TUCSON, Arizona — Ron Schwabe and Marcel Dabdoub have partnered again, this time, to buy 44 East Broadway Blvd. in Tucson for $4,332,990 ($135 PSF) and 30,000-square-feet of parking lots from The Providence Service Corporation of Stamford, CT.

Home to Ron Schwabe and Peach Properties’ central office, this large multi-use building in downtown Tucson was redeveloped by Peach to serve as headquarters for Providence Service Corp in 2010.  The 32,000 gross-square-feet, four-story building, was built in 1979, and features 20,000-square-feet of office space and penthouse level condos on the upper levels.

The four, unique downtown residential lofts each come complete with huge windows, a balcony and rooftop deck with private rooftop pool.

Providence Service Corporation acquired the building in 2010 and occupied the second floor, leasing the ground and third floor offices, while working with Peach Properties to develop four residential lofts on the top floor.

Providence has decided to consolidate operations on the east coast and have leased back its space for another year. With Providence, the building was fully occupied when is sold.

44 East Broadway is situated in the center of the business and government district on a streetcar stop, within easy access to restaurants, banks, and performing arts venues in downtown Tucson.

Peach Properties has extensive experience renovating in downtown Tucson. Peach was also recently awarded the redevelopment of the Ronstadt Transit Center by the City, into a transit oriented development anchored by 250 housing units for all ages and economic backgrounds, 450 parking spaces and a 144-room hotel and conference center. This mixed-use project is on a key 4.7-acre downtown site at Congress and 6th Avenue.

There were no brokers involved in the transaction of 44 East Broadway. For more information, Schwabe can be reached at 520.798.3331.

To learn more, login and see RED Comp #4434.

[mepr-show rules=”58038″]Sale date: 12/30/2017. Legal description for property has been split into condominiums therefore SF is approximate. Building has an elevator, stairwells and common areas in gross SF, per buyer. [/mepr-show]

TUCSON, AZ — At its October meeting, the Rio Nuevo District Board unanimously approved releasing the Request for Qualifications to solicit a Design Team for the new Caterpillar headquarters building located west of downtown. The Board also approved a timeline for soliciting a General Contractor as early as November, with the stated hope to allow Caterpillar to occupy the new building in the spring of 2019.  Rio Nuevo’s agreement to build and lease this headquarters building was instrumental in recruiting Caterpillar to Tucson from Milwaukee – a move that will create an estimated $2 billion dollar economic impact over the next ten years.

The Board also unanimously approved four new projects downtown in partnership with Peach Properties and Dabdoub Investments.  Rio Nuevo will invest up to $4.4 million dollars in four iconic restorations, the projected value of which upon completion will be in excess of $19 million dollars. The Chicago Store, the Arizona Hotel, the Brings Chapel on South Scott, and 123 South Stone will each be a mix of retail, food and beverage which the developers estimate will create over $1.3 million dollars per year of direct tax benefit within the District. Restauranteur Chris Bianco announced (via videotape) that he will partner with the developers to keep his highly rated restaurant in downtown Tucson. A number of known businesses from EXO Coffee to the restaurant operators behind Obon Sushi were announced as tenants. (Much of the developers’ presentation has been posted to www.rionuevo.org.)

In addition, the Board advanced its commitment to developer Don Bourn to help launch City Park – a 50,000 square foot entertainment complex at Congress and Scott.  Bourn announced that he has obtained financing from Bank of Tucson, has received binding commitments for $5 million dollars of private equity, and has contractor and tenant agreements signed. In collaboration with the City and the developer, Rio Nuevo will advance $2.6 million dollars to the $17 million dollar budget for the new retail project.

The auditors responsible for the Arizona Auditor General’s performance and compliance audit of the District also presented the results of the 2016 audit to the full Board. The auditors informed the Board that for the first time in Rio Nuevo history, the District is in 100% compliance with the statutes. The auditors complemented the Board on its transparency, its “open books” and its recent successful projects, including the continuing renovation of the TCC Arena, the new Greyhound Bus Terminal, the Mercado Annex and the Caterpillar Headquarters, as great examples of public/private investments. In so doing, the auditors acknowledged the Board has leveraged state tax dollars by almost ten to one.

“This is our most productive time,” said chairman Fletcher McCusker, “and the results are visible all throughout downtown.  We are a model state agency and have demonstrated, in spades, the value of public/private partnerships where risk is shared.”

“Lenders are engaged finally in our downtown, housing projects are filling in vacant lots, developer and equity partners have new skin in the game and the buzz about downtown has been featured recently in The New York Times, USA Today, American Airlines Magazine and The Smithsonian Magazine.  This is our time and people around the world are noticing,” McCusker concluded.

After nearly 50 years at the same downtown address, the iconic Chicago Music Store at 130 E Congress Street in downtown Tucson has changed hands for $1.85 million ($77 PSF).

Chicago Music Store has moved to 45 South 6^th Avenue, continuing to do business in downtown Tucson as it has for nearly 100 years. This is the fourth location Chicago Music has occupied downtown since 1919. Making this move a continuation of a long history of the Chicago Music Store as one of Tucson’s oldest family-owned businesses in downtown.

The buyer, an affiliate of Peach Properties, is a well- known downtown developer (Ron Schwabe, manager) that has tentative plans to repurpose the building on Congress for multi-tenant use and is reviewing various architectural proposals for the building.

The historic, two-story, downtown building is approximately 24,000-square-feet with mezzanine, and constructed in 1916.

The buyer has also been awarded the joint redevelopment project with the City of Tucson, of the Ronstadt Transit Center across the street. See RED News November 19, 2015 for details.

Schwabe told us there has already been a lot of interest shown in a repurposed space by smaller tenants for a variety of uses that include restaurant, retail and office uses.

The seller, Chicago Store Properties, was represented by Buzz Isaacson with CBRE in Tucson.

For more information, Schwabe can be reached at 520.798.3331 and Isaacson should be contacted at 520.323.5151.

To learn more, see RED Comp #3697.