The portfolio is located in the Arizona Business Park, between Bell and Greenway roads on the west side of Interstate 17. "Crown still owns three other buildings in the park," comments Bob Buckley, senior vice president with Trammell Crow Co.'s Phoenix office. "We're working on disposing one of them as we speak. The other has some transition to go through." Besides Buckley, the TCC team includes Barry Gabel, Melinda Korth, Tracy Cartledge and Steve Lindley. Information about the third building, being marketed by another broker, was unavailable by publication time.

"It was basically an opportunistic play for Crown when they bought it," Buckley tells GlobeSt.com. "They repositioned the assets through strategic leasing activities and are disposing of the buildings as they're repositioned."

The portfolio was on the market about two months. It attracted 15 offers. Birtcher was selected as a final buyer because the principals' have a strong knowledge of the market. "They'd actually owned a building in the business park at one point and were familiar with the location," Buckley says, adding Birtcher also offered the most competitive pricing.

Birtcher acquired a 100%-leased portfolio, developed between 1982 and 1998. The single-tenant buildings are leased to American International Group Inc., TriWest Healthcare Alliance, NCS Pearson Inc. and Hypercom Corp. And, Buckley says, there no concerns about immediate lease rolls. "This is a long-term hold for the buyer," he says.