Kelly and John Abbott and their company, ABIT Property Holdings LLC, purchased the Stardance Event Center on the Lazy K Ranch for $1.46 million ($139 PSF) where they had leased for three years operating it for weddings and special events. The 10,537-square-foot indoor and outdoor wedding venue in five buildings sold with 28.69 acres of land at 8110 N Scenic Drive in Marana.

The Historic Lazy K Ranch has been in the news quite a bit lately, as the owners of the 138-acre property, a former dude ranch, were trying to rezone the property into a 178-unit subdivision. The project had passed the Planning Commission in August but was rejected last week by the Marana Town Council. The proposal sparked controversy even among supporters of the proposal.

The owners of the Lazy K Ranch, Amy Shiner and Peter Evans, bought the Stardance property with the Lazy K Ranch in 1998, when it was still part of Pima County, and with SR zoning that allows for 3.3 acre home sites. In 2004, when Lazy K was annexed into Marana, it was zoned to allow for a number of uses, including residential with 3.3 acre density and recreational resort for a large resort.

Annexation by Marana meant developers wouldn’t have to abide by the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, as adopted by Pima County in 2001. The City of Tucson and Oro Valley also adopted parts of the plan that limit development in critical biological areas to 80% open space.

But one unit for every 3.3 acres is not “economically viable” for the owners, so a zoning change was necessary. Developer, Mattamy Homes, was willing to take on the project if Marana Town Council had approved the zoning change to specific plan.

The Abbotts supported the rezoning, however weren’t directly affected one way or the other for the Stardance. They had operated the Stardance for three years for weddings and corporate events so it already felt like home when finalizing the purchase from Shiner and Evans. There were no brokers involved in the transaction.

The five buildings of Stardance were built from 1965 to 2002. There’s an enclosed 6,000-square-foot wedding reception pavilion with impressive 40 foot high sliding doors that create an open environment on the east and west sides of the venue. The Sunset Vista outdoor wedding reception and ceremony area with 3,000-square-feet of space and spectacular views of the Tucson Mountains and Sombrero Peak to the west and the Catalina Terrace with 5,000-square-feet of outdoor patio space and beautiful views of Tucson city lights framed against the Catalina Mountain Range to the east.

Located south of the special events pavilion is 15,000-square-foot Sombrero Peak, complete with landscaped bonfire areas.

The Stardance Event Center accommodates from 100 up to 500 guests.

Rick Volk, Terry Dahlstrom and their companies, 1150 Drexel, LLC and Sandrex, LLC sold the 66,216-square-foot building at 1150 West Drexel Road in Tucson for $9.89 million ($149 PSF) in an investment sale to a Coronado, CA investor, EMS Leasing Company, LLC. The property was fully leased to C3/CustomerContactChannels (“C3”), a global provider of customer management solutions, as its contact center facility in Tucson in a long term lease. C3 is a global provider of BPO services unlike any other in the market today. Services include Sales, Service, Performance Optimization, Reputation Management and complete customer interaction management via traditional, web, and emerging communication channels. C3 positively engages and promotes our clients’ brands with every contact we make with their customers. With a global team that is thousands of employees strong, the company is headquartered in Plantation, FL. C3 employs approximately 600 people at the Drexel Road location in Tucson. Kevin Volk, Rick Volk and Terry Dahlstrom of Volk Company Commercial Real Estate in Tucson handled the all-cash transaction. To learn more Kevin and Rick Volk and Terry Dahlstrom can be reached at 520.326.3200

The Garden Park Apartments at 201 E Yavapai Road in Tucson has sold commanding a sale price of $1.483 million ($21,810 per unit). The buyer, Equilibrium Garden Park, LLC (Sofonias Astatke, manager) of Washington, DC also owns the property directly to the north and was motivated in the purchase for economies of scale running both properties together.

The 68-unit apartment complex in four 2-story buildings is located in the 85705 zip code in Tucson’s central submarket, central to everything, the UofA, medical facilities, minutes from downtown and the Community Center.

Built in 1982, the property is comprised of Junior 1-bedrooms, Deluxe 1-bedrooms and 2-bedroom/ 1 bath units and was 83% occupied at time of sale. Features and amenities include all electric apartments, onsite laundry, pool and spa, basketball court, volleyball court, barbeque and on site management and 24-hour emergency maintenance, offering lease terms of 6, 9 and 12 months.

Garden Park Apartments is a proud member of the Amphitheater Neighborhood and a member of the Amphi Community Action Group. A Tucson Police Department Drug/Crime-Free Certified property since 1997, Garden Park does its part to keep illegal activity out of our community for the benefit of our residents and neighborhood at large. Management’s emphasis to maintain the property as “Quiet, Clean, Green” reflects its laser-like focus on providing the best possible living experience for our residents.

Garden Park Apartments has bus access but receives a walk score of 58.

The transaction was brokered by Bob Kaplan while at Cushman & Wakefield | Picor of Tucson. Kaplan represented the buyer and the seller, CIMA I Partners, LLC of Incline Village, CA.

Kaplan is now with Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services of Denver, CO and can be reached at 520.271.2304 to learn more.