George Oliver Sells Phoenix Office Redevelopment for $56M

George Oliver has sold CASA, a class-A office property in Phoenix to Macquarie Asset Management for $56 million or $312 million per square foot. The sales price is a record for the local submarket.

George Oliver received strong interest in the property from a wide range of investment capital, including high-net-worth investors and institutional investors with international reach. “The experiential aspects of CASA and the building’s recent leasing momentum were the largest drivers for investors,” Curt Kremer, managing partner at George Oliver, tells GlobeSt.com. “These deliverables were something that buyers could take back to their investment committees to not only underscore our impressive results during this uncertain time, but also seed their portfolios with an office building that checks a number of boxes for what the future of office usage will be.”

The property currently is 100% committed, an impressive feat following the pandemic. “CASA is a unique building that met or exceeded most of our users’ initial requirements. Prior to COVID, it was attracting growth tenants who were drawn to its move-in-ready spaces with abundant expansion opportunities,” says Kremer. “During COVID, it signed more net new leases than any other building in Arizona by attracting tenants who were focused on next-generation office space that offered exterior-loaded tenant entries and incorporated thoughtful outdoor placemaking with generous amenities.” The building’s tenants include Rockwell Automation, City National Bank, The Money Store, Olsson and Phoenix Association of Realtors, North & Co.

While this property outperformed the market, overall, Phoenix performed well through the pandemic thanks to market drivers like corporate migration and population growth, which were in place before the pandemic. . If Phoenix can continue to sustain its current population growth and produce and attract well-educated talent, office users will continue to be drawn to the Valley. In my opinion, that’s what drives the Phoenix office market,” says Kremer. “It’s our job as developers to make sure we have the right product for companies and employees when they arrive.”

Above all, George Oliver is focused on connecting with tenants and making strategic moves to better respond to changing needs. In today’s office market there’s a significant amount of uncertainty about what’s to come for office buildings and their users. The one item we feel strongly about going forward is labor attraction. Office users will continue to be in a competitive battle for the best labor, and we feel it’s our responsibility to put our tenants in the best position to win those battles. We do that with thoughtfully designed and well-amenitized projects in highly desirable locations, delivering access to diverse labor pools.