Potential buyer signs letter of intent for Elevation Chandler

A potential buyer has signed a letter of intent to purchase Elevation Chandler, the site near Loops 101 and 202 that was to be a hotel but that has become a long-vacant eyesore.

Archstone Apartments of Englewood, Colo., is interested in building luxury apartments on the 10.5-acre site that holds a partly built, abandoned structure. The property is on the southern edge of Chandler Fashion Center.

The purchase price was not immediately made public.

As of March 31, Archstone owned 428 communities totaling 76,891 apartments in the U.S. and Europe. It owns communities mainly in coastal cities, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, New York and Boston.

"We focus mostly on high-end class A apartments," said spokesman Peter Jakel.

In Arizona, the company owns Ironwood Apartments at Santan in Gilbert, Tempe Groves in Tempe, Archstone Desert Harbor in Peoria and Archstone Arrowhead in Glendale.

Jakel noted that the purchase is not yet a done deal, that no contract has been signed.

The property is under litigation prompted by errors at a trustee sale on June 15, 2009.

Phoenix real estate investor Tom Peltier of BT Capital claims he bought the property for a million dollars. He tried to take title but lost in Maricopa County Superior Court. The Arizona Court of Appeals heard arguments, and a decision is pending.

It was not immediately known whether Archstone would demolish the existing structure at Elevation Chandler or build on it.

"A lot of details won't be worked out until after the closing," Jakel said.

Archstone, a private company, has several owners, the largest of which are Bank of America and Barclay.

The seller of Elevation Chandler is California-based Point Center Financial, the lender that took possession at a trustee sale on July 1, 2010.

Construction stopped in April 2006. Developer Jeff Cline filed for bankruptcy protection in April 2008. The bankruptcy case was later dismissed as a failure.

by Luci Scott The Arizona Republic Aug. 4, 2011 04:52 PM




Potential buyer signs letter of intent for Elevation Chandler