Behind the Phoenix area’s industrial boom in recent years is a web of infrastructure supporting it — some of it visible, some not, but all crucial to the region’s future.
These private infrastructure improvements, though requiring significant financial investments, empower developers to attract high-profile, sophisticated tenants from diverse industries. This, in turn, will bolster Phoenix’s position as one of the nation’s premier industrial development markets, ensuring that the entire metropolitan area reaps the substantial economic rewards that follow.
Industrial developments tend to be on the outskirts of towns and cities, frequently converted from rural use. While land is available, development sites often require additional infrastructure, mostly in the form of roads and utilities. New or expanded infrastructure is needed for the power, water, sewer and other demands of today’s modern industrial tenants, including warehousing and distribution, manufacturing, food and beverage, automotive, pharmaceutical and other users.
Every project is different, and there is no one-size-fits-all infrastructure plan. Each site requires tailored solutions, and most come with their own set of unique challenges. As a result, adept developers start extensive due diligence early, before the design phase, and engage in direct discussions with local municipalities and utility companies to understand the needs, existing system capacities (electrical, water and sewer), processes and timelines. They meticulously review a city’s master plan, if available, and commence the search for underground utilities, both known and unknown, at the earliest opportunity. The involvement of a civil engineer is crucial because, as noted, these projects are complex and require engineering and coordination with many stakeholders.
While industrial parks require more work due to their size, efficiencies can be realized by bringing utilities and roadway infrastructure to larger parcels that can be developed in phases, similar to a residential subdivision. By making a bigger upfront investment and mapping out the site strategically, a developer’s dollars can support multiple warehouses economically instead of attributing all costs to just one.
At CRG’s The Cubes at Glendale, a 335-acre industrial park at Reems Road and Northern Avenue in Glendale where 3.6 million square feet of industrial properties have been constructed, with 180 acres left to build out, CRG has invested $16 million in infrastructure improvements alone. This includes widening one mile of Reems Road and a one-half mile stretch of Northern Avenue, upgrading a signalized intersection, extending three miles of electrical lines and creating a 2.3-mile-long water loop around the park. The water loop is necessary to avoid dead-end water lines and was sized to serve all buildings in the park, whether for cooling manufacturing or other processes.
Despite it being a slightly smaller project, CRG spent even more on infrastructure at The Cubes at Mesa Gateway. Located between East Pecos and East Germann roads in Mesa, it will span 256 acres but, because it’s farther from the city, it requires more connectivity to roadways and utilities (see Get Real column).
Further industrial development will require even more infrastructure dollars in the years ahead as rural properties get snatched up for industrial development and as power and water needs continue to increase.
Hannah Marshall, vice president of development for the Southwest Region at CRG
Editor’s note: see Extensive Infrastructure Supports The Cubes at Mesa Gateway
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