Giant Buildings Set To Fill Growing Demand

Developers are building the first of several supersized speculative industrial buildings to answer demand for more industrial space.

In the Valley, developers rarely put up buildings with more than 200,000 square feet of space without a tenant in mind. But now at least four projects with buildings no smaller than 350,000 square feet are under construction. These projects, three in the southwest Valley and one in Casa Grande, account for about 3.6 million of the 8.5 million now under construction, brokers say.

Demand for large industrial spaces has been growing the past few years as Phoenix has become a regional distribution center. Phoenix's industrial boom also is attributed to proximity to California and trucking rules.

Anthony Lyons of Grubb & Ellis said 45 percent of containers come to the U.S. through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and many companies are looking to Phoenix to store and distribute these products. More...