$25M distribution center to be built in Tucson

Provident Industrial bought 10 acres of land on the southwest corner of Valencia and Palo Verde Roads for $3.45 million, records from the Pima County Recorder’s Office show.

The planned Valencia Airport Center will be a 163,000-square-foot distribution facility with trailer parking, a concrete truck court and controlled access, the company announced.

Construction is already underway, with occupancy expected to be available in mid-2027.

"Valencia Airport Center is an especially meaningful project,” said Steven Nemer, market leader for Provident. “Tucson was my home for years, and it is exciting to deliver a best-in-class facility for employers in the community while helping complete one of the best remaining undeveloped sites along the heavily traveled Valencia Road corridor.”

The company says Tucson was chosen because of the University of Arizona, a diverse employment base with skills in manufacturing, defense and mining and the city’s location.

Tucson offers direct connection to western markets via Interstate 10 and access to Mexico via Interstate 19.

In the past decade, there has been a lot of activity in the local industrial market, both for warehousing packages for UPS and Amazon, as well as suppliers to various manufacturing industries.

A major growth in logistics operations has come from the renewed activity of the mining industry in Southern Arizona.

Several new mines are in varying states of development in Pima and Santa Cruz counties.

Vacancy of industrial space has stayed below 10% in 2026, after hitting a peak of 20% vacancy during the recession.

Renewed interest has prompted speculative building of facilities that have leased up quickly.