Real estate developer Africa-Israel USA (AFI-USA) announces the sale of a five-acre downtown Phoenix development site at the corner of Central Avenue and McDowell Road for $12.75 million. AFI-USA had owned the property since 2004. Lennar Multifamily Communities is the purchaser and plans to transform what is currently an empty lot into a 288,000-square-foot luxury residential mixed-use community. Randy Titzck, Greg Vogel and Chad Russell of the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Land Advisors Organization represented AFI-USA in the transaction.
Lennar’s plans for the site include 368 luxury rental apartments along with 13,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, which is planned to accommodate collaborative co-working space, neighborhood retailers and a restaurant or café. The project is slated to start construction in the second quarter of 2015.
“Chagit Sofiev Leviev, CEO of AFI-USA, worked closely with the Lennar executive team to achieve this remarkable deal. The project will be a boon to the local economy, which is still recovering from the last recession,” said Damien Stein, Chief Operating Officer of AFI-USA. “Lennar builds high quality communities that positively impact the areas in which it develops. We expect that this development will contribute significantly to the positive growth and urbanization that is occurring in Downtown Phoenix.”
This successful sale comes on the heels of a spate of noteworthy lease signings at AFI-USA’s Times Square Building in New York City where marquee tenants include Haru Sushi, Guitar Center, Discovery Times Square Exhibition and Bowlmor Times Square.
