Ascentris, George Oliver Buy Acreage for Scottsdale Offices

Ascentris and George Oliver Companies have made a power play in Old Town Scottsdale by buying up 6 acres of offices they plan to redevelop into a larger campus.

An affiliate of Denver-based Ascentris paid $42.25 million last month for a 165,200-square-foot building at 7272 East Indian School Road, the Phoenix Business Journal reported. The seller was Scottsdale Financial Center Owner, an affiliate of New York-based Goldman Sachs.

The deal works out to $256 per square foot. Goldman Sachs bought the property in 2016 for $40 million, or about $242 a foot.

The offices were the latest purchase by the joint venture of the Denver private equity firm and Phoenix-based developer George Oliver, which since June has racked up 6 contiguous acres on the same block, spending a combined $76 million.

Preliminary plans call for a 350,000-square-foot office campus, though specific plans won’t be released until summer, according to George Oliver partner Charles Jerkovich. Pending approvals, the project would be completed by the end of 2026.

The latest acquisition by Ascentris — it’s not clear if George Oliver had a stake in the deal — marks the continuation of a partnership that had already scooped up a pair of buildings in Old Town Scottsdale, according to the Business Journal.

This summer, the joint venture bought adjacent properties, including a $26 million building at 4141 North Scottsdale Road and an $8 million former Wells Fargo office building at 4167 North Scottsdale Road.

Jerkovich said the combined acreage, for George Oliver, presents a “once in a generation opportunity.” There are few offices in Old Towne, and few expected in the future, he said.

He said the office redevelopment project will likely maintain classic features of the buildings and look of the trendy party district, while taking advantage of untapped potential.

“We’re not talking about reskinning and changing the complete look,” Jerkovich told the newspaper. “I think it will be closer to the red brick style. We want to feel like these buildings are a part of Old Town, not just something that got planted there.”

George Oliver Companies, founded in 2017 by Curt Kremer, is behind the 287,000-square-foot Bond office redevelopment at 3200 East Camelback Road, in the Biltmore area of Phoenix.

— Dana Bartholomew