Scottsdale-based real estate development firm Optima has bought two properties next to its $500 million Optima Kierland Center near Kierland Commons, giving it more room to build luxury condominium towers.
Optima President David Hovey Jr. said Optima recently purchased the building currently occupied by La Maison Interiors, 15450 N. Scottsdale Road, and a nearby office building at 15615 N. 71st St.
Together, those properties represent nearly a dozen acres, he said, but it’s too soon to reveal details for that next project.
“We’re just still in the planning process for that,” Hovey said. “We plan on submitting an application for zoning in the next couple of weeks.”
The project on the La Maison property likely will be 10 stories, while the office building will be razed for a six-story structure with rooftop amenities. Hovey said he doesn’t have a time frame for the projects’ development yet.
“The plan is to lease and sell and close our current towers and analyze the market,” he said. “We will decide on construction startup at a later date.”
While he declined to reveal purchase prices of those two properties, Vizzda LLC real estate database records show Optima paid $15 million to DMB Associates Inc. on May 15 for the 25,000-square-foot La Maison Interiors building. Records provided by Reonomy real estate database show San Tan Hotel Partners LLC sold the 17,478-square-foot office building for $5.75 million in December 2018 to Phoenix 71st Street LLC, an entity tracing to Tara S. Hovey.
DMB Associates sold the La Maison building to Optima after the Phoenix City Council last October denied a request to allow a high-rise residential and hotel development on that site. The development would have contained about 170 multifamily residential dwelling units, 210 hotel rooms and other commercial uses on 1.93 acres.
Alan Reinken, founder of La Maison Interiors, said his store has a long-term lease, but wouldn’t identify how many years that represents.
The entire development totals about $500 million, Hovey said.
While Optima’s headquarters currently are in Scottsdale, plans call for moving its offices to Kierland, Hovey said.
