Phoenix Industrial Lease Will Create 100 Local Jobs

Westcore has signed a 400,000-square-foot lease with ABB Electrification West80 in Phoenix. Westcore acquired the property in August last year and built a spec suite on the site. The lease deal, which is for the entire property, is expected to create 100 new local jobs in the market. The terms of the lease were not disclosed.

“The tenant appreciated the fact that they were going to be the first occupant in a brand-new building, and that they could have the entire property to themselves,” Lauren Suazo, VP of leasing at Westcore, tells GlobeSt.com. “The property provides multiple ingress/egress points and has cross-dock configuration. It is also fully secured with access gates and offers full drive around capabilities.”

ABB plans to use the property as its West Coast distribution center for its Electrification Installation Products business. As a result, the company had specific requirements for space. “The building’s size met ABB’s requirements, our 36-foot clear height met their needs for racking and our spec office suite was exactly the amount of office area that they needed,” says Suazo. “In addition to the in-place improvements listed, we’re also providing LED warehouse lighting and HVAC in the warehouse, at the tenant’s request.”

Overall, there was tremendous interest in the asset from a wide-range of prospective tenants, which is on trend with the activity that Phoenix has seen recently. “The activity was healthy and consistent on the building, ranging from tenants looking for the entire space to tenants needing about half to three quarters of the building,” says Suazo. “The activity, which happened from late quarter three to quarter four 2019 exceeded my expectations.”

Clearly, this deal was closed before the pandemic and the subsequent economic disruption hit; however, the demand is so strong for quality industrial product in the Phoenix market, Suazo believes that the deal would potentially have looked similar if it were on the market today. “We can’t know what happens inside ABB, but we believe the demand for functional, high-quality industrial real estate will only increase going forward,” she says.

As for the 100 jobs ABB planned to create, Westcore hasn’t discussed the status of those jobs with the tenant. “We have no way of knowing, but you can look at their website, which lists open positions in Phoenix,” says Suazo.