Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, McCarthy Cook & Co. and JLL Celebrate the Creation of a new hub for Phoenix Central Arts District and Renaming of Viad Corporate Center to Central Arts Plaza
PHOENIX, AZ – Unveiling their new vision for Phoenix’s Midtown submarket, California-based McCarthy Cook & Co. and the Phoenix office of JLL joined Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton this week to celebrate the official renaming of Viad Corporate Center to Central Arts Plaza.
Built in 1991 as the Dial Corporation headquarters and still the headquarters for Dial Corp.’s successor, Viad Corp., Central Arts Plaza totals 500,000 square feet in 24 stories at 1850 N. Central Ave. The project anchors the newly created Central Arts District, an area bounded by Roosevelt Street, Virginia Avenue, Seventh Street and Seventh Avenue in Phoenix. It is also directly adjacent to the Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix Theatre and Arizona Opera, and is a short walk to the Heard Museum and Phoenix Metro Light Rail.
The Central Arts District is home to the greatest concentration arts venues in the Phoenix metropolitan area. In 2014, McCarthy Cook joined forces with Midtown business and arts leaders to create the Central Arts District. “We saw an opportunity to embrace and support this extraordinary concentration of the cultural jewels of Phoenix,” said Edward Cook, Co-President of McCarthy Cook. “Renaming Viad Corporate Center to Central Arts Plaza underscores our commitment to this vision, and recognizes our project’s role as a hub connecting the numerous prestigious firms located at the building to the Central Arts District’s vibrant art scene.”
Central Arts Plaza provides Class A office amenities including unobstructed 360-degree views of the entire Valley, a full service café and outdoor lounge, 10,000-square-foot fitness center, 150-person conference center with breakout boardroom and the 200-seat Playhouse on the Park performance theatre. The project has an outstanding park, sculpture garden and major water feature open to the public.
Central Arts Plaza encourages the arts on site with attractions ranging from opera in the lobby to a rotating lobby gallery that will feature art from local artists and students attending nearby schools.
“Central Arts Plaza is a world-class office project located at the heart of the new Central Arts District, with a unique mix of amenities found nowhere else in Phoenix,” said JLL Managing Director John Bonnell, who leads the project’s exclusive leasing broker team including JLL Vice Presidents Brett Abramson and Chris Latvaaho. “The unrivalled quality of this project and its nexus to the burgeoning arts scene and new residential and retail developments is a great combination, and the reason the project consistently outperforms nearby Downtown and North Central properties.”
“Central Arts Plaza provides tenants a unique opportunity to enjoy a Class A atmosphere, first class on-site amenities and accessibility to the entire Valley,” added Abramson. “A building of this quality will most likely never be duplicated.”
California-based McCarthy Cook currently owns more than 1 million square feet of Class A office space in Phoenix. JLL is the exclusive leasing broker for the company’s Phoenix portfolio.