Tustin retail space for lease in 2026 spans roughly $2.40 to $5.75 per square foot per month on a triple-net basis, and the spread depends almost entirely on which of the city's six retail nodes you are looking at. A junior-anchor bay in an older Red Hill Avenue strip prices nothing like an inline suite at The District at Tustin Legacy or a restored storefront in Old Town. Tustin sits at the geographic center of Orange County — wedged between Irvine, Santa Ana, and the 5, 55, and 261 freeways — and that central position gives it daytime traffic and rooftop density that most tenants underestimate. This guide breaks down what each corridor actually costs and who it fits.
What does Tustin retail space for lease cost in 2026?
Tustin retail space for lease runs about $2.40 to $5.75 per square foot per month NNN in 2026, with triple-net charges adding roughly $0.55 to $1.40 on top depending on the center. Power centers and premium lifestyle addresses sit at the top of that range; older neighborhood strips along the arterials sit at the bottom. Most small-shop deals in the city land between $2.90 and $4.25 NNN once you weigh out the extremes.
Those base rents tell only part of the story. The number that determines your check each month is base rent plus the net charges, and in Tustin the net charges vary widely because the housing stock ranges from 1970s-era centers to ground-up construction at Tustin Legacy. If you are comparing a quoted rate here against a space in a neighboring city, make sure you are comparing full occupancy cost, not headline rent. Our explainer on how a gross vs NNN lease works for SoCal retail tenants walks through exactly how those components stack up.
- TustinTypical asking range
- The District at Tustin Legacy
- Tustin Marketplace
- Old Town Tustin
- Enderle Center
- Larwin Square
- Newport and Red Hill Avenue strips
- Rent + NNNWhat you actually pay
Asking rents quoted in this guide, before NNN unless marked. Real deals land anywhere in the range depending on the space, the term and your credit.
- First year
- $122,400
- Five-year lease
- $642K
Sales needed for a coffee shop: $874K to $1.36M a year
Below the typical sales range for this use, so rent would be a modest share of sales.
Occupancy cost targets (9% to 14% of sales for this use) and sales ranges are the benchmarks we use to frame Orange County small-shop deals. A starting point for a conversation, not an underwriting.
The District at Tustin Legacy and Tustin Marketplace
The District at Tustin Legacy, built on the former MCAS Tustin airbase land near Jamboree Road and Barranca Parkway, is the city's highest-profile retail address. Anchored by a mix of big-box, dining, and entertainment users, inline shop space here typically asks $4.25 to $5.75 per square foot NNN, and quality endcaps with patio potential command the top of that band. Junior-anchor availabilities are rare and move quickly. The co-tenancy strength of the center — strong national anchors and a stable dining lineup — is a real asset, and it is worth confirming your protections if an anchor position ever turns over.
Just across the Irvine city line, Tustin Marketplace (the Jamboree and Bryan node, sometimes marketed jointly with The Market Place) delivers similar power-center visibility with heavy freeway-adjacent traffic off the 5 and 261. Rents there generally track $3.75 to $5.25 NNN. Both centers carry parking ratios that comfortably support service and soft-goods tenants, though restaurants with heavy peak demand should confirm the shared-lot math early — see our guide to how parking ratios work in a California retail lease.
01Top of range
The District at Tustin Legacy
Jamboree Rd and Barranca Pkwy
The city's highest-profile center, built on former MCAS Tustin land with strong national anchors.
$4.25 to $5.75 / SF / mo
- Dining
- Entertainment
- Big-Box Retail
02Top of range
Tustin Marketplace
Jamboree Rd and Bryan Ave near the 5 and 261
Power-center visibility with heavy freeway-adjacent traffic at the Irvine city line.
$3.75 to $5.25 / SF / mo
- Service Tenants
- Soft Goods
- Restaurants
03Mid-range
Old Town Tustin
El Camino Real between First St and Main St
The walkable historic core. Small older spaces where second-generation restaurant infrastructure is valuable.
$2.75 to $4.00 / SF / mo
- Small Restaurants
- Boutiques
04Mid-range
Enderle Center
Seventeenth St near Yorba St
A courtyard center serving north Tustin households with services, fitness, and neighborhood dining.
$3.00 to $4.25 / SF / mo
- Local Services
- Boutique Fitness
- Salons
05Lower rents
Larwin Square
Newport Ave and First St
An older established center with workable rents and steady repeat traffic.
$2.60 to $3.60 / SF / mo
- Value-Oriented Retail
- Service Tenants
06Lower rents
Newport and Red Hill Avenue strips
Newport Ave, Red Hill Ave, and Seventeenth St
Neighborhood strips with lower occupancy cost and nearby rooftops, where many first-time operators start.
