The office condo market in Tucson continues to be “hot” and San Jose Plaza Office / Retail Condominiums is no exception.

Two office/retail condominiums at San Jose Plaza recently sold for $472,902 ($224 PSF). The buyer, a research library, initially leased the property for several months prior to purchasing.  San Jose Plaza Office/ Retail Condominiums are located at 10130-10134 N Oracle Road in Oro Valley.

New Leases, Lease expansions and Lease renewals include BASIS.ed Charter School administrative office taking an additional 2,000-square-feet within a year of its original lease (3,200 SF), a construction consulting firm taking 800 SF, a physical therapist moving into 1,000-square-feet, an insurance company renewing 800-square-feet and a sleep apnea clinic taking 1,200-square-feet. Several of the leases include options to purchase. Only a few suites remain available at San Jose Plaza Office/ Retail Condominiums.

Gary Heinfeld, Advisors in Real Estate, Inc. represented the seller/ landlord. The sleep apnea client was represented by John Scott Hall of JSH Properties.

For more information, Gary Heinfeld can be reached at 520.299.0700.

TUCSON, AZ – Represented by Tom Hunt of Tango Commercial Real Estate, Willis Metal Crafts has purchased 15,200-square-feet of land with 5,000-square-feet of improvements formerly occupied by Scott Supply Services at 3214 East 46^th Street in Tucson, Arizona for $200,000 ($40 PSF). The company plans to complete its move there this month.

Founded in November of 2014 by local welder and fabricator Brandon Willis, Willis Metal Crafts outgrew its original digs in Willis’ garage within a year. The new space will afford Willis and his two employees more room to work along with the opportunity to expand. Willis says he plans to immediately hire another employee as soon as he completes the move.

“It’s always fun to meet and work with young entrepreneurs like Brandon,” said Hunt, who showed Willis 30 spaces before the right one clicked. “He has a fire in his belly and isn’t afraid to work hard.”

Born and raised in Tucson, Willis learned his strong work ethic from his single mom and knew early on that a desk job was not for him. After earning his certification in welding technology from Pima Community College and working for another business owner, Willis started his own business at age 25. A self-described perfectionist who takes pride in his work, Willis doesn’t see his business growth slowing any time soon.

Espousing the Trades

Willis hopes his own success story will inspire more young people to turn to the trades as an honest, satisfying and well paid profession.

“You work for the money you make but I think [the trades] are more satisfying because at the end of the day there’s something tangible that you made, you can see it, touch it, feel it, it’s hot, it’s cold, it’s real, it’s not just a number on a screen or a paper you’ve handed to someone.

“I feel like nowadays everybody expects everything to be handed to them, my generation and younger,” explained Willis, now 27. “I think that’s one thing the trades have to offer people just as a kind of a lifestyle. Most people in the trades respect their time a little more because they’re really working for it. It’s one of the only things in this country left that still has a lot of pride associated with it. Most tradesmen are very proud of what they do. It doesn’t matter if they do drywall, or a machinist or a painter. It’s a pride thing. I think a lot of kids nowadays don’t care about that. They want what they want right now and they’ll do anything to get it.”

Willis and Hunt agree that introducing young people to the trades at a young age is important for their own future and the future of the Tucson community. Developing skills gives kids the confidence they need to make their own way through life without a handout or resorting to illegal activities.

“The public school system doesn’t devote enough time or money to the trade programs at all. Tucson High got rid of a lot of them. Not everybody is cut out to sit in an office and do an office job or be an accountant. You know a lot of people can’t do that. I think we should put way more money and time into the trades be it welding, machining…. Without the trades the world would stop,” Willis said.

While 75% of Willis’ work goes to local customers like Creative Machines and Dove Mountain Homes, his company also does work for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and others. “We do anything from aerospace, to government, to public art, to jewelry tools, to automotive components. If anything is made out of metal, we can make it.”

Paul Hooker with Cushman & Wakefield | Picor represented the sellers, Joseph and Shirley C. Scott.

To learn more, Hooker should be contacted at 520.546.2704 while Hunt can be reached at 520.276.9779

Two office condominiums at Hacienda Del Sol Office Complex recently sold in separate transactions within days of each other. Hacienda Del Sol Office Complex is located south of River and east of Campbell Avenue in Tucson.

In the first transaction, Neuron LLC (Francisco Vildivia, member) purchased a 3,425-square-foot office condominium located at 2482 East River Road in Tucson, from Baltic Avenue Holdings LLC (Eric Oxman, member) for $812,500 ($237 PSF).

Tom Nieman, Office Specialist with Cushman & Wakefield | Picor, represented the buyer and Barbara “BJ” Gibbons from Long Realty Company of Tucson represented the seller in the transaction.

For more information, Nieman can be contacted at 520.748.7100 and Gibbons can be reached at 520.577.7400.

To learn more, see RED Comp #3995.

In the second transaction, 6015 Grant LLC (Quan Nguyen, manager) purchased a 1,770-square-foot office condominium at 2474 E River Road, from Rio Bravo Properties LLC (Robert Zachmeier, member) for $330,000 ($186 PSF).

The seller had occupied the office space for Win3 Realty and the buyer plans to owner occupy it for a law practice.

Gary Andros, CCIM, with Andros Properties in Tucson represented the seller in the transaction and Jason Wong, CCIM, of Crestline Properties in Tucson represented the buyer.

For more information, Andros should be reached at 520.775.2205 and Wong can be contacted at 520.603.1191.

To learn more, see RED Comp #3988.