Pets Out, Booze In at Dowe Industrial

UNION CITY, CA-Southern Wine & Spirits has signed a long-term lease to occupy a 143,232-sf building at Dowe Industrial Center, bringing the warehouse complex to full occupancy.

Southern Wine & Spirits plans to use the building, which is located at 33201 Dowe Ave., as a warehouse and distribution center.

“This is one of the larger leases in the I-880 corridor this year,” says Greig Lagomarsino, senior vice president in the Oakland office of Colliers International. “Companies are taking advantage of lower rental rates as the economy begins to generate some steam.”

According to Colliers, overall vacancy rates in Union City dropped slightly to 9.2% in the second quarter of 2002, down from 10.3% in the first quarter of 2002. In the second quarter of 2001, the overall vacancy rate was 6.2 percent. Dowe Industrial Center, a 306,650-sf complex, is now fully leased.

Lagomarsino represented the tenant, Southern Wine & Spirits in the transaction, while Steve Kapp at BT commercial who represented the previous tenant, Pets.com, which terminated their lease.

According to a representative for Pets.com, which is no called IPET Holdings, Inc., the company has been trying to sublease the property for more than two years. It planned to segment the building into smaller areas if it was unable to lease the whole space. The terms of the lease were unavailable. The average rate for this space ranges from $0.45 to $1.10.