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PHOENIX-Liberty Property Trust has added more muscle to its Greater Phoenix portfolio with the addition of more than one million sf of flex and industrial buildings and 38 acres of raw land. In separate transactions, the Malvern, PA-based REIT has paid $175.5 million for the 805,639-sf Allred Cotton Center in Phoenix and $11.2 million for a 228,000-sf building in Tolleson.

John DiVall, Liberty Property's vice president and city manager for Arizona, says the Cotton Center portfolio, sold by locally based Douglas Allred Co., ranges from brand-new product to buildings that are just a few years old. "The deal also includes some pad sites in the park so we'll be building in there as well," he adds. "We already have some interest from potential users."

Allred Cotton Center is a mix of completed and under-construction space in the 280-acre Cotton Center, situated five miles from Sky Harbor International Airport. The buildings will change hands in stages. The first closing rolled in a 101,269-sf shell at 4410 E. Cotton Center Blvd., 79,946-sf shell at 4650 S. 44th Place and 18 of 38 developable acres that can support another 460,000 sf. "The goal is to lease up the shell buildings and maintain the tenant base we have," DiVall says.