Adaptec Inc. Buys 31 Acres in Lake Forest

Adaptec Inc. said Friday that it has purchased 31 acres in Lake Forest for $11.3 million and will start a multiple-phased construction project in January for expanding its Southern California operation. The company, which makes communications hardware and software, plans to move 235 employees in Irvine to the first new building by the end of next year. It can build up to 500,000 square feet of office and laboratory space at the site, enough to hold nearly 1,500 workers. The growing company, based in Milpitas, bought the land in Pacific Commercentre from PacTel Systems, a subsidiary of Pacific Telesis. Adaptec has 3,000 employees at seven sites in the United States and Singapore.