Office Vacancy Rate Declines on Oxnard Plain

With commercial construction at a virtual standstill, the office vacancy rate on the Oxnard Plain declined for the fourth consecutive quarter during the first three months of this year, according to CB Commercial Real Estate Group Inc. in Ventura.

Industrial plant vacancies, however, rose slightly during the first quarter but now appear to have leveled off, the company said.

The office vacancy rate in the Oxnard Plain cities of Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo fell to 24% in the first quarter, according to CB specialist Tim Grant. This compared with 25% in the fourth quarter of 1991 and 27% in the first quarter of 1991, he said.

Even though available office space was reduced by nearly 100,000 square feet in the past year, Grant noted that vacancies are still up substantially from 12% as recently as the second quarter of 1989.

“A high vacancy factor will continue to enable tenants and buyers alike to command substantial concessions in their negotiations,” Grant said.

CB industrial specialist Doug Shaw said vacancies at warehouses, manufacturing plants and other industrial property on the plain was 14% during the first quarter, compared with 13% in the fourth quarter of 1991.

By far the highest industrial vacancy rate on the plain--23%--is in Camarillo, Shaw said. In contrast, the rates are 9% in Oxnard and 11% in Ventura, according to the CB survey.

Shaw attributed much of the relatively high rate in Camarillo to the planned departure of Everest & Jennings Inc. Space occupied by the company is already being offered for sale or lease, he said.