Mike Bjella

The Story Behind 2023’s Largest Industrial Project Of The Year and it’s TI

Posted on by Mike Bjella

10 West Commerce Park
Industrial project of the year (More than 755,001 SF)

Developer: Creation
Contractor: LGE Design Build
Architect: LGE Design Group

10 West Commerce Park took home the award for Industrial project of the year during AZRE’s 2023 Real Estate and Development Awards. Getting an award winning project like 10 West Commerce Park designed and constructed takes an experienced, talented team. In a testament to LGE’s build and design quality along with Creation’s placemaking and development, 10 West Commerce Park was pre-leased very early during construction. This lead to a massive tenant improvement project for the lease holder Funko, an extremely popular manufacturer of pop culture collectables and figurines. Upon completion 10 West Commerce Park sold for a record setting price to Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation in a joint venture with an affiliate of Cohen Asset Management.

Construction on 10 West began during a period of construction industry staffing problems, import bottlenecks and material volatility. LGE Design Build’s full-service approach with design, engineering, budget control, permit coordination and construction under one roof helped to alleviate these pain points. Architecture teams were also seeing longer lead times because of heavily booked due diligence consultants, along with increased entitlement and permit review durations. However, LGE’s working relationship with the City of Buckeye helped the process remain as seamless as possible. By utilizing the design-build process, the LGE team and the developer, Creation, were able to minimize turbulence in the labor market, better control costs, and ultimately deliver on schedule and on budget.

10 West Commerce Park under construction.

A massive tenant improvement project:

The tenant improvement project at the over 862,000-square-foot 10 West Commerce Center included changes that were made to the office and warehouse spaces, as well as overall site changes. The TI for the 35,000-square-foot office included adding multiple conference rooms, a call center, cantina, gym, high-security entrance and a future retail store.

The 826,000-square-foot warehouse included a full TI for two warehouse restroom cores, a crow’s nest with trucker lounge, adding a receiving office on the ground level as well as full air conditioning and 40’-0” clear height throughout the building. The overall site TI included a guard house, automated gate systems and solar panel covered parking canopies.

10 West Commerce Center was a perfect fit for Funko. The location provides convenient access to central and southern California as well as proximity to ports of LA and Long Beach. The warehouse space and features added during the tenant improvement allowed Funko to consolidate into this single location for their e-commence and wholesale business.

Meet Shelbie McDiffett, Director of Business Development for LGE Design Build Texas

Posted on by Mike Bjella

As Director of Business Development for LGE Design Build’s Texas office, Shelbie works directly with our design, pre-construction, and construction teams to ensure a superior client experience at every phase.

Can you give us a bit of professional background?

Prior to joining LGE, I was the Director of Business Development for a large Building Envelope Sub-Contractor headquartered in Canada. Prior to that, I spent four years as Director of Marketing and Business Development for a Dallas based boutique design firm that specialized in historic preservation on both public and private commercial projects. These positions allowed me to develop a comprehensive view of the industry from both the architecture and construction side. The knowledge and experience gained in each of those roles prepared me greatly for my transition to Design-Build and the LGE team!

Can you tell us about your role in the Texas office?

As Director of Business Development, I am heavily focused on sharing the amazing capabilities of the LGE Design Build team and process here in DFW. LGE has used this model successfully in Arizona over the last 29-years and expanding into Texas has been really exciting. The day to day of my role is centered around developing and executing our strategic plan for the Texas market, fostering relationships with our clients, and cultivating new opportunities for our team across multiple market sectors including industrial, healthcare, office, and hospitality. Every day looks a little different, but it all plays a part in pushing toward the common goal of success and growth for our Texas clients!

Can you give us some insight into what projects you are interested in and looking for?

Build-to-Suits across any market sector, but especially industrial/manufacturing, are a primary focus of mine, as well as industrial spec development and large TI’s. We have such a great portfolio of past work that makes us the right fit for these types of projects, but more than anything, I think it’s our design and construction team that really sets us apart from other design build firms in our market.

What does the Texas CRE market, in general, need to know about LGE? What problem does LGE solve for the Texas CRE market?

We do Design Build differently. Our unique, solution-oriented approach and project team are our biggest differentiators. Having both architecture and construction under one roof allows for one point of contact from entitlements through close-out of construction, efficiencies in the delivery and cost of your project, and true transparency throughout the process.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I really enjoy traveling, reading, going to concerts, and trying new restaurants! Recently, I’ve taken up tennis which has been a lot of fun.

Meet Josh Rogers, Director of Sales

Posted on by Mike Bjella

Josh Rogers is the Director of Sales at LGE Design Build. We chatted with him about his new role as he leverages the talent of LGE’s design, pre-construction and construction teams and guides clients through the firm’s highly effective design-build process toward a rewarding project.

Can you give us a bit of professional background?

I was previously a real estate director for Walmart and traveled a lot, I saw 44 out of the 50 states. Primarily I worked in Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, developing more than 150 Walmart stores. It was important to have a great understanding about every city we built in as I took projects from start to finish. I planted my roots in Phoenix and instantly connected with the lifestyle and people here. Most recently I worked at BH DevCo where we completed over 7M SF of Amazon projects in just 3 short-years.

