JV of Creation RE + PE , CrossHarbor Capital Partners, and Amherst to construct new 274,000 SF shallow-bay multi-building industrial project; Cushman & Wakefield also arranges construction financing and retained by buyer for leasing services for new Nexus Commerce Center
TEMPE, Ariz.(February 4, 2025) – Cushman & Wakefield has advised the sale of a 16-acre office-to-industrial conversion redevelopment site in Tempe, Arizona. A joint venture consisting of Creation RE + PE, CrossHarbor Capital Partners, and Amherst acquired the site for $13.5 million and will be developing a brand-new, Class A shallow-bay industrial campus totaling 273,341 square feet (SF) across three buildings. The seller was Amherst, who will retain a co-general partner interest after previously serving as the lender on the occupied office building and foreclosed on the asset when the tenant vacated.
The new project, named Nexus Commerce Center, is scheduled to commence construction in February.
The site currently contains a vacant 223,392 SF back-office/call center building that the joint venture buyer will be demolishing to pave way for its Nexus Commerce Center development. Located at the SEC corner of South Hardy Drive and West Elliott Road, the property is in a highly desirable infill location in one of the most dynamic submarkets in the entire Phoenix MSA with proximity to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Mike Haenel and Chris Walker in collaboration with Will Strong of the firm’s National Industrial Advisory Group represented the seller Amherst and buyer, a joint venture consisting of Creation, CrossHarbor, and Amherst in the land sale of the 16-acre site.
The firm’s Jeff Wentworth, Andy Markham, Phil Haenel, and Mike Beall also provided local advisory. Mike Haenel, Andy Markham and Phil Haenel were retained by the joint venture buyer to lead leasing efforts for Nexus Commerce Center.
Additionally, a Cushman & Wakefield Equity, Debt & Structured Finance (“EDSF”) team of Rob Rubano, Brian Share, Max Schafer, Billy Coyle, and Niki Kretschmann arranged $39 million in construction financing for the joint venture buyer to develop the new 273,341 SF project. The loan was provided by Bank of America.
“This investment offering was a rare opportunity to acquire an excellent infill site already zoned for industrial product, which will allow for quickened delivery of the new Class A project,” said Mike Haenel, Vice Chair. Additionally, it will remove an older, vacated commercial building from the market and in its place introduce new better use shallow-bay supply that is direly needed to meet demand for this type of product along the I-10 industrial corridor.”
The new Nexus Commerce Center will comprise three buildings of 103,288 SF (Building A), 81,280 SF (Building B) and 88,773 SF (Building C). The project features 32’ clear heights, ample dock and grade loading, trailer and truck parking, and high-quality office space. There are seven major freeways/expressways located within ten minutes of the property, with the Sky Harbor International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the US, within just a five-minute drive.
“The debt markets are thawing and we’re seeing meaningful improvement in the number of lenders quoting construction loans at higher leverage and lower spreads, but not all projects are created equal. Lenders recognized that Nexus benefits from its strong infill location, premier sponsorship, high quality design, and solid metrics,” said Brian Share, who led the construction financing process.
According to Cushman & Wakefield’s latest Q4 2024 market report, Southeast Valley achieved more than 4.2 MSF of industrial occupancy growth in 2024, one of the highest figures in the Phoenix market. The submarket also had one of the highest average asking rates at year-end at $1.33 per square foot NNN per month.