PHOENIX AZ – Lee & Associates is pleased to announce the promotion of Conner Lee to Associate on October 1, 2015.

Conner started his career in commercial brokerage in the Lee research department in 2011. In 2013, he moved on to a runner position working for Matt Fredrick and Chris McClurg. After 2 years, Conner was nominated for an Associate position in the Industrial division.

“We’re very excited that Conner is taking the next step in our business. He is a very motivated and goal-oriented young man and a great asset to our firm,” said Fred Darche, Managing Principal. Conner is an active member of NAIOP and currently specializes in the leasing and sales of industrial and fl ex properties throughout the Phoenix Metropolitan area. He is fluent in Spanish and is a graduate of the University of Arizona with a degree in Political Science and Spanish.

Lee can be reached at 602.474.9516 or clee@leearizona.com.

Tempe, AZ – Metro East Valley Holdings, LLC, a joint venture between Tempe based Metro Commercial Properties, Inc., and a private REIT managed by Principal Real Estate Investors, Des Moines, IA, completed the purchase of 21.5 acres of land fronting the US 60 Superstition Freeway in Mesa, Arizona, for a planned four building light industrial development.

The seller in the transaction was PuppyFeathers, LLLP, an entity controlled by Craig Berge, also president of Berge Ford, Inc. The site located at 614 – 720 East Auto Center Drive, is immediately east of the Berge Ford dealership with frontage on the south side of the U.S. 60 at Mesa Drive. The $6.5 million ($302,325 per acre / $6.94 PSF) land sale was brokered by Kurt Saulnier, Ken McQueen and Chris McClurg of Lee and Associates Arizona.

The 21.5 acre site was formerly zoned for automotive dealership use. The team at Metro Commercial Properties, led by veteran zoning attorney Mike Withey of Withey Morris, completed a re-zone of the site on February 23, 2015, to allow industrial uses for the proposed multi-tenant light industrial project. Upon receipt of permits with the City of Mesa, construction is scheduled to commence in August 2015.

McCall & Associates Architects (Jeff McCall) of Scottsdale was engaged as the project architect and designed the four-building project to accommodate the anticipated small and medium sized user profile of the southeast valley industrial market in attractive rear load buildings. Each of the four buildings were designed to break down to accommodate a diverse size of users ranging from as small as 5,750 square feet to as large as 128,000 square feet. Building features include a 180 foot shared truck court, grade level and truckwell loading, clear heights of 24’ and 30’, ESFR sprinkler system, and parking for 640 cars (1.86/1000 SF).

Upon completion of the Mesa light industrial project in March, 2016, the development will add 349,049-square-feet of additional light industrial product to the inventory base of the Southeast Valley, a submarket with only 8.9% overall warehouse vacancy according to 2nd quarter industrial reports published by Lee & Associates Arizona.

“We were extremely fortunate to work with Craig Berge in the acquisition of this in-fill industrial site with over 1,300 feet of highly visible frontage along the US 60 Superstition Freeway.” stated Janet Herlyck, Vice President of Metro Commercial Properties. “The site has tremendous accessibility off of the US 60 between two full diamond interchanges at Mesa Drive and Stapley.” In addition to the controlled intersection at Mesa Drive and E. Auto Center, two additional controlled Baseline Road intersections at S. Hobson and Horne Drive provide very convenient truck access to the site.

“The site is literally the geographic center of the entire southeast valley industrial submarket,” added Tony C. Hepner, Principal of Metro Commercial Properties. “The infill location and freeway infrastructure of the Metro East Valley Commerce Center site allow industrial users to serve their customer base, northwest to Sky Harbor Airport and southeast to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway from a single central location with delivery times of less than 30 minutes.”

Nitti-Graycor Construction has been engaged as the project’s general contractor. Bank of America, N.A. provided construction financing to the Metro-Principal joint venture. The team of Saulnier, McClurg and McQueen of Lee & Associates has been retained by the developer to provide leasing services for the new project which is currently marketing space for the March 2016 delivery date.

For more information, visit the property website at www.mevcc.com or contact the leasing team: Saulnier at 602.954.3740, ksaulnier@leearizona.com, McQueen at 602.474.9564, kmqueen@leearizona.com and McClurg at 602.954.3766, cmclurg@leearizona.com.

TEMPE, AZ – Lee & Associates Arizona is proud to announce the signing of a 12-year, 111,349-square-feet lease with The Home Depot USA, Inc. of Atlanta,GA. The back office building known as Tempe One is located at 1717 W.16th St. in Tempe. Move-in for the online call center is scheduled for Q4 of this year.

Rick Lee, Principal with Lee & Associates was the listing agent on the property, while Chris McClurg, Principal was the procuring broker who teamed with ICON Commercial of Atlanta who represents The Home Depot USA, as their sole tenant rep. The landlord is Tempe One Investors of Coconut Grove, FL.

Tempe One previously housed Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

“The building and the location are a great fit for The Home Depot who are very selective where they chose to do business. The area amenities and logistics proved to be a winner for them and for all parties involved,” said Lee.

The property is located in Northwest Tempe and provides ample public transportation and is close to Interstate 10 and the Hohokam Expressway as well as Arizona State University’s Main Campus. The area also features a densely-populated and educated workforce that is attractive to tenants like The Home Depot.

The property, originally developed in 1978 and renovated in 2008 features abundant 7:1,000 parking, 18’ clear height and will be entirely renovated to meet the needs of The Home Depot call center.

To learn more Lee should be contacted at 602.954.3742,and McClurg is at 602.954.3766.