$2.40 to $3.40 / SF / mo
- First Locations
- Local Franchises
Is Old Town Tustin good for small retail and restaurants?
Old Town Tustin, centered on El Camino Real between First Street and Main Street, is the city's walkable historic core and one of the better small-format restaurant and boutique environments in central Orange County. Spaces here are smaller — often 800 to 2,500 square feet — and character-rich, with rents in the $2.75 to $4.00 per square foot NNN range depending on the building and frontage. Second-generation restaurant space in Old Town is genuinely valuable because inheriting a hood, grease interceptor, and existing permits can save an operator months and six figures of buildout.
The tradeoff in Old Town is that many buildings are older and individually owned, so delivery condition, ADA readiness, and parking arrangements vary lot by lot. A tenant who does careful diligence up front — and negotiates a fair tenant improvement package for the work the space actually needs — does well here. Our overview of how a tenant improvement allowance works in a SoCal retail lease is a useful starting point for those conversations.
Enderle Center, Larwin Square, and the neighborhood centers
Enderle Center, the courtyard-style center on Seventeenth Street near Yorba Street, has long attracted local services, boutique fitness, salons, and neighborhood dining serving north Tustin's affluent households. Rents here typically run $3.00 to $4.25 NNN. Larwin Square, at Newport Avenue and First Street, is one of Tustin's older established centers and offers more workable rents for value-oriented and service tenants, generally $2.60 to $3.60 NNN. Both draw steady, repeat, drive-up traffic from the surrounding residential grid.
Scattered neighborhood strips along Newport Avenue, Red Hill Avenue, and Seventeenth Street round out the inventory. These are where a first-time operator or an expanding local franchise most often finds a right-sized bay in the $2.40 to $3.40 NNN range. They lack the marquee co-tenancy of a power center, but they compensate with lower occupancy cost and immediate rooftop density.
Which corridors carry Tustin's retail traffic?
Tustin's retail demand rides four arterials and two freeway edges. First Street and Seventeenth Street are the primary east-west spines, carrying commuters between Santa Ana and north Tustin. Newport Avenue and Red Hill Avenue run north-south and connect the older residential neighborhoods to the freeways. Jamboree Road and the 5/261 interchange feed the Tustin Legacy district and its power centers. According to U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Tustin is home to roughly 80,000 residents, and the daytime population swells well beyond that as workers commute into the Irvine and Santa Ana employment cores that ring the city.
For tenants choosing between Tustin and its neighbors, the central location is the pitch: you draw from Irvine's spending power and Santa Ana's density at a basis that usually beats coastal or Spectrum-adjacent rents. Compare the numbers directly against our Irvine retail space guide and our Santa Ana retail market guide when you are weighing a trade area.
Each dot is one of our city guides. Hover or tap to compare, click to open that guide. Figures are the asking ranges quoted in each guide.
What should a tenant watch for in a Tustin retail lease?
The biggest variable across Tustin is the gap between a center's asking rent and its true net charges. Newer Tustin Legacy product carries a different expense structure than a legacy Newport Avenue strip, and a low base rent can hide a heavy net load once you factor in common-area maintenance, taxes, and insurance. Read the estimated net figure carefully and ask for the prior year's reconciliation before you sign. We also press landlords for reasonable caps on controllable operating expenses so a tenant is not exposed to open-ended increases.
Beyond occupancy cost, use, exclusivity, and delivery condition drive the deal. Old Town restaurant operators need to verify grease and venting infrastructure before committing. Power-center tenants should confirm their signage and pylon rights and, where an anchor matters to their model, negotiate co-tenancy protection. On every deal we run the full economic model — base rent, escalations, net charges, and tenant improvement dollars — so the number you commit to is the number you actually pay.
78,981residents
27,551households
2.87people per household
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Refreshed automatically when new releases come out.
How we help tenants find the right Tustin space
We represent retail tenants and landlords across Orange County, and we can help you sort out which corridors fit your concept and which centers may have flexibility on rent and TI. Whether you are opening a first location in Old Town, expanding into The District, or backfilling a second-generation restaurant on Seventeenth Street, we source the options, model the true occupancy cost, and negotiate terms that protect your business over the full lease term.
If you are evaluating Tustin retail space for lease in 2026, we would welcome the conversation. Call Parker & Associates at 425-233-0769 or email us at leasing@digitalre.com, and we will help you find the right corridor, the right space, and the right deal.
