Lincoln Property Co. adds 2 restaurant tenants to Luhrs City Center

Two popular restaurant tenants have committed to Luhrs City Center in downtown Phoenix: La Madeleine Country French Café and Serafina Coffee Bar. Scheduled to open later this fall, each brings anticipated new dining options to the ground floor of Luhrs, a historic downtown mixed-use development owned and newly renovated by Lincoln Property Company (LPC).

La Madeleine Country French Café signed a 10-year, ground floor lease at Luhrs. The new location marks the restaurant’s re-entry into metro Phoenix after a 10-year absence – part of a major franchise expansion effort by the Dallas-based chain targeting high-performing restaurant markets including Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, New Mexico, North Carolina and Texas.

Serafina Coffee Bar has also committed to space on the ground floor at Luhrs. The lease grows the local presence of coffee industry veteran Damian Serafine, who has operated coffee shops in the downtown Phoenix market for more than two decades. Serafine’s current downtown footprint also includes City Central Coffee, located on the sixth floor of the Beus Center for Law and Society, within Arizona State University’s downtown campus.

“Adding food amenities – including those with a local flare – where employees and visitors can relax and collaborate at Luhrs is a major part of our vision for this property,” said Lincoln Property Company Director of Real Estate John Orsak. “Both La Madeleine and Serafina Coffee Bar play a role in restoring Luhrs to the dynamic, creative work environment that downtown Phoenix has enjoyed for decades.”

Originally delivered in the 1920s, Luhrs City Center is a National Historic Landmark located at the southwest corner of 1^st Avenue and Jefferson Street, in the heart of downtown Phoenix. The mixed-use project includes 157,735 square feet in two office towers and a ground floor retail component, all served by an on-site, Class A parking garage. Luhrs sits within a city block that includes direct Phoenix Light Rail access, the nationally renowned Bitter & Twisted cocktail parlour, and the soon-to-be-completed, 19-story Luhrs City Centre Marriott.

Since acquiring Luhrs in December 2015, LPC has completed significant physical and operational improvements at the property. This includes 16,000 square feet of fully renovated, ground-floor retail space, streetscape improvements and related activity that, together, helped to earn Luhrs the “2017 Redevelopment Project of the Year” award from the Arizona Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP).

“La Madeleine and Serafina Coffee Bar were drawn to the unique historic setting at Luhrs,” said Lincoln Property Company Executive Vice President David Krumwiede. “Vintage brick interiors, exposed beams and many of the finishes in this space date back to the original building. These are invaluable features that we carefully protected during our renovation, and that are now attracting a new era of tenants.”

Together, La Madeleine and Serafina Coffee Bar will occupy nearly 3,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space at Luhrs City Center, leaving approximately 8,000 square feet of newly renovated space available for lease.

To discuss leasing, investment or property management opportunities with Lincoln Property Company in the Desert West region, please call Krumwiede or Orsak at (602) 912-8888.