The pandemic isn't deterring investment in Phoenix, at least not for industrial investor CapRock Partners. CapRock has pinpointed Phoenix as a target market for industrial investment and development, and it expects the market to continue to benefit from longstanding population and job growth trends, despite the pandemic.

"The demand drivers of Phoenix are very attractive to us," Bob O'Neill, SVP of acquisitions of CapRock Partners, tells GlobeSt.com. "Last year, Phoenix had the highest population growth in the country, and that drives strong job growth. A lot of companies are moving to the Phoenix MSA because of affordability, high quality of life, good labor force and a business-friendly local government. We have continued to see strong growth and strong interest from tenants that are expanding and new companies that are relocating to Phoenix."

While these demand drivers were in place long before the pandemic, O'Neill says that the pandemic has brought a new set of drivers that make the market attractive for investment. "We look at the factors that are driving that growth, he says. "We are anticipating future demand from ecommerce users and retailers that survive this pandemic that are going to need additional logistics space."