Chandler, AZ – Just before the holiday break, Wadsworth Development and Accelerated Development closed on 1.7 acres of raw land at the southwest corner of Germann and Gilbert in Chandler, Arizona. The partnership closed the deal under their joint venture agreement with Salt Lake City-based Wadsworth and was a 1031 exchange. Interested parties ranging from sit-down restaurants, fast food uses, to shop tenants have expressed interest in the development.
Exxon Mobil owned the land for years and had originally intended to build a gas station on the property. Since they’ve exited the retail fuel business, they put the land on the market for sale and had multiple legitimate suitors. Dave Cheatham with Velocity Retail Group represented the buyer and commented on the sale, “This was a very competitive deal to buy from Exxon Mobil Foundation. We worked with the listing agent, Mindy Korth at CBRE and had to perform with extremely short time frames.”
“The property is located at the hard corner in front of 1.5 Million square feet of retail, this site is probably the best vacant land remaining in the Southeast valley in terms of the demographics, traffic, and retail synergy,” said Cheatham. While it is located in Chandler, it is on the dividing line between Chandler and Gilbert, two of the best cities in the Valley for retail trade potential. The property came with PAD zoning approval that allows Accelerated to quickly move to permitting and construction once the tenant mix is solidified.
Pat Sauer, Principal and Director of Development at Accelerated commented on the purchase, “We had to be extremely aggressive to get this property, as there were multiple qualified bidders going after it. Ultimately, we were chosen as the buyer and are excited as we see it as a long term hold for our partnership.” Accelerated will work through the list of potential tenants and get the project underway toward the end of the 2nd quarter of 2013, with plans to open by year end.
