Savills Studley, a leading commercial real estate firm specializing in tenant representation, has finalized a transaction for Waste Management Inc. that will relocate and expand the environmental solutions provider’s Phoenix office to 47,568 square feet. Waste Management Inc., which has been a Savills Studley client for several years across multiple markets, will move to a full floor at Union Hills Office Plaza at the end of 2017.
“The Greater Phoenix area provides population depth of an incredibly talented workforce. We’ve had a lot of success in Phoenix, so expanding one of our most customer facing operations serving North America with the nation’s top talent will allow us to continue to deliver the very best service to our customers,” said Anne Fridrych, director of corporate real estate for Waste Management. “Our existing Phoenix-based national sales team understands that it is not about winning customers, but delighting the ones we already have.”
Waste Management is the largest environmental solutions provider in North America, serving more than 21-million municipal, commercial and industrial customers in the U.S. and Canada. In addition to disposal and recycling, the company provides personal counseling to help customers achieve their green goals, including zero waste. Waste Management Inc.’s new office at Union Hills Office Plaza is 30,000 square feet larger and can support 150 more employees than the company’s current Phoenix location.
“As a result of Savills Studley’s extensive experience with the client and in-depth knowledge of the Phoenix market, we were able to quickly identify a wide range of office options and secure space that will support Waste Management’s unique business objectives for this location,” said Savills Studley Executive Managing Director Lisa Davidson.
“This high-caliber space is ideally suited for sales activities and continued expansion, and will support the existing commuting patterns of Waste Management’s current workforce” said Savills Studley Executive Vice President and Phoenix Branch Manager Tiffany Winne. “Given Waste Management’s creditworthiness and current market conditions in North Phoenix, we were able to leverage our client’s position to secure a competitive cost structure, outdoor green space, ample parking and prominent visibility.”
The three-story, 143,715-square-foot Union Hills Office Plaza was built in 2007. The Class A building provides excellent visibility from the I-17 freeway and offers a parking ratio of 4.8 stalls per 1,000 square feet of leasable area. The building is in proximity to colleges and many companies consolidating to Phoenix, including AMEX, USAA, State Farm and Republic Services.
As part of lease terms negotiated by Savills Studley, Waste Management Inc. was able to obtain significant signage rights and food truck-accessible dedicated outdoor space. In addition to competitive rental rates and low operating costs, the building has stable infrastructure and is not exposed to natural disasters.
Following build out, Waste Management Inc. will take on a new collaborative floor plan designed by Perkins+Will. Union Hills Office Plaza is owned by Artis REIT, which was represented by John Bonnell and Chris Latvaaho of JLL in this transaction.
Phoenix is one of Waste Management Inc.’s largest regional offices and an important location for the company because of the range of business operations executed within this market. The company has sponsored the Waste Management Phoenix Open golf tournament at TPC Scottsdale since 2010. Known as “The Greatest Show on Grass,” the Waste Management Phoenix Open is a major stop on the PGA Tour and one of the most prominent sporting events in Arizona. The 2017 event hosted more than 650,000 spectators.
“The Corporate Real Estate team worked with Perkins & Will to innovatively align the space with the business,” said Jim Wilson, Senior Director of Corporate Real Estate for Waste Management.
“The interaction between business, workspace, technology and people is very complex. We are creating an environment that will inspire the people who inspire the people most important to us, our customers.”
