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| Camelback Square, Old Town, Scottsdale, AZ |
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| David Krumwiede |
PHOENIX, AZ, Feb. 18, 2015 – Velocis, a private equity real
estate fund, today announced the purchase of Camelback Square, a three-story
Class-A office project in the heart of Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona.
The asset was previously owned by Lincoln Property Company
(LPC), along with a fund managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (Oaktree).
The sale underscores the attractiveness of the project and
Old Town Scottsdale.
“The Old Town Scottsdale office market is an extremely
popular area that is experiencing steadily rising rents and values,” said
Velocis Principal Paul Smith.
“Camelback Square is our first acquisition
in the Phoenix market, and one we hope to build on as we pursue additional
assets in the Southwest region.”
The project buyer, Dallas-based Velocis, has been active in
real estate investment since 2011, purchasing 16 assets located in markets in
Texas, Colorado, Georgia, Florida and North Carolina.
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| Amr Ceran |
Velocis is led by a team
of five seasoned principals who are directly responsible for the acquisition,
asset management and disposition of assets.
LPC will continue to manage the property for the new owner.
“Over the last few years, we’ve witnessed a strong tenant
demand in Old Town Scottsdale due to the surrounding amenity base of high-end
residential, luxury shopping, hotels and entertainment options,” said Oaktree
Managing Director Mark Jacobs.
“We believe the tenant demand will
continue and are looking to make additional investments in Old Town Scottsdale
along with other areas of Phoenix.”
The 174,917-square-foot Camelback Square is located at 6991
E. Camelback Rd., at the southwest corner of Camelback and Goldwater roads.
It is currently 95 percent leased to tenants including Mastro’s City Hall
Steakhouse, ZocDoc, Regus, Ashton Woods, Echo Global Logistics and Digital
Airstrike.
The project’s on-site amenities include the award-winning Mastro’s
(a top 10 steakhouse in the U.S.), a bistro, tenant collaboration space and
common area Wi-Fi.
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| Paul Smith |
“Old Town Scottsdale is an example of the new creative
office environment, with the amenities investors look for to deliver solid rent
growth, rising values and strong tenants year after year,” said Lincoln
Property Company’s Executive Vice President David Krumwiede, who
completed the deal along with Vice President Amr Ceran.
“We recognized this
when we purchased Camelback Square almost four years ago, and that foundation
is even more evident today – following the execution of a repositioning plan
that re-energized this asset as a long term centerpiece project.”
LPC and Oaktree purchased Camelback Square out of special
servicing in June 2011. Since that time, they have completed a major renovation
including new building entrances, modern lobby and common area finishes, a
courtyard water feature and patio furniture, and upgraded building signage.
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| Mark Jacobs |
They also initiated an aggressive leasing plan that – in partnership with Bill
Blake, Craig Coppola, Andrew Cheney, Colton Trauter and Gregg Kafka of Lee
& Associates – moved the project from just 50 percent occupied to almost
100 percent occupied.
Barry Gabel, Chris Marchildon, Kevin Shannon, Ken White
and Paul Jones of CBRE led the project’s investment sales listing campaign.
Camelback Square sits adjacent to the 2 million-square-foot
Scottsdale Fashion Square regional shopping center featuring the state’s only
Barney’s New York and Neiman Marcus.
It is located in the heart of Old Town
Scottsdale, a submarket that consistently attracts forward-thinking companies
seeking the area’s contemporary mix of office, residential, dining, arts and
entertainment destinations.
For leasing information on Camelback Square or to discuss
additional investment opportunities in the Desert West Region, please contact
David Krumwiede or Amr Ceran at (602) 912-8888.
For a complete copy of the company’s news
release, please contact:
Stacey Hershauer
focusAZ
Marketing & Public Relations
(480) 600-0195
