By Eric Jay Toll | Phoenix Business Journal
With the completion of Loop 303 connecting Interstate 17 with Interstate 10 across the West Valley, thousands of acres of industrial-potential land is opening up for development.
Along Peterson Road north of Interstate 8 and west of I-10 in Casa Grande, nearly 1 million square feet of industrial space has recently been leased, permitted or constructed.
“Pinal County is a hot property all of the sudden,” said Tim Kanavel, economic development director for the county. “We have projects with a total value of $1.8 billion developing or planned in that area. This isn’t just rural farmland and subdivisions any more. We have a workforce.”
With utility-served land in Pinal County around $1 a square foot and served West Valley land at $2 to $3 per square foot, land outside Casa Grade could look good for a manufacturing, warehouse or distribution center. Whether it looks better than the West Valley, home to similar businesses, remains a question of strategy.
“If a company is going to be shipping to southern California the West Valley is still a strong strategy,” said Bill Honsaker, managing director at JLL Industrial Supply Chain & Logistics Solutions. “It has direct access via I-10 or rail. There are also larger buildings and sites available with high-quality utility services.”
The Peterson Road area drew eyeballs of national site selectors to Casa Grande when Tractor Supply Corp. put in its 600,000-square-foot distribution center last year. The city beefed up utilities to the area.
