Landing Strip. (Real Estate).

Northrop Grumman Corp. is looking for a quarter million square feet of commercial space in a South Bay office market that could sorely use the activity.

The Century City-based firm, whose FA-18 and Pegasus unmanned aircraft operations are currently in EI Segundo, became the primary

subcontractor for the $200 billion Joint Strike Fighter program when Lockheed Martin Corp. was awarded the primary contract Oct. 26. The Douglas Tech Center and the Candle Corp. building at 201 N. Douglas St. are two sites believed targeted by Northrop, which is expected to secure space for the 1,000 people associated with the project by the second quarter of next year.

While the expansion will help matters, it won't be a panacea for a South Bay office market that has seen 1.4 million more square feet come on the market than has been absorbed since the beginning of the year. Vacancy rates were 16 percent in the third quarter, up from 12 percent one year earlier.

"It'll reduce the available vacancy rate but is it gonna effect what the rental rates will be? I don't think so," said Jim Biondi, senior vice president at Grubb and Ellis Co. in Torrance.