DBL Distributing Inc. of Scottsdale initially signed a five-year lease with First Industrial in late 2003, but recently switched gears and decided to buy the 16648 N. 94th St. property, Kevin Czerwinski, a senior vice president in Scottsdale for Chicago-based First Industrial Realty Trust Inc., tells GlobeSt.com. The deal was tailored exclusively for DBL, but there were other investors lined up just in case, he says.

The 9.5-acre property is being built out with a 100,000-sf distribution warehouse and a 44,582-sf office building, both adjoined by a 1,600-sf connecting structure. "It was a build-to-suit, but the way we designed the building was a mutual joint effort with the ultimate goal of flexibility if it ever becomes multi-tenant," Czerwinski says. The design allows the office component to be a freestanding two-story garden-style building from the warehouse facility, also with built-in flexibility.

DBL Distributing will relocate from about 100,000 sf at 7575 E. Redfield Rd., south of the Scottsdale Airpark. Its distributes some 10,000 items in 40 electronics categories, catering to 30,000 retail customers around the country.