A six-story downtown office building is being offered for redevelopment by city of Phoenix.
The Ellis Building provides an opportunity for a creative developer to renovate the structure with street-level active uses such as retail and restaurants on both Monroe and Second Avenue, plus remodel the basement and five other stories for other urban compatible uses.
When built in 1922, the Ellis Building was originally four stories tall; however, two additional stories were added in 1928. The Ellis building was one of the first girder and beam structures in Downtown Phoenix The former city Human Resources building is located on a 9,174 square foot parcel and contains 58,382-gross-square-foot-building, is six stories tall, plus a basement.
Originally offered for sale through a formal request for proposal process in 2016, the contract resulting from the formal proposal process was not consummated. City rules allow the Phoenix Community and Economic Development Department to now accept offers for redevelopment of the building.
"This is a unique opportunity for a developer, because it allows redevelopment plans to be submitted through a less structured and more interactive sales process," said Christine Mackay, director at Community and Economic Development. "We can meet with interested offerors and talk about the city's goals for the redevelopment and the developer's questions about the site."
Phoenix is looking for interested developers to buy and redevelop the property. Offers must include a purchase price, renovation concept and parking plan. Offers must also include proof of financial capacity and examples of redevelopment experience. Once an offer is selected, the Phoenix City Council must approve the term sheet and authorize entering into agreements with the purchaser.
"We'll start looking at offers in early June. We don't have a formal cut-off date for this process," said Mackay.
Download the offer requirements from Phoenix.gov/EconDev, click on the "Development Opportunities" button. Previous documents about the building are available from Community and Economic Development. Interested developers can contact economic development program manager Nathan Wright at Nathan.Wright@Phoenix.gov or 602-495-3640, to arrange tours and ask questions about the site.
