Expansion Leases Signed At 364,533-SF Tower

By Amy Wolff Sorter

2800 N. Central

PHOENIX-Oxford Life Insurance Co. and Coppersmith Gordon Schermer & Brockelman PLC are extending their stay at the 364,533-square-foot 2800 North Central Tower. Also possible at the class A office building are two large deals which, if all goes according to plan, could close during Q1 2009.

Oxford Life Insurance, a tenant since 2006, signed a five-year lease increasing its 12,800 square feet to 15,425. Meanwhile, seven-year tenant Coppersmith is expanding to more than 27,000 square feet, and is moving from the 10th to the 12th floor. The company's 99-month lease commences March 1, 2009.

Belinda Dabliz vice president of leasing with building owner Gaedeke Group LLC says both companies expanded into empty space, and looked elsewhere before opting to renew. Both deals also involved build-outs, though specific financial information wasn't available. The quoted lease rate at the midtown building is $22 to 25 per square foot, full service.

Mark A. Seale, principal with Lee & Associates' Phoenix office represented Coppersmith in lease negotiations. Oxford was represented by principal Kelly McCone with the local Kelton Cos. LLC.

Dabliz tells GlobeSt.com that the building has 100,000 square feet of contiguous space left behind when Southwest Catholic Healthcare Network Corp. and its Mercy Care Plan relocated to another submarket in March 2008. She says that the second through eighth floors are where the large blocks of space are located.

But the space may not be vacant for long. "We're seeing a lot of larger deals; we have in play three deals at between 30,000 square feet and 40,000 square feet," Dabliz says. "We hope to have one, if not two, of those secured in the first part of next year, and they would backfill the space left by Mercy Care."