"We're pretty bullish on the Phoenix market," Dick Gee, Argus Realty's chairman and CEO, tells GlobeSt.com, noting that the Valley's strong job and population growth combined with its high office absorption rate made the area a favorable investment option for the San Juan Capistrano investment firm. He describes the two-building, fully leased property at 1717 W. 16th St. and 1516 W. 17th St. in Tempe as "a class B property in a class A location." The complex, near Arizona State University, is adjacent to Interstate 10 and five minutes from Sky Harbor International Airport.
"Phoenix is one of the fastest growing call center hubs in the US and we've just acquired one of the most desirable call center complexes in the city," Gee said in a press release. Built in 1979 and extensively renovated in 2000 by Chicago-based Bank One as the customer call center for its First USA credit card subsidiary, the property is currently leased to the University of Phoenix Online, Ikon Office Solutions and Kronos Inc., all of which operate customer call centers at the site. Holualoa Arizona acquired the property in June 2001 and made $2.3 million in additional structural upgrades and improvements.
Tom Adelson, executive vice president with CB Richard Ellis Inc.'s Phoenix office, who handled the transaction for the seller, tells GlobeSt.com that Holualoa Arizona received six to eight bids during the complex's two months on the market, but selected Argus because of its ability to close on the deal. "It was a perfect fit for them," Adelson says. Jean Murphy, Argus' senior vice president for acquisitions, spearheaded the purchase for the buyer.
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