1.2-million-square-foot industrial complex, potential semiconductor supplier site proposed in Casa Grande

By Corina Vanek  –  Reporter, Phoenix Business Journal

Jan 4, 2022, 7:00am EST

A 1.2-million-square-foot industrial complex is planned in Casa Grande, adjacent to where Chang Chun Group, a supplier to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., recently bought 84 acres of land.

The proposed project would include two buildings and be built in two phases, according to city of Casa Grande documents. The uses of the project have yet to be determined but are likely to include manufacturing and warehousing.

Detroit-based Walbridge, a full-service construction company, bought the 100-acre parcel where the project is planned in November for $1.15 million, according to real estate database Vizzda. The site is south of the Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway and east of Ethington Road.

While city documents do not specify a user for the site, Walbridge has experience building facilities for chemical manufacturers, advanced manufacturing, research and development, distribution and a variety of other types of uses.

The site plan for the project calls for two separate buildings for the speculative industrial park, one that will be 312,742 square feet and the other that will be 898,744 square feet. The smaller building, located on the northern portion of the parcel, is planned to be built first. The site is served by a rail spur from the Union Pacific Railroad.

The city of Casa Grande Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to discuss the planned project at its Jan. 6 meeting. The applicant for the project is the civil engineering firm, HilgartWilson. According to city documents the development will have over 800 parking spaces for cars and over 425 spaces for trucks.

This site is immediately west of the site purchased by Taiwan-based Chang Chun Group, which will produce electronic-grade hydrogen peroxide, tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH)-based developers, electronic-grade solution and plating solution at its facility.

At the same meeting, the commission will also hear a request to rezone about 81 acres of land north of the Central Arizona Commerce Park, east of Burris Road for industrial uses. According to city documents, the rezoning is requested to accommodate “a potential industrial prospect” that would require industrial zoning. The staff report does not indicate a user, but city documents suggest the user is Kanto Corp., a supplier of electronic chemicals, biotechnology products, diagnostics and fine chemicals for the semiconductor industry.

“The city current demand for industrial land is significant, this rezone would expand that available area,” city staff wrote in the report for the commission.

Pinal County, especially Casa Grande, has seen a recent influx of interest from semiconductor industry suppliers as TSMC has started construction on its $12 billion plant in north Phoenix and from electric vehicle-oriented companies. In December, Kirk McCarville, a broker with Land Advisors, said there have been a “tremendous amount of calls” from companies in those industries looking for sites in Pinal County.