How to lease your commercial building in Seal Beach, CA

What kind of building do you hold, and who leases it?

Start with the district your building sits in. For the Main Street Specific Plan (MSSP), the code describes “upper floors devoted to office uses along Main Street.”^[1] The PO district allows office, medical and related uses.^[1]

The code describes the General Commercial (GC) district as for “sub-regional and regional centers of commercial activity.”^[1] The city’s environmental review describes the LM district as sites for moderate- to low-intensity commercial services and light manufacturing.^[2] Ask the City which district your parcel is in and which uses it permits. The code text this page reads is mirrored on a third-party host, so confirm parcel zoning with the City of Seal Beach.

What should you gather before you talk to a broker about leasing?

Suggested items to gather: gross and rentable square footage by suite, floor plans, the current rent roll with lease expirations, the operating expense history, and any deferred maintenance. Add the parking count and how it is shared, and the permitted uses under the parcel’s zoning.

Also consider collecting the certificate of occupancy, recent inspection reports, insurance certificates and any open permits. If you plan upgrades before leasing, such as new storefronts, restrooms or mechanical systems, write down the scope and the date.

Decide what you can offer. Free rent, a tenant improvement allowance and term length are choices that belong to you, so decide your limits before a prospective tenant asks. Ask a California-licensed broker how the market treats them.

What do the submarket figures say about leasing here?

For office, Kidder Mathews reports a Seal Beach submarket for the third quarter of 2026. It is a brokerage submarket for office buildings, not the city, and not retail or industrial space. It shows 573,645 square feet of inventory, 7.5 percent direct vacancy, 2.4 percent sublet vacancy, 9.9 percent total vacancy and 11.7 percent of space available.^[4] The gap between direct and total vacancy means some competing space is sublease space.

Direct net absorption was negative 409 square feet in the quarter and positive 2,488 square feet for the year to date, with 2,543 square feet of total leasing in the quarter and 16,241 square feet for the year to date.^[4] The average full-service asking rent was $3.53 per square foot per month.^[4] An average asking rent is not a rent your suite will achieve.

For industrial, Kidder Mathews reports a Seal Beach submarket of 941,679 square feet with 0.0 percent total vacancy, 9.4 percent of space available and no leasing in the quarter or the year to date. It does not report a rent, and this page does not quote one.^[5] For retail, only Orange County figures are published, at 3.3 percent vacancy and a $2.77 per square foot monthly asking rent.^[6] No sourced Seal Beach retail rent exists here, so ask any broker for local lease comparables.

Which zoning and city points can affect your leasing plan?

If your building is on Main Street, two code points are worth knowing. Truck docks are not permitted in the MSSP district.^[1] The city’s environmental review also states that housing above the ground floor is currently not allowed in the Main Street Specific Plan area, and the Housing Element proposes amending it.^[2] That is a proposal, not a rule change.

The city budget lists a Business First Working Group to evaluate updates to the Main Street Specific Plan, Main Street beautification, and evaluation of paid parking.^[3] Ask a broker whether parking or corridor changes matter to retail or restaurant tenants considering your frontage.

If your property is in the MC-RHD district, the code allows commercial and office uses together with high-density residential, and a table note keeps residential at no less than 50 percent of floor area in mixed-use projects.^[1] A proposed Old Ranch Country Club project, with an environmental review in preparation, includes a medical office facility and overnight accommodation. It is a proposal and not an approved project.^[2]

What should you ask a California-licensed broker about leasing your building?

Ask for the broker’s California license number. Ask which tenants the broker would target for your district and why, and what the broker would recommend for the space’s condition before showing it.

Questions to raise: how would the broker set an asking rent, and what comparable Seal Beach leases, if any, would support it? What is the commission, who pays it, and what does the listing agreement say about length, exclusivity and what happens if you lease to someone you already know? Is there relevant sublease space nearby, and how might it affect your timing?

Prepare a note about your building

The form below prepares a text note on your own device from what you type. It sends nothing to anyone, and no one on this site will respond to it.

What happens next?

You download the note when you finish. The form sends nothing. Take it to a California-licensed broker you choose before you sign a listing agreement.