CBRE announced today that Consumer Cellular has signed a 164,000-square-foot lease in a former Sam’s Club located at 17500 N. Black Canyon Freeway, following the empty big-box store’s conversion to a single-tenant office building. The national cell phone services provider will occupy the space beginning in March 2018 when the company opens its third call center in the Phoenix area. The new call center is expected to create an estimated 850 new jobs.
Ashley Brooks with CBRE’s Phoenix office negotiated the lease on behalf of the landlord, Scottsdale, Ariz.-based W-EH Crossroads Holdings JV VII, LLC (Everest Holdings). Rick Lee with Lee & Associates and Mike Nye of Capacity Commercial of Portland, Ore. represented Tigard, Ore.-based Consumer Cellular in the transaction.
“When we acquired this empty big-box, we immediately saw the potential this former retail building could have as a reimagined office space,” said Everest’s Kate Sweeney. “Its wide-open floor plan, high ceilings and abundance of parking make this property conducive to the collaborative office environment many large corporate users are in search of today. We are thrilled to see a nationally recognized partner like Consumer Cellular breathe new life into the space.”
In 2014, Everest purchased the vacant 11-acre site with the vision of creating a single-tenant office space that could capitalize on the site’s existing big-box features: a wide-open floor plan, 24-foot high ceilings and abundant parking. To that end, Everest is completing extensive renovations, including the addition of a floating mezzanine that increased the site’s total square footage from 105,000 square feet to 164,000 square feet. The two floors are connected via an open-air community staircase, producing a vertical synergy and sense of collaboration between the floors. The site also offers extensive parking for employees with eight parking spaces per 1,000 square feet.
“It is great to see this empty big box repurposed to a new workplace bringing job opportunities to Phoenix,” said Councilwoman Thelda Williams, who represents the north west Phoenix where the site is located. “This is a great example of adaptive reuse and more opportunities for growth in customer service jobs for the area. The north Phoenix-Deer Valley area is becoming a solid center of financial and customer service job opportunities with Consumer Cellular joining Farmers Insurance as the newest business in the area.”
Built in 1987, the property was home to a Sam’s Club until the store’s closure in 2007. The site includes two access points to the I-17 frontage road and full visibility along the freeway. Additionally, the area boasts numerous retail and dining options, access to major Valley freeways and a 20-minute drive to downtown Phoenix.
