hoenix Rising Like, Well, a Phoenix

In the world of industrial real estate, few areas have been clobbered harder than Phoenix, which suffered from a rash of overbuilding during the boom years by developers dreaming of the region as a national distribution hub.

But a major lease signed by Amazon.com Inc. at a vacant distribution center offers a glimmer of hope that the space glut is starting to be absorbed.

The online retailer is taking 1.4 million square feet of space at an empty building spanning about a half-mile long. The 10.5-year lease is the largest in Phoenix’s history on a square-footage basis, and it is the first tenant since the building was completed by Tratt Properties and KTR Capital Partners two years ago.