporate Center that will add more than 105,000 square feet of industrial and office space in four new buildings.  When complete, Carlsbad Corporate Center will total 255,000 square feet, offering a variety of space options to meet the needs of both small and mid-sized users.

“We chose this project for its outstanding location in what continues to be a very desirable North County industrial market,” said Kevin Hill, vice president of leasing with H.G. Fenton Company.  “There is a diminishing supply of this product type in Carlsbad, and very little construction planned to compete in the near term.  This project allows us to meet the needs of businesses who want to relocate to or expand within the North County area.”

Carlsbad Corporate Center was built in 2001 near the intersection of El Camino Real and Faraday Avenue.  The project, acquired by H.G. Fenton Company in October of 2003 for $15.3 million, comprises two industrial buildings totaling 150,173 square feet on a 9.44 acre site, as well as an adjoining finished parcel of 8.27 net acres.

“This was a well-maintained and superbly located property that offered the potential to expand to meet the needs of companies looking for floor plates from as small as 1,500 square feet to as much as 45,000 square feet,” Hill said.  “San Diego, and especially North County, is recognized for being an entrepreneurial center for start-up companies.  Our portfolio has been carefully structured to give all of our existing and new tenants flexibility, as well as the ability to relocate to other H.G. Fenton Company projects as their business requirements change.”

Currently, H .G. Fenton Company owns and manages an industrial portfolio totaling over 3 million square feet of space, 523,000 square feet of which is located in five projects in Carlsbad.  Additionally, the company recently acquired a 53-acre parcel in Carlsbad – the largest remaining piece of employment land located west of El Camino Real.  H.G. Fenton Company plans to co-develop the property with Newport National Corporation into a 400,000-square-foot office and R&D business community.

In Carlsbad Corporate Center, the three new multi-tenant industrial buildings and two-story office building will break ground early in fall 2004, with completion anticipated in the third quarter of 2005.  The new buildings join an existing 73,480-square-foot facility that has been completely leased to K2 Sports in a five-year, $2.68 million transaction.  The second facility is 76,693 square feet and available for lease.

The new buildings were designed by the San Diego architectural firm of Silman Wright Architects and feature concrete tilt-up construction, the extensive use of reflective glass, state-of-the-art cabling and fiber optics access, and ample surface parking.

Leasing is being handled by Mark Emerick, Dennis Visser and Aric Stark of Grubb & Ellis/BRE Commercial. The landscape architect is Cambridge Associates.

Carlsbad Corporate Center will be professionally managed by H.G. Fenton Company, one of the largest owners of industrial and multifamily properties in the greater San Diego area.  In addition to its industrial portfolio, the company also owns eight apartment communities totaling 2,119 units, and is nearing completion on a 396-unit luxury apartment community in Mission Valley called Portofino.

“We are growing our commercial and residential portfolios with high quality properties that provide the community with convenient, accessible and well-maintained places to work and live,” Hill said. “We look forward to providing Carlsbad Corporate Center tenants with outstanding service backed by our long-term ownership commitment.”

H.G. Fenton Company offices are located at 7588 Metropolitan Dr. in the company’s Mission Valley Heights project in San Diego.