Can you give us some insight into what projects you are interested in and looking for?

Large scale industrial developments and build-to-suits are a primary focus of mine. However,
I believe there is going to be a big need for tenant improvement (TI) within existing buildings and buildings that are currently being built right now. I want every owner, developer and broker to understand that LGE has nearly 30-years of experience building from the ground up and executing amazing TI work. LGE has recently doubled-down by establishing a team exclusively focused on getting TIs completed in a compressed timeline.

Can you tell us a bit about how your role fits into the new TI division and the role you’ll play there?

In my role, I can utilize my experience and lend my expertise to those who are interested in developing in Arizona market. I enjoy conveying to clients how LGE is that perfect fit and the best team to work with on TIs and build-to-suit ground up projects. We have an amazing portfolio to back that up in multiple product types including, industrial, office, medical, hospitality and even laboratory projects.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I love to golf, but I also have a 3-year-old son, so he takes up a lot of my time outside of work, so instead of spending five hours outside of work on the golf course, you can find me taking my son to the zoo and soccer practice.

LGE’s Top Projects of 2022

Posted on by Mike Bjella

We’ve been blessed with many amazing clients and projects over the years and 2022 was no different! We wanted to highlight some of the projects that really stood out to us, both in Phoenix and Dallas. In order to make the cut, these projects had to be completed before years end in 2022.

Fetzer Surgical

Fetzer Surgical is a 16,344-square-foot medical office/warehouse. Fetzer’s brand new building will be used for the manufacturing and production of vital surgical equipment to be distributed around the world. Fetzer Surgical features steel shade trellises, earth-toned building materials and a pitched metal roof. Amazing views of the McDowell mountains can be taken in from the eastward facing lobby. Like the other projects in our list Fetzer Surgical makes the cut as office/warehouse that is visually appealing and highly functional.

See more office projects here.

Loftin Equipment

Loftin provides generator and engine solutions to construction, rental yards, OEMs, lawn and turf equipment dealers, homeowners, and more. This 20,549-square-foot office/warehouse facility features clerestory windows for natural daylighting and optimal views of Camelback Mountain. The modern building, taking ques from our own Arizona headquarters also has a cantilevered steel entrance and desert tone masonry. Loftin was another amazing client to work with and we’re happy to call them neighbor!

See more office projects here.

10 West Commerce Center

10 West is an impressive 860,000-square-foot industrial facility sitting on 72 acres of prime real estate this project is definitely the biggest on our list. 10 West is now a new U.S. fulfillment center for the wildly popular toy manufacturer Funko. It was developed by local Phoenix investment firm Creation. The sale of the building, for $130 million, set a new record for commercial building sales in Buckeye Arizona. The building is a testament to LGE Design Group’s modern design and LGE Design Build’s quality construction that continue to garner top-of-the-market value.

See more industrial projects here.

Sunday Goods

This 5,000-square-foot retail space was beautifully designed construction features a cantilevered entrance and a drive through that utilizes the same steel and lighting. While we love the exterior, it’s the interior design and construction that really puts this project in the top five! It features resort-style amenities like a central lobby, refreshment area, and has the feel of a high-end electronic store.

See more retail/hospitality projects here.

Bottled Blonde / Backyard

Bottled Blonde and Backyard are separate businesses that operate cooperatively in Crockett Row, a vibrant and up-and-coming entertainment district in Fort Worth, Texas. They are located right next door to each, which encourages patrons to come and go freely between these spirited venues. The signature Bottled Blonde facade with its rugged rusted steel and unique entrance made by placing bottles into cement are something we really dig. The Backyard’s rustic natural concrete exterior along with its expansive brick indoor/outdoor patio space is the perfect compliment to Bottled Blonde. The DJ booth is an old Chevy truck parked in the center.

See more retail/hospitality projects here.

Look out for our next post highlighting some of 2023’s most exciting projects!

Q4 Construction Delivery Outlook

Posted on by Mike Bjella

We’re here to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information about market trends and conditions. Within this report, you will find data that clarifies the ‘Why’, including the most current market conditions, the observed impact of these conditions, and proactive measures we can take to be fully prepared for what’s to come. This report focuses on the design and construction industries through the most recent data, so that together, we can enter the market better equipped and more confident. 

We realize the market is changing, unpredictably and rapidly. The information contained in this report is using the most up-to-date data available as of October 2022. 

Below is a quick recap, be sure to download the full report here.

Construction Labor

The construction unemployment rate is still below the pre-pandemic level, but the demand for skilled workers remains. Despite the economic challenges presented in the second half of the year, general contractors and subcontractors are still looking to fill positions. Download the full report here.

Supply Chain

The supply chain continues to improve as we enter the holiday season. In a not so positive development, ships from Asia in recent months have increasingly bypassed the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to avoid traffic and looming labor problems. The American Trucking Association is still reporting a shortage of drivers and it appears to be a global issue, not something isolated to the United States. Download the full report here.

Material Costs

With demand for certain sectors cooling off, many material prices continue to either stabilize or drop. Factors like geopolitical instability, inflation, and gas prices still add strain to the supply chain, but nowhere near what we experienced in early 2021. Download the full report here.