Lucid Drives Off With Phoenix Facilities in Auction Win
EV manufacturer Lucid Group has won the bankruptcy auction for several assets spanning more than 884,000 square feet of industrial and office space previously owned or leased by Nikola Corp. in metro Phoenix.
The acquisition bid is set at about $30 million in cash and non-cash consideration, according to court filings. The deal also includes the company’s machinery, equipment and inventory.
Nikola, also an EV manufacturer, filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in February and sought to sell its business. In 2020, the company was valued at about $30 billion.
Subject to approval by U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Lucid will take over Nikola’s manufacturing facility in Coolidge, Ariz., and its office lease in Phoenix. The transaction does not include the purchase of Nikola’s business, customer base or technology related to its EV trucks.
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The 2022-built manufacturing property is at 680 E. Houser Road, about 71 miles from downtown Phoenix. It features battery and environmental testing chambers, as well as a chassis dynamometer.
Lucid’s EV assembly facility—which spans 3.8 million square feet, according to CommercialEdge data—is roughly 24 miles away. This purchase aligns with the company’s Arizona expansion plans. Additionally, Lucid plans to hire more than 300 former Nikola employees.
Nikola’s former office headquarters and product development center is at 4141 E. Broadway Road in Phoenix. The company fully occupied the 200,000-square-foot property following a $52.5 million sale-leaseback to Ascent Real Estate Advisors in 2022, according to CommercialEdge data.
Greater Phoenix’s steady industrial investment
The industrial investment volume in metro Phoenix clocked in at $183 million during the first two months of the year, according to a CommercialEdge report. The Valley of the Sun ranked third among Western markets, behind Orange County ($303 million) and Los Angeles ($233 million).
However, that number is set to grow as sales continue to pencil out. In March, BKM Capital Partners paid $156.8 million for a 778,000-square-foot collection. The portfolio comprises mostly shallow-bay warehouses.
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