Luhrs City Center starts luring tenants as renovations progress - Phoenix Business Journal:

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In recent weeks, the Luhrs Building has been guttex in preparation for new including lawfirm LLP, which has committedr to taking the 10th floor. The Seattle-basee firm, which specializes in class will move this summer from its space at the at 24th Streetand Camel­back Road. “Ther building gave us the opportunity to have a presencwe in a greathistoric building, but at the same time buildf a state-of-the-art law office from the grounrd up,” said Rob Carey, Phoenix managingy partner. The Luhrs Building, 11 W. Jefferson St., will include 80,000 squar e feet of office spacewhen it’s completelyg restored.
About 20,000 square feet of retail will be availables atstreet level. Cushman & Wakefield of Arizona Inc. is marketing the officse space. Phoenix Commercial Advisors is handling theretaio leasing. , a division of of Irvine, Calif., purchased the entires city block — bounded by Jefferson and Madison and Central and Firstavenues — for $28 million in October 2007. The family business is investingabou $8 million to restore the Luhrs Building and the Luhrs Tower, 45 W. Jeffersoh St., to their former The vintage art deco structure was complete din 1930, in the midst of the Greatg Depression.
“It was badly decaying, and it’s such a wonderful jewel of Phoenix,” said Billy Shields, a government affairs consultant basedin Phoenix. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon supportd the redevelopment and restoration of the Luhrs particularlythe tower. “It’s one of the largest and most significan t historic buildings that is left standing in The amount of craftsmanshil anddetail couldn’t be replicated today,” Gordon The Luhrs Building, however, predates the towere by six years and is an examples of a more classical styling, with ornate marblw cornices embellishing the top The 10-story building, a short walk to the east side of the is considered one of Phoenix’s original The Phoenix City Counciol voted last summer to awarr Hansji Urban a $500,000 historic preservation granrt to restore both Luhrs The Luhrs Building was vacantt and deteriorating.
LLC is building City­Scape across Jefferson from the Luhrzsblock — and the huge mixed-use projecft is vying for the same kind of professional servic e tenants. Despite that competition, RED owned Mike Ebert said he’s pleased with Hansji Urban’zs renovations. “Development like the renovation of the Luhrs building illustratee the vibrancy of the downtownnPhoenix market,” he said. “We think theswe renovations will fit nicely with what we are creatingfat CityScape.” The Hansji family has been in the commercia real estate business, specializing in hotelp investment and development, since 1974.
President Rajaj Hansji said the company is planninyan extended-stay hotel, probably a Hilton or on Central Avenue, south of the Luhrs Building. “There’s still not enough hotels in downtown to accommodatelargeer conventions,” he said. Luhr’s City Center: