What Baker Development Corporation does

Baker Development Corporation is a privately held real estate development company founded in 1985 and headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona with a regional office in Chicago, Illinois. The firm executes complex, politically sensitive development transactions across industrial, high-rise residential, big-box retail, office, hospitality, and — most distinctively — brownfield/Superfund redevelopment. Its project portfolio spans more than a dozen active and recently delivered assets, including Yuma|143 (a 520,000 sf cold storage and logistics center in Goodyear, AZ anchored by HelloFresh/Factor and Apex Tool Group), Cactus|303 (1.2 million sf industrial park in Surprise, AZ), AZUL Campus (1.2–2 million sf planned redevelopment of the former Motorola semiconductor Superfund site in Phoenix), VB|143, Lincoln Park Highrise, and the Tesla Regional Service Center in Chicago.

The company generates revenue through land acquisition, entitlement, construction management, and the subsequent sale or lease of developed product to corporate users. Major tenant relationships include HelloFresh/Factor, Tesla, Apex Tool Group, Romac Industries, Kohl's, Best Buy, and Banner Wholesale Grocers. The firm works with institutional capital partners — most notably GTIS Partners LP and Foundation Capital Partners via joint venture — and uses top-tier commercial real estate intermediaries JLL and CBRE for leasing and acquisitions. Its core competitive differentiation is regulatory expertise: a multi-decade track record of working with the EPA, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, and local authorities to remediate Superfund and brownfield sites with zero environmental claims, thereby unlocking development potential that competing developers cannot access.

Baker Development operates with a lean team of 11–50 employees led by CEO Warren Baker (38+ years of experience), President & COO Daniel J. Slack, and Partner Steve Korol (former President of the $700M Logistics division at RR Donnelley). The firm's go-to-market motion is enterprise field sales, cultivating direct relationships with corporate users requiring industrial, manufacturing, data center, or headquarters space, augmented by broker partnerships and joint-venture capital structures. The firm is not a technology company and does not derive revenue from software, AI, or digital products.

Name

Baker Development Corporation

Legal name

Baker Development Corporation

Website

https://bakerdevelopmentcorp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Baker Development Corporation is a privately held real estate developer specializing in industrial, brownfield, and Superfund redevelopment across the Phoenix metro area and Chicago, serving enterprise tenants such as HelloFresh, Tesla, and Apex Tool Group via joint-venture and build-to-suit transactions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Real Estate Development

SIC

Land Subdividers & Developers (No Cemeteries) (6552), Real Estate Dealers (For Their Own Account) (6532)

akta.pro primary industry

Residential Land Development & Subdivision Homebuilding (Build-to-Sell Communities) (IMAFABAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Land & Development Site Brokerage (BPAJABAG), Brownfield Redevelopment Support (Site Characterization & Reuse Planning) (EUAHAFAJ)

Keywords

• Real estate development
• Industrial warehouse development
• Brownfield redevelopment
• Superfund site remediation
• Commercial property development

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Real Estate Development: Baker Development generates revenue through real estate development including land acquisition, entitlement, construction management, and property sales or leasing to corporate users. Revenue comes from development fees, profit on property sales, lease income from industrial/warehouse tenants, and joint venture partnerships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Baker Development Corporation is a privately owned real estate development company that acquires land, secures entitlements (including EPA and state environmental agency approvals for brownfield and Superfund sites), manages construction, and delivers industrial warehouses, distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, mixed-use residential, big-box retail, and corporate campus projects to corporate tenants and end users. The firm specializes in complex, politically sensitive developments and the redevelopment of contaminated sites, generating revenue through development fees, property sales, lease income, and joint venture partnerships with institutional capital partners.

