Phoenix, AZ – CBRE has negotiated the sale of the Missouri Falls building located at 645 E. Missouri Ave. in Phoenix, Ariz. The 187,648-square-foot, class A office building commanded a sale price of $13.89 million in the transaction.

Bob Young, Glenn Smigiel, Steve Brabant and Rick Abraham with CBRE’s Phoenix office represented Greg Williams, the court appointed receiver for the seller, Midland Loan Services, which is a subsidiary of PNC Bank. The buyer is ICIC Commercial Investments – a local investment firm managed by Kelly House, Tom Blake and Andy Ligget.

“Missouri Falls is one of the few remaining Class A office buildings featuring large blocks of contiguous, available space in the Phoenix metro area,” said Brad Anderson – also with CBRE, who will handle the marketing and leasing for the building’s new ownership moving forward. “The property’s amenity-rich location coupled with aggressive lease rates should allow ownership to be very competitive in today’s market.”

Originally built in 1988, Missouri Falls is located at the southwest corner of Missouri Avenue and 7th Street. The four-story, Class A office property features wide open, larger floor plates surrounded by a reflecting pool at window line and an underground garage. The property is located close to retail amenities and close to major freeways and should be an attractive option for larger corporate users seeking space in a central, urban location.

Missouri Falls was built by the John Madden Company who owned the building until 1993 when US Bank foreclosed on the property. US Bank sold the building to The Trump Group (Aventura, FL.) the same year. Missouri Falls was eventually sold to a tenant-in-common group in December 2004. The tenant-in-common group owned the building until October 2012, when its largest tenant, CSK Auto, moved out of the building vacating 150,000 square feet. Debt payments on the building ceased and Midland Loan Services had the property placed into court ordered receivership. Greg Williams, the receiver, hired CBRE to dispose of the asset in April 2013.

Young, Smigiel, Brabant and Abraham can be reached at (602) 735-5555.

Whitestone REIT of Houston, Texas (NYSE: WSR) purchased the Fountain Hills Plaza in Fountain Hills, AZ for $20.55 million ($185 PSF) for the 111,289-square-foot grocer and hardware store anchored retail center.

Located at the southwest corner of Palisades Boulevard and La Montana Drive in Fountain Hills, Fountain Hills Plaza benefits from one of the busiest intersections in the community as well as a well-established residential area. The retail center also features 143 covered parking spaces in front of Bashas’.

Glenn Smigiel, Bob Young, Steve Brabant and Rick Abraham of CBRE’s Phoenix office represented the seller, J & R Holdings XX LLC, an entity formed by Phoenix-based Pederson Group (Jeff Manellis, president).

“Fountain Hills Plaza is a very stable, solid, secure asset with Bashas’ and Ace Hardware as well-performing anchor-tenants,” said Smigiel. “With the current tenant roll and its excellent location, there is much opportunity to grow rents and fill the remaining vacancy. Additionally, there is further opportunity for development in the form of an available vacant pad.” Fountain Hills Plaza has a 6,000-square-foot vacant pad available for future development. Offering an excellent build-to-suit opportunity, the space has seen significant recent activity.

“We are very pleased with this transaction. After redevelopment and significant improvement of the property, we found an ideal buyer in Whitestone,” said Jeff Manelis, president, Pederson Group. “From our initial discussions, through due diligence to closing, Whitestone was excellent to work with and moved quickly to ensure the transaction was completed in a timely, efficient manner. The speed of the transaction enabled us to timely deal with a pending loan maturity.”

Originally built in 1986, Pederson Group redeveloped Fountain Hills Plaza in 2009 with a new, state-of-the-art Bashas’ and an expanded Ace Hardware. Since the redevelopment and despite the recent recession, the property has signed five new national tenants, including Little Caesar’s, GNC, H & R Block and Great Clips.

Public records show Whitestone Fountain Hills, LLC paid cash for the property which was 87% occupied at time of sale. The publicly-traded Whitestone REIT is looking to purchase additional retail investment and development opportunities in Arizona.

Whitestone REIT is at (713) 435-2208. Manelis of Pederson Group can be contacted at (602) 265-2888. Smigiel, Young, Brabant and Abraham in CBRE’s Phoenix office should be reached at (602) 735-5555.

Landmark property on Mill Avenue in Tempe,  Centerpoint on Mill,  the heart of downtown Tempe since its inception 28 years ago, has been sold by Scottsdale, Ariz.-based DMB, Inc.(Charley Freedricks, President), to Mill Avenue Retail, LLC of Scottsdale (Dan Dahl, managing member). The 127,027 square-foot commercial property commanded a sale price of $38.35 million.

