Multifamily and Office Deals Ramp up Activity in Metro Phoenix

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

Cole Real Estate Investments has made yet another major move in the Phoenix-area real estate market with its recent large property purchase. The object of the transaction is the corporate headquarters campus of PetSmart Inc. and the sellers were institutional investors who were advised by Prudential Real Estate Investors, the Phoenix Business Journal reports. This is the second large-scale deal the real estate investment firm has made during the past year after purchasing Apollo Group Inc.’s University of Phoenix office complex.

Cole spent $102.5 million for PetSmart’s corporate home located at 19601 N. 27^th Avenue, in the vicinity of the Loop 101 junction. The facility comprises 356,000 square feet and currently has 1,200 employees. The building includes a preschool and daycare center as well as a fitness facility and a full-service cafeteria. The Business Journal also quoted Thomas Roberts, executive vice-president of Cole, as saying that the move means a lot to the company’s growing real estate portfolio.

Another substantial real estate deal that was closed recently was for an apartment complex at 4225 E. McDowell Road, PBJ reports. The buyer, Papago Multi Venture LLC, has acquired the multifamily property from Embrey Partners of San Antonio and the Tuckerman Group from Chicago, the original equity partners in the development process. The 375-unit residential community, which at the time of the sale boasted a 95 percent occupancy rate, traded hands for $42 million. Both parties involved were represented Tyler Anderson and Sean Cunningham, both of whom work for CB Richard Ellis.