Cushman & Wakefield of Arizona director Brett Polachek, who worked on behalf of the buyers, tells GlobeSt.com that Century Plaza was an old office building converted to condominiums during the area's condo conversion activity phase. Equus Development Corp. paid just under $10 million for the 218,532-square-foot office building at 1 E. Lexington Ave. in 2004 after it twice fell out of escrow.

However, Equus Development ran afoul of a collapsing market after spending more than $1 million in conversion costs. The lenders foreclosed on the project in March 2009. "Fifteen of the units sold, and the remainder were eventually foreclosed on by the bank," Polachek explains. "The buyer bought the 130 units, along with some retail on the ground floor." There is approximately 11,000 square feet of retail space available, which is currently being marketed by SRS Real Estate Partners' Phoenix office.

Polachek comments that the project was in escrow for awhile, and "while it was under contract, people were coming to the doors, wanting to buy individual the units," he says. "There seems to be a lot of built-up interest in the property."

Polachek goes on to say that the new owners plan to sell the units. Units range in size from 734 square feet to 2,846 square feet. Prices are expected to start at around $165,000.