AmeriVest Pays $12M for Fourth Phoenix Asset

"We liked a lot of things about this building," John Greenman, chief investment officer with AmeriVest, tells GlobeSt.com. "It's a new building, one particularly built for our tenant base and we liked the North Scottsdale location and the quality. All those things made it a perfect AmeriVest acquisition."

Located on 5.5 acres just north of the intersection of Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard, the three-year-old structure, which is 82% percent leased to 17 tenants, will undergo minor renovation work that will include the construction of a common conference room for tenants, Greenman said. The property is a key buy for the investment group with an address surrounded by high-end residential housing, easy access to the new Kierland mixed-use development, Scottsdale Airpark and Gainey Ranch and McCormick Ranch areas.

"The acquisition of Scottsdale Norte adds one more critical small business submarket to our product offering in Phoenix," said William Atkins, AmeriVest chairman and CEO. AmeriVest caters to small to mid-sized clients.

In 2001, AmeriVest entered the Phoenix market with the purchase of the 96,076-sf Arrowhead Fountains Center, a fully leased building at 16150 N. Arrowhead Fountains Center in the suburb of Peoria. In February 2003, AmeriVest acquired the Southwest Gas Building, located in the Grove at Black Canyon business park in North Phoenix, for $17 million. Six months later, the company paid $39 million for Mesa's landmark Financial Plaza Building, a 16-story, 310,837-sf banking and office tower, often referred to as the Bank of America building and a well-known sight on the Mesa skyline.

AmeriVest was self represented in the transaction. The Scottsdale-based seller was assisted by Chris Toci with Cushman and Wakefield of Arizona Inc.'s Phoenix office.