The limited liability company buyer, Holualoa Hayden Square, scored the win in a face-off with 13 other investors. The buyer's proven track record in the Phoenix market was the dealmaker, Stan Shafer, a senior vice president for Grubb & Ellis/BRE Commercial in Phoenix, tells GlobeSt.com. "They have a very extensive track record for buying properties in Arizona and pursue all property types," he says.

The seller is LAFP Phoenix Inc., an investment fund representing Los Angeles police and firefighters, which had the 3.6-acre property at 51 W. Third St. on the market about five weeks. Built in 1986, a five-story building in the complex served as America West Airlines' headquarters until 1999 when the airline moved to a nearby larger building. Shortly thereafter, LAFP completed a major renovation on the empty structure and implemented a lease-up campaign that lifted the entire complex's occupancy to its present 97%. The other four buildings are two-story designs leased to office and retail tenants in spaces from 1,000 sf to 15,000 sf. Office rents average $24 per sf while retail space can go as high as $24 per sf.

The mostly local-credit tenant mix includes the Tempe Visitors & Convention Bureau, Margarita Rocks, Mill's End Espresso, Quizno's and Logan Simpson Design Inc. An on-site outdoor amphitheater served as a concert destination during the 1990s, but is rarely used today.

Holualoa, eyeing Hayden Square as a long-term hold, has been active this year in the market. In January, the investment group bought a 125,000-sf distribution center at 2927 S. Hardy Dr. in Tempe for $5.5 million and a month later sold the Tempe One Business Center at 1717 W. 16th St. for $23.7 million. Besides Shafer, the Grubb & Ellis/BRE team handling the sale included Eric Wichterman and Jeff Hartland.