CapRock Partners, a Newport Beach-based industrial developer and investor, last month made its 19th buy in Arizona, acquiring a newly built 244,286-square-foot industrial complex for nearly $32 million.
The deal works out to around $130 per square foot for the two-building property, dubbed Longbow Industrial Park, in Mesa, which is just north of Phoenix.
Because of Phoenix’s lower cost of living, the area “is seeing so much population growth, which attracts corporations and feeds into more population growth,” Senior Vice President of Acquisitions Bob O’Neill told the Business Journal.
California’s industrial real estate rent pricing has skyrocketed in comparison to Arizona rents. Prior to the pandemic, rental rates in the Inland Empire, for instance, were 20 to 25% more expensive than those in Phoenix. Today, IE rates are now double their Phoenix counterparts, according to O’Neill.
The seller and developer of Longbow Industrial Park is Tempe, Ariz.-based Sun State Builders.
Lee & Associates’ Marc Pierce, Stein Koss, Tom Louer and Fenton Kelly represented CapRock in the deal.
CapRock has acquired, developed and entitled over 30 million square feet of industrial real estate in Southern California, Arizona and Texas.
Lease Negotiations
Longbow Industrial Park, which is less than a mile from the Papago (10) Freeway, offers both distribution and manufacturing services.
The complex’s Building One spans 129,165 square feet and features 36 dock-high doors.
The park’s second building runs 115,121 square feet and offers 34 dock-high doors. The property’s wrap-around parking lot has 320 stalls.
CapRock is currently negotiating leases with potential tenants, according to officials.
The firm is aiming to expand its presence in Arizona to 8 million square feet. CapRock currently owns approximately 5 million square feet of real estate in the state.
The most notable of the firm’s Arizona holdings, however, is the 3.4 million-square-foot project it has in the works: CapRock West 202 Logistics.
The eight-building warehouse complex’s first phase was completed last year. The project’s recent build out runs 2.5 million square feet across five buildings, which are actively leasing. Officials are aiming to complete the project’s second phase in the next two years.
Repeat Buyer
CapRock is no stranger to acquiring properties from Sun State Builders.
CapRock to date has acquired seven Arizona properties from the design and construction company.
Sun State Builders’ projects range from warehouses to offices to data centers.
The company’s last sale to CapRock was a 318,683-square-foot industrial park in Chandler, Ariz., which closed in March.
CapRock paid almost $43 million for the four-building industrial complex, or about $134 per square foot.
The property, dubbed Chandler Airport Business Park, is also seeing strong business growth, according to O’Neill.
