"It's a special project," Bruce Gillespie, a principal with Desco Southwest-Phoenix, tells GlobeSt.com. "There's been no office construction of any significance for the last three years so there appears to be pent-up demand for space. Our tenant mix will probably be similar to the Stapley Center, with service-oriented companies."
Desco Southwest-Phoenix is in escrow for the site--located on the northwest corner of Stapley Drive and Baseline Road--with the Scottsdale office of Denali National Trust Inc. of Fairbanks, AK. With a final closing expected in November, ground could break as soon as a month later, says Gillespie, who helped start the subsidiary of St. Louis-based the Desco Group with his wife last year. The firm is seeking preliminary planning approvals from the City of Mesa.
Stapley Corporate Center will consist of 180,000 sf of office space in two low-rise, 90,000-sf buildings and a pair of 15,000-sf retail buildings. Gillespie plans to start with one office building and break ground on the second one later next year. Both retail buildings will be developed simultaneously. The firm has selected a generalcontractor and architect for the project.
"We're not building because of pre-leasing activity," Gillespie says. "We have been approached by one company, but we don't anticipate significant pre-leasing until after we've broken ground."
Mesa's 7% office vacancy bodes well for the new development, which is additionally surrounded by a healthy dose of retail destinations, including nine restaurants within walking distance. Desco Southwest-Phoenix is continuing to look for development opportunities throughout the market, Gillespie adds.
Dave Seeger and Karsten Peterson, both with Trammell Crow Co.'s Phoenix office, represent Denali in the land sale. Desco is self-represented.
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