Bourn Retakes 196,179-SF Office for Nearly $38M

Formerly a call center for America Online, the complex is situated at 5401-51 Williams Blvd. in the 160-acre Williams Centre. Melinda Korth, executive vice president in Phoenix for CB Richard Ellis, says the location attracted multiple offers from investment circles. She says Bourn Partners LLC's familiarity with the asset and its price helped to swing the deal its way.

The complex was sold by a tenants-in-common owner, 5401 Williams Owner LLC of New York City. It was the seller's only holding west of the Mississippi River. Underwriting the sale was the TIC group's desire to focus on the East Coast investments, according to Korth. The CBRE team included executive vice president Barry Gabel and senior associate Mark Dancer.

Alan Stevenson, director of acquisitions for buyer Bourn Partners LLC says the center is 93% economically leased. America Online vacated last year, but there's still time left on its lease. The asset's other tenants--FedEx Freight, Receivable Management Services Corp. and IFS Systems--are in place for awhile, he adds.

Stevenson tells GlobeSt.com that there are several options under review for the 100,000 sf of vacant space, including a sublease or a lease buyout.

Bourn owns eight acres beside the Williams Centre Technology Campus and two more acres right across the street. "Our plans are to develop those, but there's nothing concrete as yet," Stevenson says. "The eight-acre parcel is zoned for high-density so we'll be ready to go when the perfect combination of users comes in."

Meanwhile, he says Bourn is glad to have the campus back in its portfolio. "In hindsight, we probably wouldn't have sold this," he acknowledges. "But we're strong believers in the Tucson office market fundamentals and believe that Williams Centre is a premier office location. We're excited about this purchase."