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12/09/24
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U-Haul International, a Phoenix-based moving and self-storage company, has closed on a significant office buy, paying $23.7 mil for 20 East Thomas, a 25-story, 548.9k sf ($43/sf) tower in Phoenix’s Midtown submarket. The building – the third largest office building in the state -- will serve as an expansion of the company’s corporate campus in Midtown Phoenix.
20 E Thomas is part of a prominent 10.5-acre, mixed-use development containing 1.46 msf of office, 30.5k sf of retail, a 242-room Embassy Suites hotel, and an 11-story parking garage immediately adjacent to the 25-story office tower. The sale included 49 E Thomas, a 1.09-acre excess land parcel for additional parking.
U-Haul intends to occupy the majority of the building, in what will be a real estate expansion for the company, which serves millions of do-it-yourself households moving customers annually. U-Haul plans to consolidate its team members from other nearby buildings it currently owns, allowing it to operate more efficiently under one roof. U-Haul will continue to lease approximately 16% of space at 20 E Thomas to existing tenants in the building.
Eric Wichterman, Chris Toci and Mike Coover with Cushman & Wakefield in Phoenix represented the seller, an entity controlled by Bank of America that had foreclosed on the property during Summer 2024, several months after leases covering over two-thirds of the building expired. Cushman & Wakefield’s Jerry Roberts and Pat Boyle also provided leasing advisory. Ryan Eustice of Kidder Mathews repped U-Haul in the transaction.
“As one of the top largest owner/occupier office sales in the U.S. (and largest in the Southwest) since early in the pandemic, this 550k sf sale is a monumental transaction for Greater Phoenix and the Western U.S.,” said Wichterman”. “In a move to ‘flight to quality’, the buyer had its sights on this property to upgrade its office environment for its team members with its high-quality infrastructure, stunning views, and superb on-site amenities. This sale will cement U-Haul in Phoenix for many more years and further exemplifies a significant belief by companies in the need to have an office presence—in particularly one that is high quality and highly amenitized,” continued Wichterman.
According to C&W, the iconic nature of this real estate, Arizona’s original mixed-use development, resulted in ferocious demand in a process so competitive that three bid rounds were required to achieve pricing separation. The listing generated 13 offers, with 183 confidentiality agreements secured.
The optimal size and rectangular-shaped nature of the 23k sf floor plates attracted multiple cross-border residential converters along with traditional “intrinsic” value office investors,” said Toci.
20 E Thomas provides U-Haul team members with access to a superb menu of amenities, both onsite and nearby. Nearby amenities include a conference and training center, an Embassy Suites hotel with restaurant/bar and multiple dining options.
The building includes two separate power feeds from different substations, plus an oversized service elevator and an extremely rare semi-truck accessible subterranean shipping and receiving garage with dock-high loading. The transit-oriented location is also easily accessible to Metro Light Rail and is adjacent to Park Central Mall, the area’s primary retail hub.
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