Following the completion of phase one in the ongoing $25 million renovations of the Arizona Center, San Diego-based Parallel Capital Partners has inked a five-year 60,024-square-foot lease with Arizona State University (ASU) to house its Thunderbird School of Global Management at One Arizona Center.

One Arizona Center is one of two commercial office towers at Arizona Center, a 16-acre, one-million-square-foot multi-use entertainment destination located at 3rd Street and Van Buren in downtown Phoenix.

Current and incoming Thunderbird graduate students are expected to attend classes in the Arizona Center rather than the school’s current location in Glendale starting in the fall of 2018.

Additionally, ASU is presently leasing 10,902 square feet of office and classroom space on the second floor and 32,900 square feet on the third floor of the Arizona Center’s Garden Pavilion – a separate building.

“We are very pleased ASU opted to house Thunderbird at One Arizona Center,” said Matt Root, CEO of Parallel Capital Partners, which acquired the Arizona Center complex in 2015. “This transaction is a true testament to the quality, location and amenities of this dynamic downtown hub. The recently completed renovations at One Arizona Center – infusing a new modern look and state of the art technology –  helped seal the deal.”

The renovation to the public areas of the One Arizona Center commercial tower included a complete remodel of the grand lobby with new lighting, modern finishes and new furnishings, modernizing the elevators and elevator lobbies, installing new electronic directories and adding a state-of-the-art gym, conference room, 40-seat training center and lounge on the second floor. These renovations mark the completion of phase one of a massive, ongoing $25 million renovation of the Class A mixed-use Arizona Center campus, slated for completion in the first quarter of 2018.

The architect for One Arizona Center renovation is PdO, and Gensler is the architect for the retail refresh.

Parallel Capital Partners paid $126 million in December 2015 for the Arizona Center complex with entitlements for an additional 3.9 million square feet of improvements.