Lincoln Property Picked for Office Project at The Grand, Papago Park Center

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

David Krumwiede, Lincoln Property Co.

Emerging victorious in a rigorous RFP process, Lincoln Property Co. has landed a major gig in the metropolitan Phoenix area. Papago Park Center Inc., master developer of the 3.2 million-square-foot The Grand at Papago Park in Tempe, has selected LPC to build the 1.8 million-square-foot office component at the sprawling mixed-use project.

There’s a good reason why office space will account for well more than half of The Grand: growing demand. David Krumwiede, executive vice president of LPC, told Commercial Property Executive that the call for premier office space is being spurred by a host of factors.

“[There’s a] strong availability of qualified workforce–Tempe specifically has Arizona State University as a great pool of educated employee candidates–affordable housing and competitive occupancy costs, direct freeway accessibility via the Loop 101 and 202 freeways, as well as a fantastic live-work-play environment,” Krumwiede said.

The Grand will span 60 acres that comprise the last developable parcel within the 350-acre Papago Park Center, one of the largest business parks in the State of Arizona. Upon build-out, the development will be the very essence of a 24/7 community, with office buildings, as well as multi-family, hotel and retail space.

LPC will ultimately erect six office buildings on two parcels at The Grand, one of which will accommodate the four-story structures, while the other will serve as the site of the 10-story towers.  The buildings, designed by HKS Architects and Kendle Design Collaborative, will also feature an undetermined amount of ground-level retail space.

LPC has tapped commercial real estate services firm CBRE Group Inc. to spearhead marketing and leasing of The Grand’s office offerings. Tempe is the tightest office submarket in the Phoenix area, with a 12.1 percent vacancy rate at the close of 2014, compared to metropolitan Phoenix’s 21 percent, according to a CBRE report. An LPC spokesperson, referencing comments oft-made by Krumwiede, told CPE,

“The Downtown Tempe submarket is really the epicenter of demand for metro Phoenix’s office space today. Things seem to radiate from here, which makes this one of the absolute best places in the Valley to build.”

With J.E. Dunn Construction aboard as general contractor, LPC will begin executing plans for the construction of the first phase of The Grand’s office segment this month.