IRVINE, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 10/29/09 -- SARES REGIS Group broke ground today for development of six buildings in the first phase of the planned 96-acre Cabrillo Business Park in Goleta, Calif. Three office buildings, two retail buildings and a self-storage facility are included in the 14-acre phase.

"Demand for high-quality commercial facilities is greater in this market than anywhere in California because virtually nothing has been built here in the last 10 years. We fully expect the buildings to be leased up or sold in short order," said Steve Fedde, senior vice president for the Ventura Region of SARES REGIS Group, which is headquartered in Irvine, Calif.

The office buildings will total 175,000 square feet. The retail development will total 17,500 square feet and the self-storage facility will total 72,000 square feet. Mark Mattingly and Greg Bartholomew of Pacifica Commercial Realty's Santa Barbara office are marketing the project, which also can be viewed online at www.cabrillobusinesspark.com.

Mattingly said the vacancy rate for Class A office space is approximately 3 percent of a total 1.5 million-square-foot inventory of premium office and R&D space. The nearby University of California at Santa Barbara in Goleta, which generates a steady stream of new technological and scientific companies in the area, is responsible for creating much of the high demand for commercial facilities, he said.

Company officials held a ground breaking ceremony that was attended by many key city government and business officials. Cabrillo Business Park is at Hollister Avenue and Los Carneros Road, adjacent to the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport.

Kristen Amyx, president and chief executive officer of the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce, said only one other office building had been developed in Goleta "in recent memory" and that the ground breaking event "is more than symbolic for the future of business in Goleta."

"The Cabrillo Business Park plays a key role in the business community in Goleta in terms of start-up companies from UCSB, the growth of our existing clean technology companies and in development of our technology corridor between L.A. and San Francisco," she said.

The Goleta City Council approved the Cabrillo Business Park in 2007. It is the largest commercial development ever proposed on the south coast. The plan calls for development of 956,000 square feet of state-of-the-art research-and-development facilities adjacent to the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport.

Cabrillo Business Park is planned for 12 one- and two-story flex buildings up to 80,000 square feet. Forty-six percent of the site will remain as natural or landscaped open space. It will include 19 acres of restored and expanded wetlands and grasslands with publicly accessible trails.

SARES REGIS Group, has had a central coast regional office for more than 20 years. It is one of the leading developers and managers of commercial and residential real estate in the western United States. Currently, the company has more than 4 million square feet of commercial industrial in the entitlement process and 1,962 residential units in pre-construction and development. SARES REGIS Group has a combined portfolio of property and fee-based assets under management valued at more than $4 billion, including 15 million square feet of commercial and industrial space and 16,139 rental apartments. For more information visit www.sares-regis.com.

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