Realty Executives on Central
in Tapestry on Central September 2007
Building our office has been an educational process, amazing the amount of building permits and inspections needed.
We enjoy having an office in downtown Phoenix, in the middle of the Valley and CENTRAL to all of our clients.
The Business Journal was kind enough to feature us on page 3 this week with an article about the Orpheum Lofts and the new businesses in the commercial space which we had leased and sold. It is a very exciting time to be in Arizona and to watch Phoenix grow into a new dynamic center of commerce.
Historic Orpheum Lofts lures several new businesses to Copper Square
The Business Journal of Phoenix August 31, 2007 by Lynn Ducey The Business Journal
Several years after the first residents moved in upstairs, the Orpheum Lofts has lined up a handful of retail tenants to occupy most of the ground floor.
A host of small retailers have secured locations in the urban project at First Avenue and Adams Street in downtown Phoenix.
A Mexican restaurant, a New York-style deli, an optical shop and a health and wellness office are among the businesses that will open there this fall, said Dennis Kolodin, owner of Realty Executives on Central, which handles leasing at the site.
"We sold or leased them as gray shells," he said. "The owner or tenant does their own improvements. That's pretty common."
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon said the addition of restaurants and businesses to Copper Square is "really great for downtown."
With the arrival of Arizona State University's downtown campus, construction of the 44 Monroe high-rise condo and the upcoming development of CityScape, Gordon said retailers are scrambling to secure space in the heart of the city.
"What a great problem to have. A lot of this is in the pipeline, so a lot of it has to be constructed, but many of the tenants just want to be here now," he said.
Kolodin said he started marketing the retail portion of the Orpheum Lofts, which totals about 11,500 square feet, in the spring.
"It's really the location. It's in Copper Square, and then there's the specific location of the building -- near the Renaissance Center, near the Wells Fargo headquarters and the U.S. Bank building. And, it's along the light rail line," he said.
Two of the units, Andy's Shoe Shine and James Moffatt Architect, were purchased, while the other units will be leased, Kolodin said.
He declined to specify the price per square foot, but he said, "People paid a premium to be in this location."
The sales office for Omega, the high-rise condominium project adjacent to the 90-unit Orpheum Lofts, also will be part of the ground-floor retail.
Meanwhile, Kolodin is negotiating with a tenant for the remaining 3,000 square feet, which likely will house an office and administrative type of business.
None of the retail space includes dedicated parking, an issue of particular concern to buyers of the Orpheum Lofts condos.
Condo buyers believed they would have dedicated parking, but a move to develop the lot next door left them without it.
The force behind the Omega project, W Development of Chicago, is offering to sell parking spaces to Orpheum Loft owners for $30,000 each -- a price the company says is well below the $40,000 it plans to charge on the open market.
Kolodin said retailers leasing space in the building were not too concerned about parking accommodations because they are in an urban commercial environment with parking garages nearby.
Gordon said with the arrival of students and office and knowledge workers downtown, "I am confident that you will see, within the next two to three years, multiple stores, bookstores and destination retailers."
Get connected
Copper Square: www.coppersquare.com.
Orpheum Lofts: www.orpheumlofts.com.
At a glance
Eight businesses will occupy space on the ground floor of the Orpheum Lofts:
- Salsa Tropical Mexican Food: 1,500 square feet.
- The Hero Factory: 1,500-square-foot New York-style deli.
- W Development: 1,800-square-foot sales center for the adjacent Omega condo project.
- Shell Chiropractic: 1,500-square-foot health and wellness office, relocating from the Luhr's Building.
- Andy's Shoe Shine: 200 square feet.
- Crystal Optical: 800-square-foot high-end optical retailer.
- James Moffatt Architect: 500 square feet.
- To be announced: 3,000 square feet.
Source: Realty Executives on Central.
Freelance reporter Linda Obele contributed to this story.
Realty Executives on Central
Dennis Kolodin, CCIM Direct 602.315.9292
E Mail kolodin@msn.com
Catherine Kolodin Direct 480.239.7447
E Mail ckolodin@hotmail.com
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