Phoenix’s Biltmore Center Sells in Landmark Deal

Biltmore Center. Image via Google Street View

ViaWest Group and joint venture partner Prospect Ridge have sold Biltmore Center, a 643,145-square-foot office landmark in the heart of Phoenix’s Camelback Corridor. The three-building asset changed hands for $212 million, with the deal being the largest multi-tenant office sale in the metro last year and the fourth-largest in Phoenix history, according to JLL, which brokered the transaction. Yardi Matrix data shows that Partners Group purchased the Class A property using a $150.7 million Truist Bank loan. ViaWest Group will continue to hold a minority ownership interest in the property and will also manage it.

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Located at 2390, 2394 and 2398 E. Camelback Road, the property is within walking distance of Biltmore Fashion Park, a luxury retail and dining plaza, as well as several luxury hotels. The former owner purchased the trio of adjacent buildings in 2015 for $163.1 million and executed a value-add program.

Besides from rebranding the property, ViaWest updated the lobbies and corridors, overhauled the outside plaza, upgraded the fitness center, added new restaurants and a tenant lounge. Amenities now include an indoor and outdoor tenant lounge, a 150-seat conference center and a 2-acre park. J Crew, Lululemon, Macy’s, Pottery Barn and Saks Fifth Avenue are among the retail tenants at the property.

Built in 1985, the 211,624-square-foot building at 2390 E. Camelback Road rises four stories and had a 2.9 percent vacancy rate as of mid-October 2019, according to Yardi Matrix data. The 11-story, 288,435-square-foot building at 2398 E. Camelback Road was built in 1998, and had a vacancy rate of 5.7 percent. The final building was completed in 1990 and has 135,350 square feet across six floors, with a vacancy rate of roughly 26 percent.

A market in good shape

According to Yardi Matrix’s most recent office report on the metro, Phoenix is one of the country’s fastest-growing metros as people continue to relocate there, drawn by a burgeoning tech scene and stable employment opportunities across many sectors. Last year’s JLL third quarter office report also shows that the low cost of living is likely to continue boosting business activity in the metro area.

JLL Capital Markets Director Ben Geelan, Senior Managing Director Michael Leggett and Analyst Nick Ray completed the transaction on behalf of the seller, while Senior Managing Director Jeremy Womack and Senior Managing Director Ed Coco secured the acquisition loan on behalf of ViaWest and its new partner. Colliers International’s Ryan Timpani and Phil Breidenbach will continue to handle leasing at Biltmore Center.