Product overview

Baker Development Corporation is a privately owned real estate development company with nearly 40 years of experience in navigating politically sensitive deals and executing complex development strategies. The company operates a multi-product portfolio spanning industrial (warehouses, distribution centers, manufacturing facilities), commercial (retail, office), residential (high-rise condominiums, mixed-use), and specialized brownfield/Superfund redevelopment. Key product lines include: industrial warehouse/distribution facilities (Louise | I-17, 24th St. - Phoenix Airpark, Cactus | 303, Adobe | I-17, YUMA | 143, Citrus | McDowell, VB | 143, MP 1400), mixed-use/residential (Lincoln Park Highrise), corporate headquarters (AZUL, GD | Redevelopment), retail (Lincoln Park Big Box Retail), and specialized industrial (Tesla Regional Service Center, Freezer/Cooler Warehouse). The company specializes in transforming environmentally challenged sites including Superfund and brownfield properties.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Louise | I-17 Ground-up warehouse/manufacturing building at Interstate 17 & Deer Valley Road in Phoenix, spanning 70,000 square feet on 5 acres, targeting warehouse and manufacturing tenants.
• 24th St. - Phoenix Airpark Ground-up flex industrial building in an Opportunity Zone at the southeast corner of Interstate 10 & Loop 202 in Phoenix, covering 150,000 square feet on 10 acres, serving flex industrial users.
• Cactus | 303 Six ground-up distribution/warehouse buildings ranging from 100,000 to 400,000 square feet at the northeast corner of Cactus Road & Loop 303 in Surprise, AZ, totaling 1.2 million square feet on 68 acres, serving distribution and warehouse tenants.
• Adobe | I-17 Ground-up warehouse in an Opportunity Zone at the northeast corner of Interstate 17 & Adobe Road in Phoenix, covering 130,000 square feet on 10 acres in the TSMC/Deer Valley submarket, serving warehouse tenants.
• YUMA | 143 Two ground-up buildings at Litchfield Road & Yuma Road in Goodyear, AZ: a 350,000 sf cold storage facility leased to HelloFresh and a 190,000 sf warehouse leased to APEX, totaling 520,000 square feet on 30 acres in an Opportunity Zone and Foreign Trade Zone with Magnet Status, serving cold storage and logistics tenants.
• Citrus | McDowell Three ground-up warehouse/manufacturing buildings delivering in Q3-2025 at the northwest corner of I-10 & Loop 303 in Goodyear, AZ, totaling 330,000 square feet on 21 acres in the Arizona logistics corridor, serving warehouse and manufacturing tenants.
• VB | 143 Two ground-up distribution/warehouse buildings at Van Buren & 143rd Avenue in Goodyear, AZ: a 213,000 sf cross-dock building and a 112,000 sf warehouse on 24 acres in an Opportunity Zone and Foreign Trade Zone with Magnet Status, serving distribution and warehouse tenants. Recipient of the 2021 RED Award for Best Industrial Project Between 200,000 and 500,000 Square Feet.
• MP 1400 480,000 sf flex/industrial building at 1400-25th Avenue in Melrose Park, IL, with 18'-24' clear height, 17 loading docks, 10 grade level overhead doors, and 320 vehicular parking spaces on approximately 16 acres, serving flex and industrial tenants.
• AZUL Campus Flex industrial and office park redevelopment of the former Motorola/Onsemi semiconductor campus at 52nd Street & Loop 202 in Phoenix, spanning 72 acres with 1.2-2 million square feet planned for build-to-suit regional headquarters, office, medical, education, manufacturing, warehouses, and data center uses, targeting corporate campus and advanced manufacturing tenants.
• GD | Redevelopment High-profile corporate headquarters redevelopment at E. McDowell & N. Granite Reef in Scottsdale, AZ, with zoning for advanced manufacturing, quantum computing, and other commercial uses, offering 1,000,000+ square feet, targeting corporate headquarters and advanced technology tenants.
• Lincoln Park Highrise New-construction luxury high-rise apartment building in Lincoln Park, Chicago, designed by Solomon Cordwell and Buenz, consisting of 191 condo-quality apartments, 16,000 square feet of retail, and 160 indoor parking spaces across 11 stories and 320,000 square feet on 1.5 acres, serving multifamily residential tenants and retail users.
• Lincoln Park Highrise Condominiums 20-story luxury condominium building at 2120 N Lincoln Park West in Chicago, consisting of one unit per floor with 100,000 square feet overlooking Lincoln Park, serving luxury condominium buyers.
• Lincoln Park Big Box Retail Big-box retail center assembly including a former Superfund paint manufacturing facility owned by DuPont Chemical Corporation, at 2100 N Elston in Chicago's Lincoln Park/Bucktown area, comprising 180,000 square feet of retail with 900 parking spaces on 11 acres, anchored by Kohl's Department Store and Best Buy.
• Tesla Regional Service Center 31,700 sf brownfield redevelopment at 3067 N Elston Avenue in Chicago, combining a 100-year-old 17,000 sf bow truss building with a new 14,700 sf steel frame addition for Tesla, featuring Tesla Superchargers on an adjacent one-acre parking lot, serving as a regional service center for Tesla.
• Freezer/Cooler Warehouse 75,000 sf precast warehouse building at 2639 S Damen Ave in Chicago's Pilsen Industrial Corridor for Banner Wholesale Grocers, Inc., featuring freezer/cooler capabilities, 32-foot clear height, 60 parking spaces, and 8 loading docks on 4.5 acres, serving food distribution and cold storage users.

