17,095-SF Lease Encourages Midtown Market

PHOENIX-Clifton Gunderson LLP, the 12th largest accounting and consulting firm in the nation, has leased 17,095 sf in Phoenix Corporate Center for the next seven years. Occupancy is planned for December.

“This is a good deal for an inactive market and bodes well…It’s an expansion that we didn’t lose to downtown or Camelback (Corridor),” says Charles Miscio of CB Richard Ellis Inc. who represented the building owner, San Francisco-based Krausz Co. Keith Lambeth, Ashley Brooks, Jim Bayless, Susan Evans and Scott Baumgarten, all with CBRE, assisted in the negotiations for 3003 N. Central Ave.

Miscio says the key to closing the deal was the fact that Krausz Co. was particularly responsive and aggressive with Clifton Gunderson. The Peoria, IL-based firm, getting 50% more space, will vacate a 12,000-sf office at 3636 N. Central Ave. Gary Gregg of Fulton Andrews’ Phoenix office represented Clifton Gunderson.

Phoenix Corporate Center is a 460,000-sf, class B building located in the Midtown submarket, which is about 25% vacant. “It’s not faring very well, but we are seeing increased leasing velocity,” Miscio says.

Miscio tells GlobeSt.com that the building is 98% leased, but will see about 60,000 sf go dark when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the US Department of Agriculture move downtown. However, the building scored a big win last month whenlaw firm Fennemore Craig PC renewed a 125,085-sf lease for another nine years.

Miscio adds Phoenix Corporate Center, which was built in the 1950s, is undergoing a $6-million renovation including improvements to common areas and a new park. The financial terms of the new lease aren’t being disclosed, but class B space in the submarket ranges from $16 per sf to $18 per sf.