PHOENIX—Deal velocity has been brisk as of late for local commercial real estate developer SimonCRE which purchased the 36,000-square-foot completely remodeled and refurbished 1917 OS Stapley Buildings. The seller, Abromovitz Grand Avenue Partners LLC, specializes in renovating old historic buildings and transformed this architectural gem into a creative mixed-use space, while keeping the integrity of the red brick structure along with original exposed wood trusses.
The two-story retail storefront and office buildings are located at 723-747 North Grand Ave. in the burgeoning downtown Lower-Grand Avenue Business District. Mattress startup Tuft & Needle will occupy the entirety of the buildings for its new Arizona headquarters, bringing the buildings to 100% occupancy at the time of closing.
There is a second building adjacent to the Stapley buildings which will be demolished and turned into additional parking to accommodate Tuft & Needle. The Tuft & Needle showroom is currently located at 605 East Grant St.
Joshua Simon, president of SimonCRE, tells GlobeSt.com: "Old buildings are coming back to life in downtown Phoenix as most of the unique landmarks were torn down over the years. Who would have thought a historic hardware store would be reinvented and redeveloped into an urban, creative retail showroom and office space for an emerging high-tech mattress company 100 years later?"
Tuft & Needle chose to collaborate with developer SimonCRE, sharing a vision and appreciation for the character of the buildings as well as the desirability of the area referred to as a creative business district.
"We believe in the potential of the Lower Grand Avenue District as a thriving community of world-class brands, arts and culture," says Daehee Park, co-founder of Tuft & Needle. "We're excited to move into our new home at the Stapley building and contribute to that vision as we continue growing."
Trenton McCullough, Greg Vanlerberghe and Peter McQuaid of Levrose represented SimonCRE in the nearly $3.2 million purchase and Steve Farrell of Lee & Associates represented Abromovitz Grand Avenue Partners.
In other SimonCRE news, the firm has purchased a Scottsdale, AZ, 3,170-square-foot freestanding retail building formerly known as the popular Dirty Drummer Restaurant and Bar. The building is located at 2730 N. Scottsdale Road near the intersection of Thomas Road and Scottsdale. SimonCRE will begin construction on several improvements to the exterior and interior of the building for an undisclosed retail tenant to be announced at a later date. Renovations include renovating the exterior façade, remodeling the interior, and various site and utility improvements.
"We are starting to do a lot more redevelopment projects throughout the valley and this location was such an ideal choice since it was right in our backyard," said Simon. "We look forward to seeing what the next conversion of space will be."
McCullough, Vanlerberghe and McQuaid of Levrose represented the buyer, SimonCRE in the $1.1 million purchase. Trent Goulette of Southwest Retail Advisors represented the seller, 2730 Scottsdale Partners LLC.
SimonCRE purchased 1.26 acres of land at the northwest corner of 75th Avenue and Loop 101 in Glendale, AZ and will build a 7,908-square-foot multi-tenant retail building in the mixed-use center called Aspera at Joy. Prior to closing, SimonCRE locked in signed leases with Starbucks, Herbal Nails & Spa and Fired Pie Pizza.
SimonCRE has bought a freestanding 3,300-square-foot retail building near Arizona State University's Tempe, AZ campus and will retrofit the property for a Blaze Pizza restaurant. Exterior and interior renovations will begin immediately, set to open in the spring of 2016.
SimonCRE purchased 2.4 acres of land at the northwest corner of Highway 92 and Glenn Road in Sierra Vista, AZ and will begin construction immediately on a 16,000-square-foot retail building for Pet Club. The site is adjacent to Coronado Vet Hospital.
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Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown is an editor for the south and west regions of GlobeSt.com. She has 25-plus years of real estate experience, with a regional PR role at Grubb & Ellis and a national communications position at MMI. Brown also spent 10 years as executive director at NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area chapter, where she led the organization to achieving its first national award honors and recognition on Capitol Hill. She has written extensively on commercial real estate topics and edited numerous pieces on the subject.
