Midtown Phoenix's Thirty 03 Office Tower Trades for $32.25M in Canada-to-Canada Deal

A 26-story Class A office tower in the heart of Midtown Phoenix has changed hands in a deal that underscores both the opportunities and the pricing challenges in the metro's office market.

Deal Details

Thirty 03, located at 3003 North Central Avenue, sold for $32.25 million — approximately $70 per square foot for the 458,047-square-foot building. Vancouver-based Balfour Pacific sold the property to a private Canadian buyer whose identity has not been disclosed.

Newmark Executive Managing Directors Barry Gabel, Chris Marchildon, and CJ Osbrink represented the seller in the transaction.

The building was 81% leased at the time of sale, with a diverse tenant roster spanning legal, healthcare, architectural, banking, government, and professional services firms.

$11 Million in Capital Improvements

Balfour Pacific invested nearly $11 million in upgrades beginning in 2019, including extensive lobby renovations, full elevator modernization, and speculative suite build-outs designed to attract new tenants. The improvements positioned Thirty 03 as what Newmark described as "one of the top-tier office buildings in the submarket."

The property benefits from a high walkability score and proximity to the Valley Metro Rail station at Central Avenue and Thomas Road.

Pricing Below Market Averages

At roughly $70 per square foot, the sale priced well below the metro-wide average of $197 per square foot recorded in 2025 — the first year-over-year increase in average office sale prices in over three years. The discount reflects both the building's 19% vacancy and a broader national trend in which older high-rise office towers trade at steep markdowns compared to newer product.

Midtown Phoenix Renaissance

The sale comes amid significant reinvestment in the Midtown submarket. The area is benefiting from the $1 billion Park Central Mall redevelopment, Creighton University's $80 million medical campus, and over 10,000 multifamily units constructed within a short radius over the past five years.

Across the broader metro, Phoenix's office vacancy rate has dropped to 22.1% — its lowest mark since Q2 2022 — with net absorption turning positive at 369,460 square feet. Over 1.2 million square feet of new leases were signed across the Valley, driven by a flight-to-quality trend favoring modern, amenity-rich properties.