The agency plans to move into the 20-story tower at 3550 N. Central Ave. in October, vacating Park Place at 500 N. Third St. in the downtown. The lease spans all of the second and fourth floors and part of the third, according to John Bonnell, a vice president with Trammell Crow Co.'s Phoenix office. "This deal was done very quietly although a lot of landlords were chasing it early on," he tells GlobeSt.com.
According to Bonnell, the state's existing lease was expiring. "They would have had to rework their space and they just decided it was better to move," he explains.
Bonnell says there were a lot of options in the Central Avenue corridor, but the choices eventually were pared to Younan's Central Plaza at 4041 N. Central Ave. and Meridian Bank Tower. When Gary Gregg with Cresa Partners in Phoenix first started negotiations on the state's behalf, Meridian Bank Tower was owned by Credit Suisse First Boston. But in October 2004, Younan Properties purchased the building for $11 million.
"At that point, the state was negotiating only with Younan, but for two different buildings," says Bonnell, who teamed with TCC's Don Mudd and Jason Moore to represent Younan. Bonnell adds Meridian Bank Tower emerged as the winner because it offered large floor plates and good value plus Younan Properties was willing to do a short-term lease.
With the state lease, Meridian Bank Tower is 93% occupied. In recent months, Younan also signed electrical engineering firm, DL Engineering & Controls, to a seven-year lease for corporate headquarters space on the 19th and 20th floors. The firm plans to move into a 15,736-sf office next month. Other major tenants are Make a Wish Foundation of America, Meridian Bank and Darcomm Supply Inc.
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