Velocis Sells Scottsdale Office Building for $53M

Camelback Square. Image courtesy of Velocis

City Office REIT has acquired Camelback Square, a 175,268-square-foot office building in Scottsdale, Ariz. Velocis, which bought the three-story structure four years ago in what was the company’s first purchase in its Velocis Fund II, sold it now for $53.2 million.

“We had improved the condition of the asset with a newly constructed tenant lounge, courtyard, new restrooms, new finishes in the elevator lobbies and corridors and subsequently raised the rental since the acquisition,” Jim Yoder, Velocis’ partner, told Commercial Property Executive. “This allowed us to sell the building for more than what we paid for it.”

Located at 6991 E. Camelback Road, Camelback Square was built in 1978 and renovated by the sellers. It includes a steakhouse, an open-air courtyard and a tenant lounge. The renovations included upgrades to corridors, the elevator lobby, roof, restroom and the addition of a new conference center.

Unmatched location

The Class B office property is situated on approximately 8 acres in the Oldtown Scottsdale submarket of Phoenix. Both Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom are within walking distance and the property is less than 10 miles from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

According to Yoder, the location was everything for this asset as the company typically buys B quality assets in A to A+ locations and improve them to drive occupancy, rents and thus the value.  

“The location of Camelback Square is unmatched,” he said. “The property is located across the street from Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall with all its amenities and a couple of blocks from all of the restaurants and retail that downtown Scottsdale has to offer.”

With the transaction, City Office REIT now has a portfolio of 62 office buildings with approximately 5.3 million square feet of net rentable area. CBRE’s Barry Gabel, Chris Marchildon and Will Mast represented the seller in the transaction.

In March, City Office REIT has acquired the 206,770-square-foot Canyon Park Commons in Bothell, Wash., for $63 million from Equity Office.