Sunbelt Investment Holdings, Inc. (SIHI), a privately held and family-owned real estate company with roots in Germany, is making a name for itself as one of the top commercial landowners in the East Valley through its continued investment in Mesa, the 36th largest city by population in the U.S.
Sunbelt Investment Holdings has acquired seven large properties in Mesa over the last decade, totaling over 1,000-acres, and is currently pursuing additional sites for commercial and industrial development. “SIHI believes that there is a great potential for business and population growth in Mesa, and through future land and building development we plan to be a prominent player in the marketplace” said Todd Holzer, SIHI president. SIHI has significant land holdings near Mesa Gateway Airport, which are primed for commercial, industrial and retail development.
A recent Sunbelt Investment Holdings transaction includes a 27-acre sale to Niagara Bottling Company in Mesa’s Elliot Road Technology Corridor. Niagara is currently building a 450,000-square-foot facility.
According to Bill Jabjiniak, the City of Mesa’s economic development director, Mesa is experiencing the highest amount of land development that it has seen in the last nine years because of “access to skilled labor, transportation corridors, the City’s infrastructure investment, as well as the abundance of vacant land and competitive land costs.”
“Mesa prefers to partner closely with companies at the early stages of development to ensure the best use of properties for developers and the city,” said Jabjiniak. “We have a strong relationship with Sunbelt Investment Holdings and often promote SIHI properties to companies considering locating in Mesa.”
Holzer, who has more than three decades of experience in real estate development within Arizona, including OPUS, DeRito Partners and Ryan Companies, notes that SIHI owns and self-manages 3.5 million square feet of retail shopping centers in Arizona and California. The company’s affiliate is Metropolis Investment Holdings Inc., which also owns five large office towers and adjacent mixed use development sites in major central business districts throughout the U.S.
SIHI also owns 232-acres in four large properties in the West Valley and is currently under contract to purchase an additional 68-acre parcel for industrial development. With all of the activity, SIHI recently purchased an office building in Midtown Phoenix, and will open the office in Q3 2017.
