POWAY, CA—Electronics retailer Best Buy has signed a $3.2-million lease with Techbilt Cos. for its newly constructed industrial building at 11885 Community Rd. in Poway Corporate Center here. The developer built the building, along with 11895 Community Rd., on spec, and both were 100% leased prior to the completion of construction.

The move by Best Buy is interesting due to the wave of speculation about the retailer's imminent demise. American Trade Journal reported over the weekend that the retailer's stock  “has dropped 2.66% during the past week; however, the bigger picture is still very bullish; the shares have posted positive gains of 1.56% in the last four weeks. The shares have underperformed the S&P 500 by 1.32% during the past week, but Best Buy Co. Inc. has outperformed the index in four weeks by 4.58%.” In addition, on September 25, Forbes reported that Macy's recently announced that it would open Best Buy stores in 10 of its stores in undisclosed locations across the country. These moves indicate that the retailer could actually be rebounding.

Ted Tchang, president and CEO of Techbilt, tells GlobeSt.com, “Best Buy has leased this space to be used as a local distribution hub to support its retail locations in the San Diego region.” He had no further comment about the retailer's health.

The space Best Buy will occupy is 46,035 square feet and features 18 dock-high loading doors, two grade-level loading doors and a 28-foot clear height. Grace Digital, a San Diego-based consumer electronics company that currently occupies 9,395 square feet in Poway Corporate Center, will expand its operations to occupy 11895 Community Rd. with a lease valued at approximately $1.9 million. This building is 24,883 square feet and features two dock-high loading doors, two grade-level loading doors and a 26-ft. clear height.

According to Tchang, “When we began construction on these two buildings in 2014, it was the first industrial spec project started in the I-15 Corridor in the last eight years. We were confident that the San Diego market was in the beginning of a rebound then and will continue to be with our plans to build the next spec building in the Poway Corporate Center.”

Poway Corporate Center is a master-planned business park developed and owned by Techbilt since 1900. It features more than 1.5 million square feet of high-quality commercial/industrial space and is 100% occupied with tenants including J.B. Hunt, Hoist Fitness, ShowTec, My Perfect Pet, Bon Suisse and Harmonic Design.

Techbilt will also begin construction in the first quarter of 2016 on an approximately 100,000-square-foot spec industrial building on the final two lots of Phase Three. The building will feature an approximately 28-foot clear height, 20 dock-high truck doors and three grade-level truck doors.