The Telepress Building: 18,000 SF Speculative Industrial in Kent
Market Contractors · Kent, WA
Represented by Mike Hemphill and Shane Crook, The Andover Company
- Site53,000 SF corner lot
- Building18,000 SF high-tech metal design, built on speculation
- TenantTelepress, an Issaquah printing company
- Lease10 years, signed mid-construction
Challenge
Market Contractors owned a 53,000 SF vacant corner lot next to two leased 18,000 SF industrial buildings. It had spent more than two years designing and permitting a new 18,000 SF building for its own use. Then its plans changed and it no longer needed the space.
After interviewing brokerage firms, Market Contractors hired Shane Crook and Mike Hemphill of The Andover Company. The question was whether to build on speculation or wait for a build-to-suit tenant.
Strategy
After listening to Market Contractors' goals, studying the industrial market, and reviewing the proposed design, Andover recommended building speculatively. The high-tech metal design would stand out from the standard concrete tilt-up buildings across the Kent Valley.
The marketing put the building in front of every potential user with a color rendering, clear photos of the space, and the distinctive image it would create. Strong interest came in well before construction was finished.
Results
Midway through construction, Andover signed a 10-year lease with Telepress, a printing company based in Issaquah, Washington, which was drawn to the building's design and its function for the business.
Market Contractors was extremely pleased with the pre-lease, and the lease-up beat its expectations for the project and its financed return.
Related services
More on the Kent industrial and office market.
Adapted from The Andover Company's published case study. Represented by Mike Hemphill and Shane Crook of The Andover Company. Ben Hemphill now works alongside Mike Hemphill.
