SCOTTSDALE, AZ-Universal Technical Institute Inc. has inked a long-term lease for 85,000 square feet at MAX at KIERLAND, a six-story office building owned by a Trammell Crow Co./ING Clarion joint venture.
The publicly-traded company, which provides post-secondary degrees for auto-related technicians, will relocate its corporate headquarters to the 285,000-square-foot building in March 2011, according to Jim Sadler, executive vice president and tenant representation leader in Jones Lang LaSalle’s Phoenix office.
Sadler and Keith Lammerson with Jones Lang LaSalle represented UTI in the search for its new home, as well as lease negotiations. Jim Mahoney with Trammell Crow and Alexander Mitzner with ING represented the ownership in the transaction, along with Patrick Devine, Jerry Noble and Greg Mayer with CB Richard Ellis’ Phoenix office.
Currently, UTI occupies roughly the same amount of space at 20410 N. 19th Avenue. The new office, located at Kierland development, south of the Loop 101 on Scottsdale Road, will house roughly 425 employees. The company will occupy two floors at the MAX and will use the space for operations and administration.
Sadler tells GlobeSt. that UTI wanted to take advantage of the current market conditions. “With the new lease, UTI was able to reduce it total occupancy costs over the long-term,” he says, adding that the company’s existing lease was expiring after seven years.
Jones Lang LaSalle conducted an extensive workforce and site selection analysis – a process that took nearly two years. UTI considered multiple submarkets within the Valley. UTI had a short-list of four buildings for its headquarters including its current building, which was carefully evaluated, Sadler says.
“This was a very competitive deal between multiple submarkets and multiple municipalities,” Sadler notes. “This isn’t a market that has a lot of headquarters, and consequently municipalities are very focused on retaining corporate users.”
With the new deal, UTI gets top-of-the-building signage, and the MAX, which was awarded LEED
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