By Lesley Wright and John Yantis | The Arizona Republic
The market for speculative industrial buildings on the west side of metro Phoenix is expanding, despite a recent drop in tenants for the massive buildings.
For nearly three years, real-estate brokers in the southwest Valley could barely keep up with calls from clients seeking space for warehouses and distribution centers in Avondale, Goodyear and Buckeye. Recently, those phone calls have tapered off, but a project in Surprise is moving forward despite the drop in demand.
Meanwhile, industrial brokers also are becoming more busy again in the southeast Valley cities of Mesa, Chandler and Tempe. There, landlords have not seen the huge surge in demand, or the abrupt lull experienced by the West Valley cities.
This slice of the real-estate market is closely watched because Valley cities consider the plants and distribution centers to be economic engines, bringing hundreds of jobs to the community.
East and West Valley landlords face different challenges, in part because they have different clientele, experts said.
Manufacturers and employee-based companies, who have been slower to rebound from the recession, tend to be drawn southeast.
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