Merit Partners breaks ground on C|303, occupying full mile of Loop 303 frontage

GLENDALE, Arizona, August 17, 2022 – Phoenix-based real estate development firm Merit Partners, along with First Industrial Realty Trust and Diamond Realty Investments, have broken ground on Phase One of C|303, a Class A modern industrial logistics park situated in the heart of metro Phoenix’s Loop 303 industrial corridor. At build-out, the project will occupy one full mile of Loop 303 frontage.

Phase One of C|303 spans almost 113 acres and more than 1.75 million square feet at the northwest corner of Loop 303 and Camelback Road. Construction on Phase One begins this month and includes three buildings totaling 375,660 square feet (Building A), 420,536 square feet (Building B) and 958,847 square feet (Building C). Building C is slated for completion by July 2023, with the other two buildings expected to be completed by September 2023.

Senior Managing Directors Anthony Lydon and Marc Hertzberg, and Managing Director Riley Gilbert from the Phoenix office of JLL serve as the project’s exclusive leasing brokers.

“Requirements for industrial space have become increasingly sophisticated, but C|303 has anticipated those needs,” said Merit Partners President Kevin Czerwinski. “Its diversity of buildings and connectivity will support cutting-edge logistics and supply chain users. These are exciting opportunities in the Loop 303 corridor that underscore the depth and breadth of our market.”

“Merit has experienced the demand for West Valley industrial product first-hand, particularly with the swift development and leasing of its nearby PV 303 industrial park,” said Gilbert. “Their ability to secure such a large parcel for C|303 means that they can continue to develop state-of-the-art industrial buildings in a corridor where land availability has significantly tightened.”

C|303 Phase One reflects the development’s modern design, with features such as 40’ clear height, up to 70’ speed bays and 8” reinforced floors. Phase Two will offer an additional 1.4 million square feet of future speculative development, or is available now for build-to-suit opportunities.

Stevens-Leinweber Construction serves as the Phase One general contractor. Butler Design Group is the Phase One architect.

The C|303 logistics park is served by full-diamond Loop 303 interchanges at Camelback and Bethany Home roads. It is four miles from Interstate 10 and 2.5 miles from Northern Parkway, an I-10 reliever expressway providing workforce connectivity between the Loop 303, Central Phoenix and Glendale.

C|303 is also 30 minutes from Sky Harbor Airport and less than a four-hour drive from Southern California’s Inland Empire, providing proximity to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Locally, tenants at C|303 will have access to more than five million residents within 30 minutes.

The site is Foreign Trade Zone capable, sitting within a hub of corporate users including Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Mlily, REI, Sub-Zero, UPS, White Claw, Williams Sonoma and XPO Logistics.

With these advantages, JLL projects the Loop 303 corridor to grow to more than 50 million square feet of industrial space within the next five years, supported by sectors including e-commerce, manufacturing, food and beverage, and third-party logistics.

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About JLL
JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. JLL shapes the future of real estate for a better world by using the most advanced technology to create rewarding opportunities, amazing spaces and sustainable real estate solutions for our clients, our people and our communities. JLL is a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $19.4 billion in 2021, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 100,000 as of March 31, 2022. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated.

In Phoenix, JLL is a market leader employing more than 658 of the region’s most recognized industry experts offering office, industrial, retail, healthcare and data center brokerage, tenant representation, facility and investment management, capital markets, multifamily investments and development services, and related services within the real estate leasing, investment and management process. In 2021, the Phoenix team completed 118 million square feet in lease and sale transactions valued at $3.6 billion, directed $140 million in project management and currently manages a 54.6 million-square-foot portfolio.
For further information, visit www.jll.com.

About Merit Partners
Merit Partners, Inc. is a Phoenix-based real estate development firm primarily focused on the industrial sector. For many years Merit Partners has been, and is currently, Arizona’s largest developer of industrial real estate. Since 2010, the company has developed build-to-suit and speculative developments in the Phoenix metro area totaling more than 15 million square feet and comprising well over $2 billion in property value. For more information please visit www.meritpartnersinc.com.

About First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc.
First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FR) is a leading fully integrated owner, operator, and developer of industrial real estate with a track record of providing industry-leading customer service to multinational corporations and regional customers. Across major markets in the United States, our local market experts manage, lease, buy, (re)develop, and sell bulk and regional distribution centers, light industrial, and other industrial facility types. In total, we own and have under development approximately 69.8 million square feet of industrial space as of June 30, 2022. For more information, please visit us at www.firstindustrial.com.

About Diamond Realty Investments
Diamond Realty Investments is a national leader in the investment and development of Multifamily, Student Housing, Senior Housing, Medical Office and Industrial real estate properties. Specializing in joint venture partner