The 65-month lease has a payout of $1.1 million, according to James Harper, a senior associate with Trammell Crow Co. who represented both tenant and building owner, Phoenix-based Hewson Development Co. Harper tells GlobeSt.com that Design Mail needed to expand from 27,000 sf because it won several new distribution contracts. "This is a pretty significant expansion," he says.

The company had as many as four facilities from which to choose, but ultimately decided on the 106,000-sf building because it offered fully air conditioned space, a good location and aggressive rental rate. "Air conditioning was a big deal," Harper says. "Because of the paper products and heavy machinery, Design Mail needed to run the A/C constantly." He adds the six-year-old building, with direct access to Interstate 10, is outfitted with relatively new chillers.

Moreover, the building had been vacant for nearly two years. "We knew we could get aggressive on the lease rate," Harper says. He adds he secured Design Mail as a tenant within 60 days of taking over the listing. He says the South Tempe submarket is doing well although the building was vacant for a long time.