Valencia Glove Maker Expanding into Big Space

Mechanix Wear Inc. will soon expand into one of the largest commercial developments in the Santa Clarita Valley, according to a CoStar Group report. The protective glove manufacturer has leased 93,735 square feet of industrial space in Valencia’s IAC Commerce Center building at 28777 Witherspoon Parkway. “The functionality and high-tech image of the chosen building works perfectly for our growing business,” said Mechanix Wear Chief Executive Michael Hale in a statement. “It will allow us to expand our distribution network without any disruption to our existing operations. We are also particularly pleased with the building architecture.” Cargo and warehouse distribution developer International Airport Centers Inc., of Highland Park, Ill., is developing IAC Commerce Center, a master-planned, 116-acre business campus, which is currently under construction and adjacent to the planned community of Newhall Ranch, which in a few years will bring more than 20,000 homes online to house some 60,000 residents. Mechanix is no stranger to the neighborhood. Since 2007, the company has occupied roughly 75,000 square feet at nearby 28525 Witherspoon Parkway. Completed last year, IAC Commerce Center’s first phase of development includes three buildings ranging from 94,000 to 188,000 square feet apiece. Two more phases of development, to add six buildings for a combined 900,000 square feet with units ranging from 50,000 to 500,000 square feet, is still in the works. Once completed, IAC Commerce Center will total 1.3 million square feet. Upon expansion into IAC Commerce Center, Mechanix joins Accurate Freight, a transportation and logistics company, and car cover producer Covercraft. Craig Peters of CBRE Group Inc. represented both sides in the transaction. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but according to CoStar data, rents range between $7 and $9 per square foot in the area at the complex. “With the addition of Mechanix Wear, IAC is proving the demand for attractive and highly-functional buildings is strong,” CBRE’s Peters said in a statement. “We continue to see tremendous interest in this project from a wide range of companies.” IAC Properties owns and manages a real estate portfolio of more than 5 million square feet in such major markets as Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and Seattle.