Credit Counselors of America Inc. purchased a 21-acre parcel at the southwest corner of 19th Avenue and Monona Drive for $7.4 million. The property is less than a mile from Interstate 10 and just a quarter mile from the Loop 101, which is under construction.

The debt consolidation agency plans to build a 240,000-sf office building on the site, which will serve as a regional campus. Cuervo Development Co. is building the project and is scheduled to commence construction this spring.

Real estate investor Keshvar LLC was the seller of the parcel.

With the imminent opening of the Loop 101 all the way into Scottsdale, more and more corporations have been flocking to the area, finding parcels along I-17 and the new Loop 101. Dozens of new office projects have sprung up in the past five years along the I-17 Corridor.

When the Loop 101 to the east opens later this year, it will connect north Phoenix and Scottsdale conveniently for the first time. The Loop 101 runs east/west into Scottsdale from I-17 and then along the suburb's eastern border to link up with Loop 202.

The I-17 submarket has been one of the most active for leasing and new development for office space in the past several years. At the start of the year, the vacancy rate for office space in the submarket was 5.3%, compared to an overall rate of 9.9%t. Approximately 650,000 sf of new office space is under construction there.

The Phoenix office of Cushman & Wakefield, with broker Bob Lundstedt, negotiated the land sale for the seller, while the Phoenix office of West USA Realty, with broker David Haines, represented Credit Counselors.