"Our basis in the building was low enough that this made goodsense. We were at 70% occupancy. To get the full value, we neededto get it to around 85% so we felt that it was a very reasonableprice based on the current occupancy," Jeff Schindler, chiefinvestment officer with Equus Realty Advisors of La Jolla, CA,tells GlobeSt.com.

First Credit Union put up a "substantial" deposit and assumed anexisting loan from Nationwide Life Insurance Co. of Columbus toclose the off-market deal for 25 S. Arizona Place, Schindler adds.The 104,000-sf office building was 12% occupied two years ago whenEquus bought it out of bankruptcy proceedings.

Contiguous space was especially key to the buyer. "It enablesthem the ability to control their expansion requirements and theywere looking for a deal of that size," Barry Gabel, a senior vicepresident at Trammell Crow Co. in Phoenix, says about the16-year-old structure. The City of Chandler has an option to buythe abutting five-story parking garage, which it now leases fromEquus. Tenant improvements on First Credit Union's new corporateheadquarters are expected to begin soon so the third-quartermove-in can be completed.