Crown West Realty

By Amy Wolff Sorter
Globe St.com

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – Six months after acquiring the 59,570-sf Giant Industries’ corporate headquarters and the 8.4 acres on which it sits, Crown West Realty of Phoenix has sold the Class A building for $12.65 million to Chicago-based United Insurance Co. The company also plans to retain 4.4 acres of the adjacent undeveloped land for a 60,000-sf office condominium development.

According to Steven Brabant of CB Richard Ellis Co.’s Phoenix office, it had been Crown’s intent, from the start, to sell the building after its acquisition in May 2005. “It has been offered as a single parcel, so the property had to be divided after Crown purchased it. As soon as Crown closed on the land, they turned around and offered the building for sale,” says Brabant, who with CB Richard Ellis’ Bob Young, Glenn Smigiel and Rich Abraham, represented the seller in the transaction.

The building, located at 23733 N. Scottsdale Rd., was developed by Giant Industries in 1989, and will be occupied by the company through 2014. Brabant tells GlobeSt.com that the building had been on the market for about 45 days at an ask of $13.08 million before United Insurance Co. of Chicago was identified as the buyer. United Insurance, represented by Mike Powers of Powers Trust Investments in Paradise Valley, came in with competitive pricing, beating out other offers. The buyer, as of now, has no plans to renovate the building.

At this time, Crown has not announced a ground-breaking date or construction costs for the office condominium project. “The plans are still in the preliminary phase right now, and they’re into the city for approval,” Brabant notes.