With one of the largest office vacancies in the Valley, Ashley Brooks of CB Richard Ellis Inc.'s Phoenix offices predicts the sale and increased submarket activity could drive down vacancy to 12% by the first quarter's end. At the 2003 close, the submarket had an 18.6% vacancy in the 1.7-million-sf inventory.

The highly publicized Northpoint sale started working in second quarter 2003. "It took that long to negotiate the sales price, agreements and terms," Brooks tells GlobeSt.com. "And, Koll needed to do some things to make it saleable."

The twin buildings are located at 2202 and 2222 W. Rose Garden Lane, a one-off project of Koll Development Co., now KDC with its headquarters in Dallas, and Invesco Realty Advisors, also from Dallas. The 13.8-acre asset was 22% leased at sale time. "That's what made it attractive to us," Brooks says, adding that 78% of the two-year-old office space is still in shell condition.

Wells Fargo will shift the consumer credit group into the back-office space, relocating 500 jobs from a leased site in Phoenix as the first leg to a move that ultimately could fuel 1,300 positions for Deer Valley. The location near Loop 101 and Interstate 17 not only provides good access to the entire Valley, but also opens up "a deep labor pool" for the upcoming expansion, Brooks says. The move will begin in the second quarter, timed to coincide with the lease's expiration.

Besides Brooks, the CBRE team representing KDC included Charles Miscio, Keith Lambeth, Jim Bayless and Susan Evans. Well Fargo's broker was Brad Anderson, also in the CBRE Phoenix office.

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Wells Fargo Eyes Q2 Move to $16M Campus

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