Luhrs Building in downtown Phoenix sold for $14M, to open new hotel

PHOENIX — The Luhrs Building in downtown Phoenix is changing owners, with plans to transform the historic space into an upscale hotel.

Lincoln Property Company recently sold the building at Central Avenue and Jefferson Street to PEG Companies and A.G. Hill Partners for $14 million, according to a Monday press release.

The new owners plan to renovate 92,000 of the building’s 108,000 square feet, or floors one through nine, to create the hotel.

Construction is expected to begin in the summer.

“Our goal is to preserve the historical integrity of the Luhrs Building as much as possible. The classic exterior facade will remain virtually untouched,” Trevor Ellis, PEG development manager, said in the release.

“At the same time, we will infuse new energy and new life into the building, cultivating a fresh and exciting space where people of all ages and walks of life will want to be.”

The Luhrs Building was constructed in 1924, becoming the city’s first 10-story high-rise.

The top floor will remain home to Hagens Berman Law Firm, while Bitter & Twisted Cocktail Parlour will stay open on the ground floor.

Current tenant Maricopa County will move to the former Madison Street Jail at Third Avenue.

Nearly 16,000 square feet of the building’s ground-floor retail space, which houses Serafina Coffee Bar, La Madeleine Country French Cafe and Monroe’s Hot Chicken, was not part of the sale.

The 14-story Luhrs Tower, which was built in 1929, was also not included.

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