Carvana
Stats
What: Nine-Story Car Vending Machine
Where: Tempe, AZ
When: Completed
More: ±1 acres; 32-car capacity
The Project
Transforming a high-profile site long considered undevelopable into a landmark commercial tower. Vintage Partners took an under-utilized parcel with a problematic public right of way, and partnered with Carvana to produce a nine-story car vending machine, the largest in the nation at the time of delivery.
The Problem
At purchase, the parcel had a road running through the middle and a large Arizona Department of Transportation right of way taking away all frontage. Despite its prime location lining a major freeway and proximity to one of the nation’s largest universities, the site had never been successfully developed due to its impractical layout, and multiple government agencies controlling the site.
The Solution
While many other developers passed on the property because of the difficulties of working with multiple government agencies, redirecting a road and creating a new parcel, Vintage was bolstered by a deacdes-long track record of successful Public-Private partnerships. Working closely with the Arizona Department of Transportation, Vintage Partners was able to transfer the property to the City of Tempe, and then recorded a development agreement the city to complete a new, undivided parcel with frontage next to the 220,000 cars traveling on the 202 Freeway every day.
Seeking a world-class tenant for this now-spectacular site led Vintage Partners to Carvana, the revolutionary online used car dealer, who purchased the space to construct the nation’s then-tallest Car Vending Machine, serving as both a marketing ‘billboard’ as well as dispensing cars that buyers purchased online, after they drop in a special oversized coin.