BlackRock now owns the 190,702-sf Gainey Ranch Financial Centerat 7377 E Doubletree Ranch Rd. The Lowe/GE joint venture retainsownership and in the 269,091 SF Paradise Valley Office Park at11811 N. Tatum Blvd. in Phoenix and the 251,588 SF ScottsdaleExecutive Office Park at 7975 N. Hayden Rd. and 8655 E. Via deVentura in Scottsdale. The group is planning $1.4 million inupgrades.

"One of the three assets was a core property that fit anotherinvestor's criteria better than ours," explains Kent Merselis,senior vice president of Lowe Group's Arizona office. "They'd beena competing bidder and had introduced themselves to us as apotential buyer, should we be successful in the bidding process."With the JV's success in the acquisition, "BlackRock was willing tostep up and pay us a premium," Merselis says, declining toelaborate on what BlackRock paid for the facility.

But he does tell GlobeSt.com that the transaction is only thetip of the iceberg for future investments. "We're looking at moredeals every day," he says. "We're trying to increase our portfolioin value-add properties."