Slew of Industrial Leases Takes Place in Chandler

CHANDLER, AZ-A group of nine leases totaling nearly 316,000 square feet of Chandler industrial space have been reported recently. The activity, coupled with strong job growth from the first six months of 2013, has experts feeling good.

“Activity over 50,000 square feet has increased considerably in the past year, especially in the southeast Valley markets,” Jackie Orcutt, director with Cushman and Wakefield, tells Globe St. “Chandler alone has announced more than 4,000 jobs this year.”

Hiring sprees from companies in Chandler such as Nationstar Mortgage, which brought on 1,200 employees during the first half of 2013, and GM, which hired 1,000 employees, has spurred demand for space. Both companies leased 170,000 square feet during the first six months of 2013.

Phoenix's status as an inland trade hub with a vibrant industrial market and moderate business costs make experts bullish on the area's growth in coming years. Net absorption of industrial space is expected to outpace new supply over the next five years, Cushman and Wakefield predicts.

The southeast Valley's industrial market ranks among the Valley's healthier, according to Voit research, with a Q3 vacancy rate of 11%, asking rents of 54 cents per square foot-both better than average.

One Chandler-based company, Origami Owl, has leased two separate spaces since the summer, Cushman and Wakefield reports. The spaces total 147,486 square feet, and are located in two buildings at 10 Chandler Business Park.

Origami Owl's first lease, several months ago, included an 81,238-square-foot building, used for assembling and distributing products. In October, the company signed a second lease for an additional 66,248 square feet at 450 N. 54^th St., used for a corporate headquarters and minor assembly.

Origami Owl formed three years ago when a 14-year-old girl sought to earn money for a car when she turned 16.

“The building is in shell condition, so the owners did provide a tenant improvement allowance to be used toward the standard office construction,” says Orcutt, who was involved with the transaction.

The leases brought the business park, which consists of nine industrial/flex buildings totaling 553,000 square feet, to 62% occupancy. Other tenants include Paradise Bakery, Toshiba, Eaton Corporation and CloudBlue Technology.

In another recently reported deal, Chandler-based Arizona Nutritional Supplements leased a 126,000-square-foot industrial property through a $5 million, seven-plus year agreement. The property, EastGroup@Chandler Freeways, is near the convergence of Loops 202 and 101. The supplement company will add this building to its existing inventory.

The Valley's market has also seen strong leasing demand from small tenants seeking less than 12,000 square feet.

At Chandler Business Center, represented by Cushman and Wakefield, six tenants signed leases in Q3. They took down a total 42,192 square feet and increased the park's occupancy by 24%.

Companies moving in include Children's Cancer Network, Arizona Infinity Allstars, Jay Pages Jiu-Jitsu and MMA, New Heights Church, Newark Corporation and Koh Young America.