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• CBREcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCBRE assisted Baker Development in acquiring the 28.4-acre parcel at the former Motorola semiconductor site. Represented by John Werstler. Also involved in site discussions with potential tenants.
• JLLcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExclusive leasing brokers for BDC industrial projects including Yuma|143 and Cactus 303. Managing directors Anthony Lydon, Marc Hertzberg, Riley Gilbert represent BDC in industrial leasing. Also represented HelloFresh in lease transaction.
• Layton Construction CompanymajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGeneral contractor for Yuma|143 project. Also general contractor for Park303 Phase II and other industrial projects.
• Butler Design GroupmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProject architect for Yuma|143 industrial development.
• Hunter EngineeringmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEngineer for Yuma|143 project.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Crow Holdings Industrial: Industrial and commercial real estate development platform with a portfolio of warehouse, distribution, and logistics facilities across multiple U.S. markets. Comparable to Baker Development in product mix and project scale, with similar exposure to build-to-suit corporate users.
• Panattoni Company: One of the largest privately-held industrial real estate developers in North America, with deep experience delivering build-to-suit facilities for Fortune 500 customers. Comparable to Baker Development in industrial focus, ability to deliver large-scale warehouse projects, and reliance on institutional capital partners.
• Hillwood: Privately-held industrial and commercial real estate developer (Ross Perot Jr.) known for complex, large-scale projects such as AllianceTexas. Shares Baker Development's expertise in navigating complex entitlement, brownfield/infill redevelopment, and large industrial campuses for Fortune 500 tenants.
• IDI Logistics: Privately-held industrial real estate developer focused on build-to-suit and speculative warehouse, distribution, and manufacturing facilities across the U.S. Closely comparable in product (warehouse/distribution/manufacturing) and customer segment to Baker Development's industrial pipeline.
• RED Development: Phoenix-based commercial real estate developer active in retail, office, and industrial development across the Southwest. Directly comparable as a Phoenix competitor — Baker Development acquired 81 acres of land from RED Development for the Cactus|303 industrial park, evidencing direct market overlap.

Broad incumbents

• Trammell Crow Company: One of the largest commercial real estate developers in the U.S. with a substantial industrial/logistics development arm. Comparable as a broad incumbent with overlapping capabilities in industrial development but operating at vastly greater geographic and capital scale than Baker Development.
• Prologis: The largest industrial REIT globally with approximately 1.2B+ sf of logistics real estate. Comparable as the dominant broad incumbent in industrial development and leasing, providing market context (rent comps, tenant demand) for Baker Development's Greater Phoenix industrial focus.
• Lincoln Property Company: Diversified commercial real estate developer with industrial, office, retail, and multifamily projects across the U.S. Comparable as a broad incumbent with industrial development capabilities that overlap Baker Development's primary product line, including build-to-suit for corporate users.

Others

• JLL: Global commercial real estate services firm and Baker Development's exclusive leasing broker for industrial projects including Yuma|143 and Cactus|303. Comparable as a key channel/ecosystem participant whose industrial leasing activity and capital markets desk shape the demand environment BDC operates in.

Regional players

• Sunbelt Holdings: Phoenix-based commercial real estate developer and investor active in industrial, office, and mixed-use development across Arizona. Comparable as a regional player serving the same core Phoenix metro geography and overlapping in industrial product, providing direct local competitive context.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Baker Development Corporation