Scottsdale mixed-use project Camelback Executive Park sold

Camelback Executive Park, one of Scottsdale's most prominent mixed-use projects, has been purchased for $19 million by a partnership between the Phoenix-based West Region office of developer Lincoln Property Co. and Los Angeles-based investment firm Oaktree Capital Management.

The 173,000-square-foot, three-story office and retail development, at 6991 E. Camelback Road, at the southwestern corner of Camelback and Scottsdale roads, rests atop one of four parcels acquired by International Capital Partners in 2006 to be developed into a large, upscale mixed-use project to be named the District at Camelback.

Only the Executive Park property and an adjacent high-rise building ever were completed.

In late August, Camelback Executive Park was foreclosed on by special-servicing firm CIII Capital Partners.

The actual seller was Bank of New York Mellon Trust Co., which acted as trustee for a commercial mortgage-backed securities fund that had been marketed by New York-based Morgan Stanley.

The original real-estate loan for Camelback Executive Park was one that had been subsequently sliced up and mixed in with pieces of other commercial loans, then sold on the investment market in bundles known as tranches. Such investments are known as commercial mortgage-backed securities.

In such cases, the foreclosure process generally is handled by a designated management company known as a special servicer.

David Krumwiede, Lincoln Property's West Region executive vice president, said that several real-estate investment interests had submitted bids for Camelback Executive Park and that competition in general for desirable commercial real estate has intensified.

"The market has bottomed out, so I think a lot of buyers are thinking it's just a good time to buy," Krumwiede said.

Another parcel just northeast of Scottsdale and Camelback that International Capital had acquired, the 4.3-acre site formerly occupied by Orchidtree Apartments, also was foreclosed on and has been purchased by investors.

Upscale-apartment builder Gray Development Group recently obtained zoning approval to build a 750-unit apartment complex on that site.

by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Jun. 3, 2011 12:00 AM




Scottsdale mixed-use project Camelback Executive Park sold