TUCSON, Arizona – A new Vintage Arcade will be coming this fall to 63 East Congress Street, at the northwest corner of Congress and Scott Avenue, in Downtown Tucson. EQ Scott and Congress, LLC of Scottsdale (Charles Duff, manager) bought the building for $2.2 million ($81.48 PSF).

The building had two existing tenants Jimmy Johns and Senae Thai Restaurant and Bar. Several unique features of the building include a rooftop constructed to add another floortop area and a 10,000-square-foot basement offering loads of possibilities.

The Arcade will occupy about 4,000-square-feet in the former Junxion space and is expected to open this fall. At the center of downtown restaurants, clubs, bars, and apartments, on the modern street car route and across Scott Avenue from the Pennington Parking Garage it’s in the center of downtown.

The buyer owns the popular Cobra Arcade Bar in Phoenix where they have compiled a “rad selection” of 40 vintage arcade games and a selection of 14 delicious beers on tap. Vintage arcade games such as Asteroids Deluxe, Battletoads, Centipede Dig Dug, Donkey Kong, Frogger, Gauntlet, Mario Bros, Ms. Pac-Man, and Street Fighter I, II & III, to name just a few.

This Downtown corner will soon become a mini entertainment mecca with discussions of a single screen Loft Cinema at the former Wig-O-Rama and City Park across the street. City Park, a multi-level indoor / outdoor food and entertainment hall, is slated to open Spring of 2018. City Park’s food hall will feature 12-15 highly desirable “foodie-centric” restaurants and retailers with shared common area amenities such as seating, service and two large outdoor patios. City Park also combines the best of the “eatertainment” trend by incorporating an upscale 6-lane boutique bowling alley, a game zone and social club featuring 150+ seats with programmed entertainment.

Roy Drachman of Roy Drachman Realty of Tucson represented the seller, Sixty-Three Building LLC (John Welsey Miller, member) and Rick Borane and Dave Hammack with Volk Company Tucson negotiated for the buyer.

For more information, Drachman can be reached at 520.748.8400 and Hammack and Borane should be contacted at 520.326.3200. For information on City Park, contact Leah Bogen with Bourn Companies at 520.209.2534.

To learn more, see RED Comp #4928 and RED Listing Registry for more listings.

Unique “City Park” Food and Entertainment Hall, Creative Office Lofts and Outdoor Entertainment Spaces to Break Ground at 40 E Congress in Downtown Tucson

TUCSON, Arizona – Tucson-based real estate developer Bourn Companies, in conjunction with a group of investors from Mexico led by the Bours/Stamos Zaragoza family, announced ground breaking on a new 5-story mixed-use, transit-oriented development project in the heart of downtown at 40 E Congress Street in Tucson, being called “City Park”.

This $18 million development will feature Tucson’s first food hall (27,000-square-feet) with a collection of chef-focused culinary offerings, two outdoor patios, a rooftop deck totaling 31,650-square-feet, a second-floor entertainment zone with 6 lanes of upscale boutique bowling, various games, live entertainment space and a bar and lounge, in addition to the 42,400-square-feet in creative office lofts.

“City Park embodies the historical significance of a ‘city park’ and will create an urban oasis that provides this burgeoning community with a central place to meet, dine and relax,” said Bourn Companies Founder and CEO Don Bourn. The building will feature concrete floors and ceilings, exposed ductwork, expansive glass, with the benefit of tall ceiling heights.

Bourn expects that City Park’s food and entertainment hall’s unique offerings will also draw more visitors and residents downtown. “We envision a fun, upscale environment which will cater to all ages and become an additional draw that will work in conjunction with all of the great existing offerings downtown,” said Bourn.

Sometimes referred to as the “Thrifty Block”, formerly occupied by Thrifty Drug Store, Fields Jewelry and Little Café Poca Cosa, the project is between Stone and Scott within a short walking distance to the Tucson Convention Center, Children’s Museum, and The Fox and Rialto Theatres, among other entertainment venues. “We expect over 400 employees working on site, which will benefit local businesses,” said Bourn.

