Phelan Development broke ground on its Pecos Center I last Thursday with a ceremony in Southeast Mesa. The groundbreaking event included representatives from CBRE, Phelan Development, the City of Mesa, Alston Construction Company and Calvin J. Coatsworth Architects.
DEEPER DIVE: Phoenix ranks No. 2 for most industrial real estate under construction
“We are very excited to be starting on our sixth, seventh and eighth building in Mesa, Arizona,” said Teresa Corral, Phelan Development’s Partner, at the groundbreaking. “The City’s PREOZ zoning designation was a useful tool in our entitlement process, and this business-friendly zoning allows for manufacturing, assembly, and general industrial tenants alike.”
City of Mesa Mayor John Giles spoke at the Pecos Center groundbreaking ceremony in appreciation of Phelan’s development investment in the city, “We share our congratulations on their latest project in Southeast Mesa. It’s great to see the addition of in-demand space in the Pecos Advanced Manufacturing Zone as more and more businesses are eager to be part of the growth in the Mesa Gateway area.”
The project is spread across three buildings totaling 474,309 sq. ft. and is expected to be complete in the winter of 2024. Jackie Orcutt, Jonathan Teeter and John Grady of CBRE in Phoenix are the leasing agents for the complex.
“The development of Phelan Pecos Center I is poised to capture the tremendous growth in the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway submarket,” said Ms. Orcutt. “The surrounding areas have attracted significant interest tied to aerospace, electric car manufacturing, semiconductor and last mile logistics companies who value the population growth, skilled labor and workforce training opportunities.”
Located near the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, the center’s three buildings will range in size. The first building is the largest at 224,566 sq. ft. with 36-foot clear height and 28 dock doors. The building also includes 3,000 sq. ft. of office space. The second is the smallest at 108,626 sq. ft. with 19 dock doors and 1,500 sq. ft. of office area. The third building is 141,117 sq. ft. with 32 dock doors and 1,500 sq. ft. of office space. All three buildings have ample parking to support likely demand from prospective tenants.
“The area south of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport is beneficial to developers due to faster entitlements,” said Mr. Teeter. “Phelan is a well-respected developer within the market and has designed an incredible project that can cater to tenants desiring a freestanding building to conduct their business near the airport. These highly flexible designed buildings demise to handle a variety of tenant sizes ranging from 220,000 sq. ft. down to 30,000 sq. ft.”
The Phoenix-Mesa Gateway submarket has experienced significant industrial growth and is one of the hottest submarkets in Phoenix. According to CBRE Research, the area had over 10.3 million sq. ft. under construction in the fourth quarter of 2022. Phelan will start additional construction on nine acres within the submarket in the near term.
“Between the high-quality residential, mixed-use developments, the industrial and technology zones and the airport, what a tremendous opportunity for this area to land advanced manufacturing jobs with a project like this,” said City of Mesa Councilmember Scott Sommers at the celebration. “Our goal as a city was to create this area, Southeast Mesa, as a net importer of jobs, so people travel here to work…this is going to be a fantastic opportunity and continued growth in this district for these types of jobs.”