Developers are betting on increasing demand for industrial space in Phoenix, and for the Airport I-10 spec development underway, the bet seems to be paying off: three new tenants have inked deals for 151k SF.

With these leases, the 600k SF Phase 1 of the project (one of the largest spec industrial projects ever in Phoenix) is now 35% pre-leased before construction is complete. JLL managing director Pat Harlan tells us there's a flight to quality in the market, with all types of users more sophisticated about what they want in an industrial location. Along with colleagues Steve Sayre and Kyle Westfall, Pat repped the developers, Wentworth Property Co and Clarion Partners, in the leasing.

Tenants are requiring improved function from features like higher clear heights, better overall building layout and better truck maneuverability, Pat adds. Logistics, retail and tech company demand for space is supporting the new wave of spec industrial development. The three new tenants at Airport I-10 are all logistics specialists: DLS Worldwide, DHL and Pilot Freight Services. Mike Gordon of Cresa repped DLS; Jim Wilson of Cushman & Wakefield repped DHL; and John Werstler, Jerry McCormick and Cooper Fratt of CBRE repped Pilot. At build-out, the 58-acre property will include five industrial buildings totaling 920k SF.