Phoenix’s Renaissance Square Wins 2016 TOBY Award

By Veronica Grecu

Renaissance Square, Phoenix

Phoenix—International real estate investment, development and management firm Hines was the biggest winner of this year’s BOMA Greater Phoenix’s The Outstanding Building of the Year (TOBY) awards, which were presented Nov. 4 at the Arizona Biltmore.

Hines went home with another TOBY Award in the 500,000 – 1 million square feet category for Renaissance Square, a LEED Gold-certified, two-building office complex located on one full city block in the heart of Phoenix’s Central Business District. The 965,508-square-foot office complex was designed by Emery, Roth & Sons and was built by Trammell Crow Co. in two phases in the late 1980s. In 2007, Hines acquired the office complex from a joint venture between The Pauls Corp. and GE Asset Management for $273 million, the second-largest commercial transaction that closed in that year.

As previously reported by Commercial Property Executive, Renaissance Square won BOMA’s TOBY Award in the same building category back in 2014.

“Hines provides tenants with the highest quality experience and service. We greatly appreciate BOMA for recognizing our dedication,” said General Property Manager of Renaissance Square Steve Hamel in prepared remarks.

Located at 2 N. Central Ave., the 26-story One Renaissance Square was completed in 1987 and encompasses more than 494,000 square feet of Class A office space. The building, which is approximately 75 percent occupied, also offers 1968 parking spaces in a multi-level underground garage, as well as street-level retail and restaurant space.

Two Renaissance Square is located at 40 N. Central Ave. and was completed in 1989. The 28-story building contains nearly 475,000 square feet of Class A office space and is currently 69 percent occupied. Just like the first building of the office complex, Two Renaissance Square features a below-ground parking garage with 1894 spaces, and retail and restaurant space on the first floor.

The two buildings, which are connected by a pedestrian sky bridge, are currently leased to major tenants such as international law firms Bryan Cave and Quarles & Brady, EY (formerly Ernst & Young), and the U.S. Government’s General Services Administration (GSA). According to data collected by Yardi Matrix, the average annual rent per square foot at Renaissance Square is around $30.

Renaissance Square features a long list of amenities, including 24-hour security, conference-room facilities, a full-service athletic club, on-site restaurants, a jeweler, a shoe shiner and a spacious tree-lined courtyard.

Image courtesy of Forum Capital LC