Covering 22 acres starting at the northwest corner of Mill Avenue and University Drive in Tempe, Centerpoint on Mill was created through a unique public-private partnership with the City of Tempe. The property was DMB’s first large-scale mixed use development.

“One of DMB’s founding principles is based on the partnerships and the relationships built with municipalities, landowners, neighbors and tenants,” said Michael Burke, Vice President of Development for DMB. “The success of a development lies with the ability to craft and individualize a community or development based on the location and uniqueness of a parcel of land complemented by the visions of the municipality. DMB proudly partnered with the City of Tempe in the pursuit of creating and maintaining a vibrant and dynamic downtown area in and around Mill Avenue.”

Centerpoint on Mill represents one of the most significant redevelopment efforts in the history of the downtown area of Tempe and was a catalyst in bringing entertainment, national office and retail users to Mill Avenue. Throughout the project’s lifetime, DMB has been committed to maintaining a quality mix of retail, dining and office tenants that ensures and enhances the vibrancy of the Tempe community.

“Over the past 28 years, the City of Tempe and DMB have worked together to create a point of pride for the Valley, a truly urban destination that models the live, work, play ideal. DMB’s work as placemakers, developing a downtown core featuring high quality national and local retailers, unique dining, art, theater, and residential has helped brand Tempe as a destination for tourists and locals,” said Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell.

Glenn Smigiel, Bob Young, Steve Brabant and Rick Abraham with CBRE’s Phoenix office represented DMB in the transaction. Mill Avenue Retail LLC negotiated on their own behalf.
“The sale of Centerpoint on Mill is an indicator of the health of the Tempe market and the continued strengthening of the Phoenix-metro area in general,” said Smigiel. “This is an excellent investment opportunity in a thriving submarket.”

Tempe continues to be one of the most active markets in the metro area with the sale of Centerpoint on Mill coming just months after the announcement of other major downtown Tempe development projects. USA Place, the future home of the USA Basketball headquarters, will be located on the southeast corner of Mill and University near Centerpoint on Mill. (click here for full story). Other major projects new to the downtown Tempe market include the soon-to-break-ground Marina Heights, future home of a large regional headquarters for State Farm Insurance, (click here for full story) and Hayden Ferry III, the third and final phase of Parkway Properties’ Hayden Ferry Lakeside office development (click here).

Downtown Tempe continues to exceed industry market conditions with a Class-A office vacancy rate of 5.1%. This is well below the metro Phoenix average of 18%. Job growth continues in Tempe as well. According to the City of Tempe, staff has participated in locating companies to Tempe in the past year resulting in 12,503 jobs and capital investment in the city exceeding $704 million.
The occupancy level, quality of tenants and prime location of Centerpoint on Mill allowed DMB to lease the property to stabilization. Overall, the property was 87% leased at time of sale while office space was 100% leased.

Current tenant roll includes Churchill’s Fine Cigars, Devil’s Diner, Fat Tuesday, Five Guys, Great Clips, The Handlebar Tempe, Jimmy John’s, Mellow Mushroom, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Pita Pit, Poppa Maize, Rita’s Italian Ice, Robbie Fox’s Public House and Sitewire. These tenants will soon be joined by AMC Theatres, Zipps Sports Grill, El Hefe, Hot N Juicy Crawfish, Lincoln Strategy Group and One Energy.

The sale also includes parking rights to approximately 720 parking spaces.

More About DMB
DMB, an Arizona-based real estate company, creates enduring places that capitalize on location and climate, shaping life for generations. For nearly thirty years, DMB has earned a national reputation for creating some of the most iconic communities in the West, including Centerpoint on Mill in Tempe, DC Ranch in Scottsdale and Verrado in Buckeye, just to name a few. DMB strives to achieve enduring business success by creating extraordinary new environments that enrich people’s lives, are appreciated and rewarded in the market and have a positive impact on the larger community of which they are part. For more information, visit www.dmbinc.com.

DMB Commercial specializes in strategically shaping and developing properties within DMB’s portfolio of planned communities featuring retail, office, hospitality and other mixed-use components. Current DMB Commercial properties include Market Street at DC Ranch, and Canyon Village (all within DC Ranch in Scottsdale, AZ), Eastmark (Mesa, AZ), The Shops at Kukui’ula, (Kauai, HI), Main Street at Verrado, (Buckeye, AZ), and One Scottsdale (Scottsdale, AZ). For more information about dining, working and shopping at Centerpoint on Mill, visit www.centerpointonmill.com.

Glenn Smigiel, Bob Young, Steve Brabant and Rick Abraham at CBRE’s Phoenix office can be reached at (602) 735-5555. DMB Associates number is (480) 367-7000.