The building at 4524 N. 44th Ave. carried a quoted rate of 42 cents per sf and $3.50 per sf as a tenant-improvement allowance. Bruce K. Calfee, senior vice president with Grubb & Ellis/BRE Commercial LLC's Phoenix office, says the lease capped off a six-month search in the southwest submarket to accommodate Consolidated Steel's growth. "This move came about because Consolidated has a new product that will be introduced to the marketplace during the next year," says Calfee, who teamed with Grubb & Ellis' senior associates Patrick J. Feeney and Josh P. Wyss on behalf of Consolidated Steel.

Also of extreme importance was a rail-served location. "I worked with them originally when they came to town three years ago. They'd always wanted rail-served space, but three years ago we couldn't find any," Calfee tells GlobeSt.com. It was thought, at one time, that Consolidated Steel's current location at 49th Avenue and Van Buren Street might become a rail-served site, but the plan didn't work.

In addition to rail service and large enough dock heights, Consolidated Steel has room to expand in the building, owned by Tratt Properties LLC of Phoenix. Calfee says the owner is marketing the remaining space for lease, but he points out "this provides them with expansion space for future growth."

Calfee says the interesting aspect about the deal is the building never hit the market. "We were actually looking at the building next door, which was vacant. This one was already occupied by a tenant," he explains. "It wasn't officially on the market at the time, but the building owner asked me to keep in touch."

According to Calfee, the building was emptied when US Products LLC declared bankruptcy and vacated it. As for the building next door that Consolidated Steel had originally looked at "it's rumored to have a deal working on it," Calfee says.