New 56-SFR Lot Subdivision to be Called The School Yard

The TUSD Governing Board completed its first school asset sale Tuesday for 9.2 acres at 8950 E Wrightstown Road for $1.3 million ($3.24 PSF). The former Wrightstown Elementary School sold to Pepper Viner Homes of Tucson after one and a half years in escrow.

The property was sold contingent on rezoning which was rezoned from RX-1 to R-1, and final plat approval which is now platted for 56 SFR lots. The developer has responsibility for razing school buildings.

The new community will be appropriately called The School Yard and have 30,000-square-feet of functional open space. Homes will be from 1,400 to 2,100- square-feet with five floor plans. The homes will all enjoy beautiful Catalina Mountain views, recreational trails, and be environmentally friendly, high performance, and energy efficient.

Two other developers had bid on the property prior to Pepper Viner but with higher density homes. The neighbors did not want the higher density with more traffic on the streets. They also worried that a handful of two-story homes would block their mountain views, so Pepper Viner agreed to remove two-story homes from the south side of the development.

Jim Marian with Chapman Lindsey Real Estate Service of Tucson represented the buyer in the transaction.

“Pepper Viner, known for its quality homes, will make a nice addition to the neighborhood, and neighbors should be happy to see the security concerns go away with the vacant school building,” Marian said. “It was a long escrow but understandably so, due to the conscientious efforts of the TUSD Governing Board to negotiate the best possible price for the property on behalf of the District.”

With this first sale now complete, TUSD has at least three other school properties in escrow that should move smoother.

To learn more Marian can be reached at 520.747.400 ext. 106 and Pepper Viner is at 520.721.7964.

For additional information see RED Comp #3198.

HSL Properties of Tucson (Omar Mireles, vice-president) through an affiliate, HSL 60 N Alvernon, LLC, purchased the former Old Pueblo Grill restaurant at 60 North Alvernon in Tucson for $1.2 million ($147 PSF). The 8,147 square-foot building on 1.72 acres is located northeast of Broadway and Alvernon.

The historical building, built in 1957 and remodeled in 1977, was once a residence with three towers where peacocks strutted their colors around the fountains and  the gardens. The restaurant has always had a Southwest menu as far back as we could find and seating inside or out on the expansive patio.

The very popular restaurant and bar was closed May 29^th after a U.S. bankruptcy court seized the property as part of an unresolved bankruptcy involving other properties of the previous owner.

Located adjacent to HSL’s headquarters at 3901 N Broadway, at the northeast corner of Broadway and Alvernon, the buyer also owns the La Quinta Inns and Suites-Reid Park Hotel on the north side of the restaurant, at 102 N Alvernon Way.

Omar Mireles told us that the restaurant was greatly missed by the hotel since it closed and it is important for hotels to have restaurants nearby. For this reason, HSL purchased the building with plans to restore it to full restaurant use after some renovations, and as soon as possible.

Mireles says they already have had interest from several potential restaurant operators for the property.

HSL is well known for its multi-family housing in the Southwestern United States. In addition to multi-housing rental properties, HSL Properties currently owns and manages four hotels, offering a total of more than 900 hotel rooms. HSL hotels focus on excellent service and top-quality accommodations in well-situated locations that appeal to both business and pleasure travelers.

Pat Darcy of Tucson Realty & Trust Co. represented the buyer in the transaction and the seller was represented by court appointed, Keegan, Linscott & Kenon, a CPA firm in Tucson.

To learn more Darcy should be contacted at 520.577.700 and Mireles can be reached at 520.322.6994.

For additional information RED Comp #3197 is available.

Griffin Capital Corporation (“Griffin Capital”) on behalf of Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT II, Inc. (the “REIT”), purchased the 100,273-square-foot, Aetna Life Insurance Company (“Tenant”) leased facility at 3535 E Valencia Road in Tucson, Arizona (“Property”) from a subsidiary of Aetna, Inc. (“Aetna” or “Parent”) (NYSE:AET) First Health Group Corp. through a sale-leaseback transaction. The property commanded a sale price of $21.6 million ($215 PSF).

The Property is 100% leased to Coventry Health Group Corporation (“Coventry”), a subsidiary of Aetna Life Insurance Company, which has an investment-grade credit rating of ‘AA-‘ from S&P as an affiliate of Aetna, one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies. As part of the sale-leaseback transaction, the Tenant executed a new 10-year lease at the Property with annual base rental rate increases of 3.0% and no termination or contraction options. Coventry has been an occupant at the Property since it was constructed as a build-to-suit in 2001.

Commenting on the acquisition, Louis Sohn, Griffin Capital’s Director of Acquisitions, said, “Given the Tenant’s historic occupancy of and its capital investment into the Property and the 10-year lease term executed at closing, we believe Aetna will continue to find the Property and market attractive well into the future.”

Michael Escalante, Griffin Capital’s Chief Investment Officer, added, “Given the investment-grade credit quality of the tenant, and long-term lease with annual rental rate increases, this acquisition is an excellent addition to our REIT’s institutional-quality portfolio.”

Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT II, Inc. is a publicly registered non-traded REIT with a portfolio that currently includes 16 office and industrial buildings totaling approximately 2.6 million rentable square feet and asset value of approximately $404 million. Led by senior executives with more than two decades of real estate experience collectively encompassing over $21 billion of transaction value and more than 650 transactions, Griffin Capital and its affiliates have acquired or constructed approximately 41 million square feet of space since 1995. Griffin Capital and its affiliates own, manage, sponsor and/or co-sponsor a portfolio consisting of approximately 26.7 million-square-feet of space, located in 29 states, representing approximately $4.6 billion in asset value.

The transaction was spearheaded by Cushman & Wakefield’s Boston-based capital markets team consisting of President Robert Griffin, Vice Chairman Edward Maher, Executive Director Matt Pullen and Associate Director Jim Tribble, in conjunction with Tucson office market specialist, Rick Kleiner, a principal at C&W’s local affiliate Picor Commercial Real Estate Services.

For additional information refer to RED Comp #3146.