David E. Sellers, president of LGE Design Build of Phoenix, says the former plant of Gould Electronics Inc. has been razed, the platting is in progress and the 2919 Chandler Blvd. land is being readied for 101's Chandler's first phase, a 234,000-sf spec office building. "Over the years, what this has become is a premier hard corner," he explains. "You couldn't duplicate this land. It's across the street from Chandler Fashion Mall, which is 1.4 million sf of retail with zero vacancy." In a three-mile radius, there is a total of 6.5 million sf of retail and scores of residential developments. Additionally, the site has a daily traffic count of 150 vehicles per day and a straight shot onto Loop 101.

Surprisingly, there is no class A office space within the three-mile trade area. Sellers says because of that, the city of Chandler has been amenable to rezoning the site from industrial to office. "Because of the density and the location, the City of Chandler wants us to go six stories," Sellers tells GlobeSt.com. The typical height for an office building in Chandler is three to four stories, he adds.

Sellers says the partners will wait until the first building is 50% leased before starting work on its twin. The 101 Chandler project includes two pad sites, each measuring about two acres and earmarked for high-end restaurants.