GLENDALE, ARIZ. — Lee & Associates has arranged the sale of Glendale Market Square, a 221,388-square-foot shopping center, for $24.6 million. The center is located at 5850 W. Bell Road. The buyer was CIRE. Ian Fincham and Patrick Dempsey of Lee & Associates worked on behalf of both the buyer and seller.
YUMA, ARIZ. — DTZ has arranged the $13.7 million sale of Pioneer Shopping Center, a 140,610-square-foot shopping center located in Yuma. Ryan Schubert, Michael Hackett, Dan Salley and Jack Wilson of DTZ represented the seller, Realty Resolution Advisors LLC, and Sanford Burstyn of Marcus & Millichap represented the buyer, Los Angeles-based Pioneer Shopping Center LLC, in the transaction. Tenants at the center include 99 Cents Only, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Applebee’s, Subway, The UPS Store and Dairy Queen.
TUCSON, ARIZ. — Griffin Capital Corp. has acquired the 100,273-square-foot Aetna Life Insurance Co. building in Tucson for an undisclosed sum. The building is fully leased to the life insurance company. Aetna signed a new 10-year lease at the property as part of the sale-leaseback. The terms include an annual base rental rate increase of 3 percent with no termination or contraction options. The company has resided at this space since it was constructed as a build-to-suit in 2001. Cushman & Wakefield’s Boston office, along with Cushman & Wakefield’s Tucson affiliate, Picor Commercial Real Estate Services, represented Aenta in the deal. Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT II is the official purchaser of the asset.
After muddling through the post-recession with office vacancy rates stuck around 20 percent for the overall Phoenix office market, the office sector has begun to show elements of stabilization in the Valley of the Sun. The unemployment rate in Phoenix plummeted to 5 percent in April this year, down from more than 11 percent near the end of 2009. The overall office vacancy ended the first quarter of this year at 17.2 percent. Second quarter figures were not available at press time, but my colleagues and I think it will dip below 17 percent at mid-year. If it does, the vacancy rate will have dropped nearly 300 basis points over the previous 24 months. The submarkets with the lowest vacancy rates are the usual suspects in our marketplace: Scottsdale (11.2 percent), 44th Street Corridor (aka Camelback Corridor at 11.6 percent) and Tempe, which houses the main campus of Arizona State University (12.7 percent). The slow and steady recovery makes for a healthier market than boom and bust swings. Some of the region’s larger office occupiers have expanded in recent years, which account for a substantial amount of office space absorption. A short list of growing companies with significant footprints here …
PHOENIX — Phoenix Children’s Hospital has leased 27,265 square feet of space at Biltmore Commerce Center in Phoenix. The Class A complex is located at 3200 E. Camelback Road within the Camelback Corridor. The new lease brings the center to nearly 96 percent occupancy. Other notable tenants include HDR Engineering, Lee & Associates, United Way, Greystar, North American Title Company, DeRito Partners and Miller Russell & Associates. Scott Maxwell of CRESA represented the hospital in the transaction. Bill Blake, Craig Coppola, Andrew Cheney and Colton Trauter of Lee & Associates represented the landlord, Lincoln Property Company.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — Arizona-based marketing agency Leavitt Digital has launched its Senior Living Division and hired Kim Tranmer, a 25-year industry veteran, as managing director. Leavitt Digital’s new division focuses on increasing the online presence, search engine optimization (SEO), review monitoring, and press releases distribution in the seniors housing industry. Tranmer’s career in seniors housing includes sales, marketing, consulting and management prior to joining Leavitt Digital. Her primary role will be business development and relationship management, presenting Leavitt Digital’s platform to owners, managers and consultants in the industry.
GLENDALE, ARIZ. — DCL Investments LLC has acquired Arrowhead Lakes Marketplace, a 22,280-square-foot retail center in Glendale, for $6 million. The center is located at 20329 North 59th Ave. It is 92 percent leased. Arrowhead Lakes Marketplace is part of a larger shopping center anchored by Albertsons. Steve Gonzalez, Marcus Muirhead and Greg Guglielmino of Colliers International represented DCL. The seller represented itself in this transaction.
PHOENIX — Bixby Land Co. has purchased the Tharco Freeport Distribution Center, a 108,287-square-foot industrial distribution center in Phoenix, for $8.1 million. The institutional-quality center is located at 640 S. 51st Ave. The building is fully leased to Tharco, one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of unprinted corrugated stock boxes in the U.S. It was built in 1994. DTZ’s Will Strong, Mike Haenel, Andy Markham and Phil Haenel executed the transaction.
GLENDALE, ARIZ. — Colliers International has arranged the $6 million sale of Arrowhead Lakes Marketplace, a 22,280-square-foot grocery-anchored retail center located in Glendale. Steve Gonzalez, Marcus Muirhead and Greg Guglielmino of Colliers represented the buyer, DCL Investments LLC, in the transaction. The seller was self-represented. The center was 92 percent occupied at the time of sale.
PHOENIX — Lowe Enterprises Investors (LEI) has purchased three office buildings at the Phoenix Gateway Center office complex for an undisclosed sum. The properties are located in the North Airport/44th Street corridor area of Phoenix. The transaction included the 107,755-square-foot Gateway I; the 107,963-square-foot Gateway II; and the 221,885-square-foot Gateway III buildings. LEI plans to improve the properties’ common areas and public spaces. The overall occupancy at the buildings is 94 percent. Peter Morgan led LEI’s acquisition team. CBRE’s Barry Gable and Kevin Shannon represented the seller, a partnership of Pearlmark/Transwestern and Oaktree Capital.