Opus West jumped into the construction although it has yet to close on the 5.5-acre tract. The developer signed a ground lease to begin infrastructure improvements, but plans to close the land sale with L. Milan Partners of Scottsdale by Aug. 1. The site sits just north of the Interstate 10/Loop 101 interchange, north of McDowell Road.

"It's an emerging submarket. Honestly, most of the brokerage companies don't track it as a separate submarket. There are a couple of medical office buildings that have been done recently, but almost everything else out there is single-story office condo for sale or for lease," Jeff Roberts, a senior vice president of real estate at Opus West Corp. in Phoenix, tells GlobeSt.com.

The university leased 30,000 sf in the two-story building, which is set to deliver by Jan. 1, 2005. Mike Garlick, a principal with locally based Lee & Associates Arizona, is marketing the 20,000-sf balance to prospective office tenants. He says the class A space, tagged at $23.50 per sf, is expected to attract medical office users from the nearby Banner Estrella Medical Center as well as small business owners who don't want to commute all the way to Downtown.

West 101 Gateway is Opus West's second transaction this year with Apollo Group Inc. of Phoenix, University of Phoenix's parent company. The developer leased 12,000 sf to Apollo in April at the Mesa Corporate Center for Apollo's newest subsidiary, Axia College.

Opus West Construction Corp. and Opus Architects & Engineerings are handling general contracting and design duties, respectively, for the West 101 Gateway project. John Arrotta and Bill Swirtz, both with Apollo Development Corp., represent the educational facility while Garlick and Mike McQuaid, also with Lee & Associates, hold the Opus West contract to lease the building's balance. In-house brokers for Opus and L. Milan Partners are handling the land sale.

Instant Insights /

Work Begins on 50,000-SF University Office Building

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