A Colorado-based developer has completed renovations at a century-old building in the downtown Phoenix warehouse district as it gears up to develop an adjacent high-rise project.
One West Madison, previously called the Pratt-Gilbert building, was constructed in 1913 and was previously used by Maricopa County for courts. When developer Aardex bought it, the building still had a holding cell in the basement, said Caleb Hebel, principal at Aardex.
The company has been restoring the building, removing rock walls that had covered the windows and updating systems to prepare it for an adaptive reuse. Brokers Teale Bloom and Courtney Auther Van Loo are working to find tenants to take space in the building, likely restaurants, entertainment, or creative office.
The building totals 27,000 square feet, including a large basement. Hebel said the building could be divided to lease to multiple restaurants, or a large user could take the whole thing. The basement provides an option for an underground speakeasy, cigar lounge or event venue. The first level of the building could add an outdoor patio along Central Avenue.
The building is ready for tenant improvements once a lease is signed, Hebel said.
He said the company would like to move quickly on getting something open, ahead of when Phoenix hosts the NBA All-Star Game next February. The site, located at First Avenue and Madison Street, is just west of the Mortgage Matchup Center.
Aardex owns about three-quarters of the city block that includes the One West Madison building and is planning to develop a 14-story apartment tower directly south of the building. The project, called Jackson Place, is planned to include 262 apartment units with about 7,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space.
The units will range from one to three bedrooms, and the development will include a “paseo” outdoor pedestrian space with lighting and gathering spaces through what is now an alleyway behind the Madison building.
Hebel said design on that building is about halfway finished, with the goal of starting construction in 2027, with completion in 2028 or 2029.
Reporting by Corina Vanek, Arizona Republic
