IndiCap JV Breaks Ground on 1.6 MSF Phoenix Project

IndiCap, together with AECOM-Canyon Partners, has broken ground on Eastmark Center of Industry, a 1.6 million-square-foot industrial park in Mesa, Ariz. The development team includes Layton as general contractor, Kimley Horn serves as general engineer and Deutsch Architecture is the project architect.

The joint venture acquired the 113-acre development site in April 2022 for $48 million, marking IndiCap’s entry into metro Phoenix. Upon completion, the industrial campus comprise 10 mid-bay and cross-dock Class A buildings, ranging from 83,200 to 426,400 square feet, with 30- to 36-foot clear heights, 160- to 500-foot building depths and between 93 and 474 parking stalls. Build-to-suit may be available for future phases.

READ ALSO: A Look at Phoenix’s Large-Scale Industrial Projects

The Eastmark Center of Industry is taking shape within the Elliot Road Technology Corridor, 32 miles from downtown Phoenix and 2 miles from the full-diamond interchange at Santan Loop 202 and State Route 24 extension. The development site is 7.7 miles from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. Other major companies in the area include Apple, Amazon, Lowe’s and Niagara Bottling, among others.

Managing Director Steve Larsen, along with Senior Managing Director Pat Harlan and Senior Vice President Jason Moore of JLL Capital Markets serve as leasing brokers for the project. Larsen mentioned in a prepared statement that the South Valley turned into a major location for industrial development, with 1.5 million square feet of positive absorption in the third quarter of 2022.

The latest CommercialEdge report shows that Phoenix had the second largest under-construction pipeline in the U.S. at the end of September, adding up to 44.8 million square feet or 15.1 percent of stock. Most developments pertain to manufacturing facilities.

Mesa, a growing Phoenix industrial submarket

According to CommercialEdge data, the Mesa submarket currently has 38 facilities under construction, with 136 projects in the planned and prospective stages of development. The largest underway project, at approximately 1.2 million square feet, is developed by Clayco as the first phase of a 4 million-square-foot industrial campus.

Since the beginning of the year, several large projects were either planned or broke ground in Mesa. In January, Wharton Industrial, in partnership with Madison Ventures Plus, landed $224 million for the development of a 1.5-million-square-foot industrial park south of Loop 202.

In October, Scannell Properties announced plans for the development of a nearly 2 million-square-foot business campus, known as Mesa Gateway 202, near the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. Scannell had acquired the development site in July 2021.

One month before, a joint venture led by Contour received financing for the first phase of Sossaman Park 202. The 1.6 million-square-foot industrial campus will come online at the southwest corner of Sossaman Road and Warner Road.

A few smaller projects, all under 1 million square feet, also broke ground in the area. Wetta Ventures started construction on a 450,000-square-foot speculative industrial facility, a Class A development intended for heavy manufacturing use.

In terms of completions, Metro Commercial Properties Inc. recently finalized the development of Metro East Valley Commerce Center, one of the largest master-planned industrial parks in the area, at 1.1 million square feet.