Denali National Trust, a Scottsdale-based developer, purchased a 6.5-acre parcel east of Tatum Boulevard on Cactus Road for $4.85 million. The company plans to begin construction in the spring on a 200,000-sf, Class A office project. The site is just east of Paradise Valley Mall and only four miles from Scottsdale Airpark.

The parcel was originally developed by Paradise Valley Mall developer Westcor, which sold it to Phoenix-based Artemis Realty. Artemis, in turn, sold the parcel to Denali National Trust.

That area of the Valley, near the Scottsdale Airpark and north Scottsdale, has become popular with developers over the past five years, because many CEOs living in the upper-scale Scottsdale community are seeking office space near their homes. The recently opened Loop 101 has made this a viable option, because it's improved the ability of workers to commute to this area from other communities, where the cost of housing is less. At yearend the Scottsdale Airpark submarket had an office vacancy rate of 8%, compared to a Valleywide rate of 9.9%, according to recent surveys.

The Phoenix office of Grubb & Ellis, with brokers Dick Shott, Larry Downey and Jerry Jacobs, negotiated the purchase for Denali.