GOODYEAR, AZ-Saint-Gobain Glass Corp., an international manufacturer and distributor of flat glass and energy-efficient building materials, has signed a long-term lease for 140,817 square feet in what was once the Rubbermaid manufacturing plant. The French-headquartered company’s deal brings the 752,835-square-foot facility to full occupancy, with two other tenants already ensconced in the facility.

The company is currently moving into the space at 17300 W. Broadway Rd. and will use it to install reflective surfaces on glass plates as part of a solar panel manufacturing process. Pat Feeney with CBRE’s Phoenix office says manufacturing won’t begin immediately, as heavy equipment installation and tenant improvements are involved with the move-in process.

Feeney partnered with CBRE’s Joe Porter, Dan Calihan and Rusty Kennedy to represent BET Investments, the facility’s owner in the negotiations. Tom Louer of Lee & Associates in Phoenix and Chris Robinson of Fischer & Associates in Dallas, TX represented the tenant.

Feeney declined to discuss the deal’s financial terms, but did say the space had been marketed for an ask of $.26 to $.28 per square foot, triple net. The landlord is building out new office space, an office entry and a modified parking area for the new tenant.

Feeney tells GlobeSt.com that one plus from the tenant’s point of view was that the space had been part of a manufacturing plant. “When Rubbermaid was there, it was involved with plastic injection molding, and that required a certain amount of power,” he explains. “The building has a lot of amps of power.” Saint-Gobain, he continues, is also a manufacturer requiring a great deal of power, and the fact the space was already wired and ready to go was a definite plus.

Then there is the structure of the facility itself. “The attraction of the Rubbermaid facility is that it has very strong floors because it was built as a manufacturing facility,” Feeney says. “This has a minimum of eight-inch thick floors, with steel reinforcements.” This is compared to standard warehouse floors that might be six inches thick with no steel reinforcement, he goes on to say.

“They saw the value in the floor and value in already existing power, so they didn’t have to pay to bring it to the site,” Feeney says. “It’s a bargain for a manufacturer to go to a manufacturing building, rather than a warehouse building.”

Feeney says he and his colleagues are seeing an uptick in requests from manufacturers that are considering Phoenix as a destination. “We’re getting requests from plastic injection manufacturers, solar manufacturers and others,” he adds. “It’s nice to see that, because these types of businesses bring good jobs to the area.”