ViaWest Group sells Iconic Biltmore Center

PHOENIX, January 6, 2020 – JLL Capital Markets announces the sale of the Biltmore Center, comprised of three Class A office buildings totaling approximately 643,145 square feet on the northwest corner of 24^th Street and Camelback Road in Phoenix, Arizona. A joint venture formed by Phoenix-based ViaWest Group sold the asset to a newly-formed venture, with ViaWest maintaining an ownership and management position. The property sold for $212 million.

This sale is the largest multi-tenant office sale in metro Phoenix in 2019 and the fourth largest in Phoenix history. JLL represented the seller, a partnership between Prospect Ridge and ViaWest Group.  Additionally, JLL secured the acquisition loan of $150.74M on behalf of ViaWest and its new partner.

The prior joint venture purchased the office complex in 2015 for $163.1 million at a time when office vacancies were still at prerecession highs above 25%. However, ViaWest saw a value-add opportunity with the right location, views, access, parking and tenant base.

Beginning with a rebranding, ViaWest made significant investments to elevate the property, including updated lobbies and corridors, complete overhaul of the outside plaza, state-of-the-art fitness center, new restaurants and the addition of a tenant lounge. These market-leading amenities include Press Coffee and Over Easy; an indoor and outdoor tenant lounge with shuffleboard, bag toss and table tennis; weekly food trucks; a fully-renovated fitness center; a 150-seat conference center; a two-acre park for weekly yoga and tenant events and an on-site hair salon. Additional Class A touches such as on-site car detailing, shoeshine station and a bike share program brought fresh energy to the property and made it appealing to a new mix of tenants, including creative office groups and technology companies.

“We are thrilled to be able to execute on our plan and add value for our investors. In addition, we are looking forward to growing our relationship with our new value-add partner and continuing to develop the Biltmore Center as the premier asset on the Camelback Corridor,” said Steven Schwarz, ViaWest Group Founding Partner.

The JLL Capital Markets team representing the seller was led by Director Ben Geelan, Senior Managing Director Michael Leggett, and Analyst Nick Ray.

“Biltmore Center was a rare offering that garnered substantial investor interest from domestic as well as foreign capital,” Geelan added. “It is a truly iconic, best-in-class asset that is situated in the heart of the dynamic Camelback submarket.”

Financing was led by JLL Capital Markets Senior Managing Director Jeremy Womack and Senior Managing Director Ed Coco.

Leasing at Biltmore Center is being handled by the Colliers International team of Ryan Timpani and Phil Breidenbach.

As noted in JLL’s 3Q 2019 Phoenix Office Insight Report, record-breaking population growth and a low cost of living will continue to funnel office activity to the Phoenix metro area. 

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm's in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment advisory, debt placement, equity placement or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,700 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

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Established in 2003, ViaWest Group is a Phoenix-based, full-service commercial real estate investment, development, and property management firm. ViaWest Group has been one of the fastest growing real estate investment companies in the Southwest U.S. over the last few years with over $400 million of acquisitions and development.  Since inception, ViaWest has been involved in over $1 billion of acquisitions. For more information, please contact lbennett@viawestgroup.com.