"We were developing the building spec and we were just going to lease it up, but Wells Fargo approached us about purchasing it," Adrian Evarkiou, senior vice president for Orsett Properties Ltd. of Wellesley, MA, explains to GlobeSt.com. "Wells Fargo had been looking in the area for some time and our building met their requirements. The whole transaction happened very quickly--in less than 45 days."

The building, rising at 2150 W. Pinnacle Peak Rd., is large enough for 500 employees. Orsett will deliver the building in shell condition in August, says Evarkiou, adding the bank will spend about $30 per sf for finish-out. The building is suited for back-office operations.

"Our needs are specific and long term," a Wells Fargo spokeswoman says, "and because of our low cost of funds, it is advantageous for us to own our properties rather than to lease them." She says the team most likely will move in during first quarter 2006.

The bank has roughly three million sf of office space in Arizona including one million sf of retail banking locations. The Arizona workforce exceeds 11,000 employees. "The Deer Valley area provides convenient transportation access and is a good employment corridor," the spokeswoman adds.

Orsett has crews working on two more class A projects in its Pinnacle Peak Commerce Center: a 113,000-sf office building and 82,000-sf flex office structure. The single-story buildings also will be completed in August.

The Butler Design Group of Phoenix designed the park; Weitz Co. is its general contractor. Tim Whittemore, Jim Wilson and Mike Beall with Cushman & Wakefield of Arizona Inc. are preleasing the project, which carries a quoted rate of $13.50 per sf, triple net.

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GlobeSt.com EXCLUSIVE: Wells Fargo Buys Spec Project for $12M

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