Tenant leasing activity is revving up in a big way for Nationwide Realty Investors in metro Phoenix — most recently attracting two huge publicly traded companies.
Tech Data Corp. (NYSE: SNX) has secured a 52,000-square-foot lease in the 410 Commons building at Rivulon, Nationwide Realty's $1 billion development in Gilbert, while Meritage Homes Corp. (NYSE: MTH) is moving its Scottsdale corporate headquarters to Nationwide Realty's $1 billion Cavasson development at the northwest corner of Loop 101 and Hayden Road in Scottsdale.
"Interest in our Cavasson project has been unprecedented," said Brian Ellis, president and CEO of Nationwide Realty Investors. "In my 30 years of doing this, I don't think I've ever seen the level of interest and activity we've experienced over the last three to six months."
Clearwater, Florida-based Tech Data Corp. — which employs 14,000 people worldwide and is named one of Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies — plans to move into the Rivulon space early next year, Ellis said.
Tech Data will take the entire second floor of The Commons, one of the four buildings at Rivulon, a 300-acre development along Loop 202, bounded by Gilbert, Lindsay and Pecos roads.
With about 800,000 square feet developed, more than 3 million square feet of office are planned there.
"We're in design for another 100,000-square-foot building and we have a couple of other buildings that are more like 160,000 square feet each that have been designed as well," Ellis said. "We're seeing significant level of activity there."
Meanwhile, the Cavasson development on the opposite side of town at Loop 101 and Hayden Road is attracting additional tenants, including Scottsdale-based Stealth Partner Group, taking 38,000 square feet this fall and Sigma Co.'s Bar-S Foods, taking 20,000 square feet at the Cavasson East building.
Also taking space are financial advisory firm Quantum Group, U.S. Money Reserve and software company Transact Campus Inc.
Pitch restaurant is scheduled to debut this fall in a newly completed 15,000-square-foot retail building fronting Hayden Road, Ellis said.
Meritage's new 80,000-square-foot corporate headquarters will be in a new 150,000-square-foot building that Nationwide Realty had designed at Cavasson but has not yet built, Ellis said.
"When we received the lease with Meritage, we had already had a building permit ready to go," he said. "We pulled the building permit and we are now just starting construction on that building to meet Meritage's deadline for later next year."
Meritage's new headquarters represents the third commercial office building at Cavasson.
Choice Hotels is leasing a 150,000-square-foot building there, and a 3,750-space parking garage is completed at the southeast quadrant of the site.