Funding has been secured for the rehabilitation of one of the most historic high-rises in downtown Phoenix.
Located at 11 Jefferson Street, the Luhrs Building was completed in the spring of 1924 and was hailed at the time as the tallest such structure in metro Phoenix.
Designed in the Beaux-Arts style by the famous Trost & Trost architectural firm of El Paso, the building for years served as office space for the U.S. Treasury Department and was also the home to the Arizona Club, a private gentleman’s club with its own bar, dining room, and library, among other features.
Placed on the Phoenix Historic Property Register in 1980, the 10-story structure has seen some renovation in recent years. But now the Atlanta-based Monarch Private Capital has announced the closing of a rehabilitation tax credit equity valued at $57 million to fund an extensive adaptive reuse of the building.
Plans call for converting existing office space on the Luhrs’ upper floors into 164 hotel rooms. Those rooms will operate under the upscale Marriott Moxy brand.
In a statement, Cameron Gunther, chief executive officer of the Pegs Companies, which purchased the building four years ago, said the repurposing will prioritize “the historical integrity of the building by preserving the exterior face and windows—and even keeping the antique mail system that runs through the building.”
Upon the completion of what was in 1924 a $750,000 building, the Arizona Republic noted that the structure’s “front walls and pillars are of finished granite, and all the ornamentation on the exterior of the building is of high-grade artificial stone pure white in color.”
By Garry Boulard
