What Did Walmart Buy at Luke Field (Price, Size, $/SF)?
A blockbuster industrial acquisition landed at Luke Field one day before Thanksgiving 2025.
The off-market Walmart deal closed at $152,161,730, the highest Arizona industrial sale of 2025.
The sale also ranks as the second-largest industrial building trade in Phoenix history.
Luke Field is a 140-acre logistics park totaling 2.4 million square feet across three Class A buildings.
Deal terms under pressure
Walmart bought Building C, the largest structure in the Luke Field logistics park.
The LEED Gold building totals 1,278,653 square feet and is fully occupied by Walmart.
Price and valuation density
The purchase equates to about $119 per square foot (roughly $120).
That marks the highest per-unit industrial price in Arizona for 2025 and the second-highest in metro Phoenix history.
Counterparties
Lincoln Property Company and Goldman Sachs sold the asset, with Lincoln representing itself.
JLL brokers Marc Hertzberg and John Lydon represented Walmart.
Where Is Luke Field: and Why Glendale Is Strategic?
Where Luke Field sits in the West Valley now shapes the logistics calculus for the entire Phoenix market.
The site spans 140.7 acres in Glendale’s Capistrano North, bounded by Litchfield Road, Northern Avenue, and Northern Parkway. The industrial campus totals roughly 2.49M SF across its warehouse and distribution buildings.
Location Under Military Shadow
Luke Field is addressed at 13803 Northern Avenue, with related entries at 13543 Northern Ave. and 7733 Litchfield Rd.
It sits beside Luke Air Force Base, with South Gate and Lightning Gate on nearby Litchfield Road.
Connectivity That Tightens Risk
Immediate links reach Loop 303, Loop 101, U.S. 60, and Grand Avenue.
This network—and the Glendale advantages of a deep labor pool and top ranked 2025 industrial sales volume—concentrate demand pressure across the West Valley.
Fuel and services cluster nearby.
What Makes Building C a “Mega-Warehouse” (LEED, Access, Automation)?
Scale defines Building C. LEED performance, campus-level access, and automation converge into a true mega-warehouse profile.
Disruption: LEED and Sustainable Design
LEED certification typically drives 20% or more energy efficiency improvement over conventional warehouses.
Waste elimination can cut energy costs 20% to 35%. In large distribution centers, that can yield $75,000 to $250,000 in annual savings.
Disruption: Campus Access and Automation Technology
LEED Campus Guidance and volume certification can streamline filings across multi-building sites on previously developed land.
Arc platform metrics benchmark energy, water, waste, transportation, and human experience. This reinforces sustainable design and ongoing operational discipline via LEED O+M.
Zone Monitoring
Real-time monitoring tracks receiving, storage, picking, packing, and shipping.
Automated reports support documentation and enhanced commissioning.
Monitoring paybacks are often 3 to 9 months.
Is $119/SF High? How This Sale Compares in Metro Phoenix?
How $119 per square foot reads in Metro Phoenix depends on the benchmark used. In price analysis terms, it sits well below recent metro averages, suggesting either older construction, lease-up risk, or a noncore location.
Distressed Discount Against Rising Comps
Q1 2025 industrial sale pricing averaged $163/SF, after $174.87/SF in Q4 2024.
Large distribution trades reached as high as $196.36/SF, while top-tier assets cleared mid to high 5% cap rates.
Market Comparison Under Supply Stress
Vacancy climbed to 12.5% in Q1 2025, with big-box space above 16%, tempering valuations.
Meanwhile, asking rents averaged $1.13 PSF NNN, and new builds since 2022 quoted $1.51, supporting higher comps than this sale.
With deliveries slowing into 2026, $119/SF may prove an outlier, not a reset today.
Who Wins Next: West Valley Shippers, Retailers, and Chip Suppliers?
Pricing at $119 per square foot signaled discounted risk in a softer Metro Phoenix industrial market.
West Valley Shippers Face Disruption
Walmart’s $152 million buy of 2.4 million square feet in Glendale tightens I-10 and Loop 101 access.
The site supports high-volume distribution without waiting for speculative deliveries.
Freight tied to California ports and Mexico lanes sees market impact.
Theft risks in Glendale and Goodyear raise operating costs.
In Sun Belt states, institutional investors have been buying at record rates, underscoring how corporate capital can reshape local real estate pricing.
Retailers and Chip Suppliers Win Speed
West 101 Logistics Center, 1.1 million square feet, delivers summer 2026 with HVAC, LED lighting, and tall clear heights.
E-commerce tenants circle.
Deer Valley’s ReDiscover and RK Logistics in Tempe add logistics innovation for TSMC and Amkor suppliers.
That includes temperature-controlled space near air and rail.
Assessment
With the $152 million purchase at Luke Field, Walmart locked in scarce West Valley capacity as industrial land tightens around the Loop 303 and I-10 corridors.
The deal underscores how mega-warehouse pricing is resetting near major air and highway nodes, pressuring tenants that rely on rapid replenishment.
Attention now shifts to follow-on leasing as shippers, retailers, and semiconductor suppliers compete for automation-ready space.
Glendale’s logistics footprint is poised to expand, while benchmarks rise across Phoenix.
