San Diego, CA Office Overview
Among sunny San Diego’s most prosperous commercial real estate scenes are Sorrento Valley, East Village and University City submarkets. With a metropolitan population of over 3.3 million people, the economy is dynamic and robust, and the San Diego commercial real estate market continues to expand around a vibrant mix of business and industry.
As of mid-2017, the Greater San Diego office market consisted of nearly 61 million square feet of space in properties larger than 50,000 square feet. Due to the city's unique geographic location between Southern California and Mexico, the market continues to see strong demand.
San Diego, CA Office Inventory Description
The city's Pacific Coast location and proximity to Mexico plays a major role in the culture of the business community and office development. Nearly 60% of the office space in San Diego is Class A, while Class B properties make up another 39% of the city’s inventory.
Located along the I-8 and Friars Road, Mission Valley East is one of San Diego’s densest office markets and home to Pacific Center I & 2, and the Centerside 3111 & 3131 properties. Businesses such as General Dynamics and First American Title Insurance Company are located in Mission Valley.
Other growing San Diego office submarkets include the Kearny Mesa area, Rancho Bernardo along the I-15 South, and the Scripps Ranch area, which is home to trophy buildings such as the Scripps Corporate Plaza.
San Diego, CA Commercial Inventory Breakdown
Office Spaces
Total: 92,090,598 SF
By square footage range:
- 50k to 100k SF: 23,137,455 SF / 25.12% of total office
- 100k to 500k SF: 57,904,427 SF / 62.88% of total office
- 500k to 1M SF: 7,476,716 SF / 8.12% of total office
- > 1M SF: 3,572,000 SF / 3.88% of total office
By class:
- Class A+: 1,510,547 SF / 1.64% of total office
- Class A: 43,666,831 SF / 47.42% of total office
- Class B: 34,595,821 SF / 37.57% of total office
- Class C: 1,241,526 SF / 1.35% of total office
Top 10 Largest Office Buildings
in San Diego
| Office building | Address | Sqft | Year built |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Campus at Horton - Future Phases | NWC 4th Avenue & G Street, 92101 | 1,500,000 | n/a |
| Campus at Horton - Phase I | NWC 4th Avenue & G Street, 92101 | 1,072,000 | 2021 |
| Riverwalk - Office | 1150 Fashion Valley Road, 92108 | 1,000,000 | n/a |
| Makers Quarter - Block C | NEC F Street & 14th Street, 92101 | 796,000 | n/a |
| Courthouse Commons | 220 West Broadway, 92101 | 777,683 | n/a |
| One America Plaza | 600 West Broadway, 92101 | 623,000 | 1991 |
| Rancho Vista Corporate Center - Hewlett-Packard Campus | 16399 West Bernardo Drive, 92127 | 622,211 | 1970 |
| Makers Quarter - Block A | 1500 Broadway, 92101 | 591,300 | n/a |
| 1 Columbia Place | 401 West A Street, 92101 | 556,943 | 1983 |
| 10210 Genetic Center Drive | 10210 Genetic Center Drive, 92121 | 550,800 | 1998 |
Most Recently-Built Office Buildings
in San Diego
| Office building | Address | Sqft | Year built |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9625 Towne Centre Drive | 9625 Towne Centre Drive, 92121 | 163,648 | 2019 |
| MedImpact - Watermark II | 10159 Scripps Gateway Court, 92131 | 158,994 | 2019 |
| 4400 Ruffin Road | 4400 Ruffin Road, 92123 | 237,000 | 2018 |
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals Research Facility | 3215 Merryfield Row, 92121 | 170,523 | 2018 |
| AMP&RSAND Press | 350 Camino De La Reina, 92108 | 165,000 | 2018 |
| i3 | 4775 Executive Drive, 92121 | 316,000 | 2017 |
| Illumina Worldwide Headquarters - Buildings 6 | 5200 Ilumina Way, 92122 | 295,609 | 2017 |
| Rancho Bernardo Medical Center | 16899 West Bernardo Drive, 92127 | 100,000 | 2017 |
| Eastgate Terrace | 9779 Towne Centre Drive, 92121 | 96,435 | 2017 |
| Torrey Point | 3420 Carmel Valley Road, 92121 | 89,940 | 2017 |
San Diego, CA Green Office Space
Of the Top 30 Green Office Markets in the U.S., San Diego ranks 19th for energy efficient office buildings. While just over 3% of the buildings larger than 50,000 square feet are LEED Certified, over 6% rank as Energy Star Certified and over 8% are recognized as green buildings.
As both tenants and investors seek out green certified assets to complete their portfolios, the green office trend continues to accelerate. According to the most recent report from the San Diego U.S. Green Building Council, there are nearly 600 LEED-certified Projects with a total of more than 59 million square feet of space in the San Diego metropolitan area.
The 2017 National Green Building Adoption Index looked at commercial office properties in 30 major U.S. markets and found that, including EPA Energy Star-labeled buildings, the percentage of green certification has increased, from just under 5% in 2005 to 38% as of mid-2017. San Diego has most recently placed 19th on this survey.
San Diego, CA's Top Office-Using Sectors
Major users of San Diego office space include the defense & military, tourism, international trade and technology & manufacturing industries. This diverse mix of business combined with a growing number of small businesses and start-up companies continue to attract both national and global office investors, contributing to the San Diego area's nearly $220 billion in annual gross metropolitan product.
- Defense & Military – San Diego is home to a deep-water seaport that includes the only major submarine and shipbuilding yard on the West Coast. Defense contractors such as General Atomics, Cubic, and NASSCO are headquartered here and contribute to the demand for Class A office space in San Diego.
- Tourism – With over 34 million annual visitors spending $1 billion tourism plays a major role in the San Diego economy and job market, with Marriott International and Club Med North America located in the city.
- International Trade – With its commercial seaport and prime location relative to Mexico international trade companies play a significant role in the demand for San Diego office space, such as Mitchell International and UTC Aerospace Systems.
- Technology – San Diego is home to technology companies such as Qualcomm, Nokia, LG Electronics, and Kyocera International.
San Diego Demographics
Population
- Total Population1,401,932
- Male Population(50.3 %) 705,717
- Female Population(49.7 %) 696,215
- Median Age34.70
Income/Financial
- Average Household Income$103,655
- Median Household Income$75,456
- Median Income Under 25$38,031
- Median Income 25-44$80,595
- Median Income 45-64$88,178
- Median Income Over 65$56,879