Nikola buys Phoenix HQ; plus 11 other Valley real estate deals to know
Nikola Corp. (Nasdaq:NKLA), the hydrogen and electric semitruck manufacturer, bought its headquarters for $25 million, according to real estate database Vizzda.
The company bought the 200,000-square-foot building at 4141 E Broadway Road in Phoenix from the Douglas Allred Company in a sale that closed Nov. 23.
A company spokeswoman for Nikola said the vehicle manufacturer had been leasing the building for a few years and decided to buy it.
Nikola’s three-story Phoenix headquarters and research and development facility opened in 2019. The hydrogen-electric truck company uses the building to show off its vehicles, design and test new features and designs, and manufacture limited production runs.
Nikola has a manufacturing facility in Coolidge.
• Also in Phoenix, three companies signed leases at The Link, a creative office plaza that recently underwent an extensive renovation.
The Wounded Warrior Project, represented by Kyle Seeger at JLL, signed a lease for 5,524 square feet; Central Garden & Pet, represented by James Bayless and John Cooper at CBRE, committed to 13,718 square feet; and Caliber Homes, represented by Tripp Anderson, Josh Nelson, Chris Sido and Kevin Calihan at CBRE, is leasing 3,117 square feet.
Sean Spellman, Corey Hawley and Jimmy Cornish of CBRE represented the landlords, Mainstreet Capital Partners and WHI Real Estate Partners in the leases.
The complex, called the Link, is located at Seventh Street and Missouri Avenue. The three leases total 22,359 square feet of the 84,000-square-foot complex. The complex includes two buildings that are connected by a glass-enclosed amenity lobby where Provision Coffee & Roasters will open in early 2022.
“These tenants recognized the importance of making early lease commitments to this one-of-a-kind project, and further demonstrate the strong tenant demand for creative and unique office spaces,” David Warren of Mainstreet Capital Partners said in a statement.
• Over in the West Valley, KeHe Distributors LLC plans to host its grand opening for a new distribution center in Goodyear on Dec. 9, the company recently announced.
KeHe, one of the largest grocery and natural distributors in North America, is opening its 16th distribution center at the PV303 master-planned industrial park at a 500,000-square-foot facility, which will service its retail parters in the western region including Sprouts Farmer’s Market and Albertson’s Safeway.
The company will supply the stores with natural and organic, specialty and fresh products. The new facility will also bring 270 jobs to the area.
The event will include a ribbon cutting and feature Gene Carter, chief operating officer at KeHe, Goodyear Mayor Georgia Lord and Chris Sieburg, executive vice president of warehouse operations at KeHe. The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 17510 W. Thomas Road in Goodyear.
• Also in the West Valley, Vantage Data Centers recently held a ceremony to celebrate the “topping out” of its first, 32-megawatt data center in Goodyear. The ceremony was comprised of placing the last piece of steel on the building’s frame.
The site is the first Southwest campus for Vantage, which will also be the company’s largest North American campus. It will include more than 1 million square feet of space and provide 160 megawatts of critical IT load at full buildout.
The first phase of the project includes a single-story facility, which is expected to be operational by spring. The overall campus will be located on 50 acres within Goodyear’s Bullard Tech Corridor, which will include three data centers.
The location will provide the company’s hyperscale, cloud and large enterprise customers with an alternative to the “space-constrained and more costly” Silicon Valley market, Vantage said.
The campus will employ a closed-loop chilled water system, which the company said uses no ongoing water resources after its initial system charging, as well as other features to achieve “industry-leading power usage effectiveness.”
“As we continue to expand globally, Vantage is also increasing our footprint across North America to meet our customers’ growing needs, providing high-quality data centers in strategic markets,” said Jeff Tench, president of Vantage Data Centers in North America, in a statement.
“Our customers have identified Phoenix as an ideal location due to its low power costs, rich connectivity and business-friendly environment. This is a fitting market for hyperscalers, cloud providers and larger enterprises who need a west coast presence for their digital infrastructure requirements.”
The company also has a 270 megawatt Cardiff campus in the United Kingdom.
