VIAWEST SELLS PROMINENT NORTH SCOTTSDALE OFFICE BUILDING
Newmark and ViaWest Group announce the sale of Raintree Corporate Center I, a 149,424-square-foot, class A office project located in
North Scottsdale at 15333 North Pima Road. The asset is comprised of a three-story, 149,424-square-foot office building and a four-level parking structure. ViaWest purchased both Raintree Corporate Center I & II in 2015 from CW Capital. As part of the business plan, ViaWest spun off the single-tenant building (Raintree Corporate Center II) in 2016 for $32.1 million while they focused on enhancing the value of the underperforming multi-tenant Raintree Corporate Center I. The properties had been in receivership for 3+ years and were struggling economically. ViaWest embarked on a capital campaign to refresh the image of the building, which included building over a dozen spec suites over four years, ultimately bringing the building to over 90 percent leased.
Newmark’s Executive Managing Director CJ Osbrink cooperated with Co-head of U.S. Capital Markets Kevin Shannon, Executive Managing Directors Ken White, Sean Fulp, Brunson Howard and Paul Jones and Senior Managing Director Rick Stumm to represent the seller, ViaWest Group. The buyer, Held Properties, Inc., a California-based real estate investment and operating company, was self-represented. This is the firm’s fourth Arizona-based acquisition and third deal completed with ViaWest Group.
“We are excited to pass along a great building, in a great location, to a great owner. After several years of repositioning and lease up, it’s always bittersweet to part with an asset you’ve grown to love. The silver lining is that we get to continue to stay involved through providing property management on the new owner’s behalf,” said Danny Swancey, Partner at ViaWest.
Osbrink added, “Ownership has done a remarkable job on Raintree Corporate Center I, through tenant retention, rent appreciation, and a recently completed capital improvement program. This along with the highly accessible and visible location of Raintree Corporate Center in a preferred and amenity-rich submarket is what attracted investors to the opportunity. Despite the ongoing pandemic, tenants at Raintree continued to pay rent in full and on time and some have since renewed and expanded.”
The building has direct access to the Loop 101 Freeway, is located within ½ mile of Scottsdale Airport, TPC of Scottsdale Golf Course, home of the world-renowned Phoenix Open and several hotels, restaurants and retail amenities.
The Scottsdale Airpark has a diverse and robust employment base and presents a true live-work-play environment to over 59,000 employees and over 3,200 companies. North Scottsdale is home to major employers including Vanguard, GoDaddy, Republic Services, Merrill Lynch and Discount Tire. According to Newmark Research, the submarket’s positive office fundamentals are poised for additional growth. Scottsdale Airpark is the most active submarket in the construction realm with 884,449 square feet currently underway.
