As MOB Stays Hot, Apex Goes Long in Los Alamitos Med Center Lease

Medical office and lab space is a hot commodity in the region and across the country. Demand for new life sciences lab space is outpacing speculative construction in the top 12 U.S. life sciences hubs as the industry rapidly expands amid a global race for new drug development, according to a new report from CBRE.

With that demand in mind, Apex Innovative Sciences Inc. recently signed a 12.5-year lease for 30,962 square feet at Los Alamitos Medical Center. The three-story property is located at 3771 Katella Ave. in Los Alamitos, CA.

CBRE’s Sonya Dopp-Grech, Steven Lewallen and Ryan Dopp represented the landlord, Welltower, in the transaction. Welltower is a Real Estate Investment Trust specializing in medical real estate.

The medical center sits within a hospital campus, and has access to Interstate 405 and 605, and State Route 22. Other tenants at the property, which is managed by Welltower, include Tenet Healthcare, Coast Urological Medical Group and Retina Consultants.

“Bringing in Apex pushed the occupancy at the building to 100 percent,” said Dopp-Grech. “Demand was strong for this space, which sits within a fully integrated healthcare complex and network of providers.”

With the U.S. vacancy rate for existing lab and research development space at a record low of 4.9 percent, average asking rents are skyrocketing in the top 12 markets, jumping 7.5 percent in September compared to March 2021.