Lessee Becomes Owner; Acquires 538,000-SF Facility

PHOENIX-Close to four years after moving into its 538,000-square-foot data center building, i/o Data Centers has now become the facility's owner. Business Real Estate Weekly of Arizona reports that the data center technology provider paid owner CBRE Global Investors LLC $72 million for ownership rights to the building and the 31-acre property on which it sits. The sale was negotiated by Mark Krison and Scott German of CBRE in Phoenix

The facility at 615 N. 48^th St. has a somewhat long and turbulent history. At one time, the property was leased to Le-Nature, a beverage manufacturing company headquartered in Latrobe, PA. In 2006, Le-Nature filed for bankruptcy, resulting in the plant's closing. In the meantime, the tenant-in-common investment group, advised by CBRE Global Investors, ended up selling the property to CBRE Global in early 2008 for $20 million, while also assuming debt. In a move to expand, i/o took leased the building in during the summer of 2009.

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