Food Halls have been one of the biggest trends in America and “our goal is to bring the best of class culinary talents under one roof in downtown Tucson,” said Bourn. “The food hall allows restaurateurs to operate out of a smaller, more efficient footprint and benefit from cost synergies by sharing common area seating and front of house staff.”

“We were fortunate to work closely with Rio Nuevo, the City of Tucson and our lender, Bank of Tucson, to continue the renaissance of downtown Tucson” according to Bourn.

For more information about City Park, visit https://www.bourncompanies.com/projects/city-park/

TUCSON, Arizona — As we look back over the 782 commercial transactions to-date for Tucson in 2016, with the help of our RED Comps database, the ‘Deal of the Year’ stands out as being the highest retail sale of the “trophy asset” Wilmot Plaza. Purchased in September 2016, by DSW Wilmot Plaza LP, an Arizona-based investment group DESCO Southwest, managing director Michael Sarabia along with partner James Hardman believe strongly in the fundamentals of this recently redeveloped 139,000-square-foot multi-building neighborhood center.

The center has a long history of being a landmark retail center in the central-east corridor of Tucson. The substantial visibility from both Broadway and Wilmot roads, access to this major arterial intersection, and close proximity to Park Mall (General Growth Properties) and the St. Joseph’s Hospital and medical office complex all benefit the center.

Wilmot Plaza sold for $47.3 Million ($340 PSF) from BP Wilmot Plaza (Don Bourn, manager) a Bourn Companies’ destination retail re-development. Bourn had fully redeveloped the center with an all-star tenant line up including:  TJ Maxx, Dicks Sporting Goods, Nordstrom Rack, Payless Shoes and AT&T and sold fully leased.

Bourn had acquired the property in July 2013 for $6.2 million, seeing the potential when it was still 60-70% vacant. Renovations began in 2014, razing the north half of Wilmot Plaza, at the northeast corner, and completely remodeling the buildings that weren’t razed while tenants remained open. Through redevelopment efforts Bourn transformed the 10-acre property into a first-class shopping center.

Built in 1956, the property consists of relatively large buildings grouped along the northern and eastern edges of the site. The Tucson General Plan defines the area as a regional commercial activity center that includes Park Place Mall and several shopping centers along Broadway Blvd, a high-density office and residential node northwest of the intersection and the St. Joseph’s Hospital and medical office complex. The General Plan also encourages redevelopment and expansion of strip commercial development to improve traffic flow, pedestrian circulation and safety, and streetscape quality, providing primary access from arterial streets away from residential uses.

Toufic Abi-Aad (CFO Bourn Companies) handled the disposition for the seller, and Michael Sarabia and James Hardman (DESCO Southwest) represented DSW Wilmot Plaza LP. Tim Storey with Newmark Capital in Phoenix assisted with financing for the acquisition.

The acquisition reflects DESCO’s continued investment strategy in the Arizona marketplace where Michael Sarabia, managing member of DSW Wilmot Plaza LP and DESCO Southwest, has been an active participant for the past 16 years. Sarabia stated at time of sale, “When looking at submarkets we take into consideration several mitigating factors such as household income, growing population, quality of building, tenant mix, term of leases and strategic location of asset.  Don Bourn and his team have been able to source high profile sites and develop signature projects in irreplaceable locations, we are pleased to be able to work with them on this acquisition.”

The acquisition is part of DESCO’s continued investment strategy in the Arizona region, a market where they own/manage over 500,000-square-feet of retail and office.

Congratulations to DESCO Southwest and Bourn Companies!

For more information, Sarabia and Hardman should be reached at 520.297.8929 and Abi-Aad can be contacted at 520.323.1005. Storey can be called at 602.374.7854.

To learn more, see RED Comp #4163.