• In Phoenix, a 94,000-square-foot, multi-tenant office property in the Metrocenter Mall area was purchased by RW Partners, an Arizona-based investor for $6.275 million.
Michael Kitlica of Cushman & Wakefield represented the buyer in the deal. The seller, Southern California- Transpacific Development Company, was represented by Barry Gabel of CBRE Group Inc. The property is at 2233 W. Dunlap Ave.
“With unparalleled industrial and residential growth in Deer Valley coupled with Taiwan Semiconductor’s monolithic chip fabrication plant compelled RW Partners to purchase this asset as a linkage to this growth,” Kitlica said in a statement. “With non-existent value-add options in almost every product type, 2233 Dunlap was acquired at a fraction of replication cost, which made it an obvious value-add opportunity.”
• Stratford Plaza, a 20,600-square-foot retail center in Phoenix was purchased by 10K Development, which plans to remodel and update the site, located at 1219 E. Glendale Ave.
Tom Author of Jacor Investments was the seller. Steve Julius, Jesse Goldsmith and Chase Dorsett of Newmark represented both the buyer and seller in the deal. The property was 83% leased at the time of the sale to 14 tenants.
“The buyer sees Stratford Plaza as an asset in a great location that needs a little remodel and updating,” Julius said in a statement. “This infill neighborhood has been revitalized over the past few years, especially among residential properties, so it’s time for commercial to follow.”
• Glenn Isle, a 22-unit apartment property at 6802 W. Glendale Ave. in Glendale, sold recently for $3.43 million, according to Marcus & Millichap.
“Setback from Glendale Avenue between Glendale’s historic downtown and Westgate entertainment districts, Glenn Isle is poised for sustained rental growth and desirability,” Paul Bay, first vice president investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Phoenix office, said.
Bay represented the seller and procured the buyer.
• Chandler-based Legacy Traditional Schools will be opening a new campus in San Tan Valley in fall 2022, marking its 20th campus in Arizona.
Plans call for building an 87,000-square-foot facility on a 10-acre campus at the southwest corner of West Empire Boulevard and North Gary Road. When completed it will enroll up to 1,350 students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
The $27 million project, which is bond financed, is being designed by Knit Design Studios while Burke Construction is serving as general contractor.
When completed, the San Tan campus will include 47 classrooms, offices, a gym, athletic fields, a library, a piano lab, indoor basketball court and artificial turf field, a commercial kitchen and cafeteria.
The charter school system has more than 25,000 students across 28 campuses in Arizona, Nevada and Texas.
• Derek Harris just closed a $15 million sale of the 300-space Quail Run RV Resort, a 55+ community in Arizona City.
The founder and principal of HARRI5 Manufactured Housing and Commercial Brokerage has closed or has in escrow $200 million of these communities so far this year in Arizona.
Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois-based Cobblestone Real Estate bought the property from William Corrigan.
Cobblestone has been acquiring manufactured housing communities and RV resorts in Arizona since 2014, Harris said.
“They sold their first portfolio for over $100 million to Blackstone,” he said.
• Over in Tolleson, entities tracing to Cohen Asset Management, 5 Star Storage and more purchased a 466,000-square-foot industrial facility for nearly $80 million, according to real estate database Vizzda. The deal closed Nov. 22.
The facility is located on about 45 acres on the southeast corner of 91st Avenue and Van Buren Street in Tolleson. The distribution warehouse was built in 2010, Vizzda shows.
Stealth W Jefferson LLC, SBSS W Jefferson LLC and CI448 W Jefferson LLC acquired the site from Cohen Asset Management, according to Vizzda.
• Discount Tire, the world’s largest independent retailer of tires and wheels, opened its first location in Maricopa in Pinal County, according to the retailer. The store is at 20240 N. John Wayne Parkway next to the Dutch Bros Coffee. Including the new Maricopa location, Discount Tire operate 81 stores in Arizona, with plans for further expansion over the next couple of years.
• Ono Hawaiian BBQ has reopened its Scottsdale location at 15560 N. Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd. #B-10 after an extensive remodeling, the restaurant announced.