Ron Ault, Dave Newquist and Brad Anderson, all of the Phoenix office of CB Richard Ellis, represented Wells Fargo in both transactions. Ault tells GlobeSt.com that CB Richard Ellis brokers between six and eight parcels per year in the Phoenix MSA for Well Fargo.

Ault says it didn't take long to determine "the place to be" in Anthem or Gold Canyon. Both are high-growth areas with limited opportunities for retail development. Generally, it takes about three months to find a parcel for Wells Fargo and sometimes up to a year to get to the closing table, he says.

The Anthem tract is slightly less than an acre and takes up the southwest corner of Anthem Way and Gavilan Peak Parkway in far north Phoenix. The site is near a Safeway-anchored shopping center. Pederson Group Inc. of Phoenix sold the land for $775,000.

In Gold Canyon, Wells Fargo paid $500,000 for a 39,291-sf commercial pad, just outside Apache Junction at the northeast corner of Superstition Mountain Drive and Arizona 60. A construction scheduled has yet to be set on the new branch in the Bashas' Shopping Center. Park West Realty & Management Inc. of Phoenix represented the seller, Superstition Gateway LLC in the land transaction.