Whirlygig Builds To Suit In Sahuarita

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Smith’s Food & Drug Centers, Inc. of Salt Lake City, UT (Mark Tuffin, President) purchased a 26,701 sq. ft. pad in the ‘Mercado at La Canada’ from La Canada Land Holdings, LLC, an affiliate of locally owned, Whirlygig Properties (Barry Kitay and Lynn Taylor, principals) for $500,000, or approximately $19 PSF. Smith’s is constructing a gas station at the site anchored by Fry’s Food & Drug Store, Ace Hardware and Goodwill. The fueling station is anticipated to open in May and is located north of the northeast corner of La Canada and Lambert Lane in OroValley.

Subsequently, in an unrelated transaction, Whirlygig purchased through an affiliate group, WG Sahuarita Holdings, LLC a 2.9 acre outparcel at Madera Marketplace in Sahuarita for $575,000 ($4.55 PSF) from Evergreen-Interstate 19 & Nogales, LLC, an affiliate of Diamond Ventures of Tucson (David Goldstein, CEO). Construction is underway at this site for a 16,900 sq. ft. build-to-suit for Goodwill of Southern Arizona and Rubs Massage Studio. The lot is to be split, with about 58,000 sq. ft. of the remainder land under negotiation for re-sale to a second anchor.

Whirlygig is the exclusive representative for Goodwill Industries of Southern Arizona that will occupy 14,400 sq. ft. in this building. Madera Marketplace is immediately east of the full diamond interchange at Interstate 19 that connects the Sahuarita trade area with Tucson and Nogales, its anchored by such tenants a Super Walmart, Walgreens, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Carl’s Jr.

The other tenant, Rubs Massage Studio, a Tucson-based business since 2004, will occupy 2,500 sq. ft. at Madera Marketplace. This will be Rubs sixth location in the Tucson region, opening three over the past year. Its latest center opened in November at 10580 N La Canada Drive in OroValley, that followed the April opening of Rubs at 7385 W Wrightstown Road. Other Rubs locations are at 5151 N Oracle Road, 1531 N Wilmot Road and 7385 S Houghton Road.

Whirlygig is developer and builder for the Madera Marketplace outparcel. Lynn Taylor at Whirlygig said, “They continue to keep their eyes and ears open for build-to-suit opportunities that may present themselves,” but adds, “spec buildings are not part of the foreseeable future.”

David Hammack and Brenna Lacey of Volk Company Commercial Real Estate in Tucson represented the seller on the Sahuarita sale while Whirlygig and Smith’s represented themselves in the transaction.

Taylor can be reached at (520) 546-9003. Hammond and Lacey are at (520) 326-3200. To contact Goodwill call (520) 623-5174 or Rubs at (520) 887-8866.

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