“There is enormous demand in this submarket for unique office space for large tenants,” says Cassidy Turley's Jeff Wentworth. “This property gives us the opportunity to deliver innovative, flexible office space perfectly designed to function for tenants from 30,000 to 235,000 square feet. It provides 16 to 20' ceiling heights, 7:1,000 parking and because of the connection between the indoor and outdoor spaces there is the opportunity for functional space not under roof.”

The single-story existing 1665 Alameda building was constructed in 1986 and has been used by multiple tenants until the recent purchase of the property. The challenge was to significantly transform the building image and regain its stature as a viable Class A office environment. WPC and the Gensler design team saw the opportunity to transform the site and building to develop an amenity–rich, creative workplace environment that embraces its freeway location with direct visibility from I-10.

Specific concept strategies focused on heightening the building image, creating a unified appearance, developing personalized entry elements for tenants, adding shared amenities to the site, enhancing daylighting opportunities and creating indoor/outdoor connections. The existing U-shaped footprint allowed for a functional courtyard space in-between the building volume to connect the interior with the exterior and create usable year-round spaces. The existing mansard roof and visually low façade will be eliminated and a new façade proposed.

Architectural entry elements create a new frontal projection to the street, a fluid architectural language and significant visual markers for branding and tenant signage. Proposed building materials include integral colored cementitious panels, aluminum composite naturally finished metal panels, steel and glass elements, and textural gabion wall features integrating the new façade with the courtyard concept in a seamless fashion. New building amenities include bocce ball, café dining, fitness center, outdoor shaded seating, water features, and a unique rain garden concept that uses sustainable and indigenous landscape.

WPC partnered with Northwood Investors and purchased Discovery Business Campus in November 2011. DPC is a 136-acre campus with 800,000 square feet of existing office space and up to 1.6 million square feet of additional, entitled Class A office, hotel and retail development in Tempe. WPC is currently developing a 237,000-square-foot, build-to-suit facility for Shutterfly, Inc. at DBC, slated for completion in April 2015.