PHOENIX — Dave Chamberlin had been eyeing a building near Fifth Street and Thomas Road in central Phoenix for years, driving past it and always thinking he wanted to buy it as he drove to his nearby office.
“I knew the owner, and I told him if he ever wanted to sell it, I was interested,” Chamberlin said. “He told me he was interested in selling. I was really drawn to it, and I was so pumped when I had the chance to buy it.”
Chamberlin bought the three-story building at 500 E. Thomas Road for $2.5 million, according to real estate database Vizzda. The building, which was designed by Al Beadle, one of Arizona’s most prominent midcentury architects, is now planned to be restored and will eventually serve as headquarters for Chamberlin’s businesses.
Phoenix design firm Kaiserworks is leading the design of the major office renovation, which will include removing some additions and layers that have been added to the building over the years to restore the original design intent of the building, Christoph Kaiser, owner and principal of Kaiserworks, said.
Kaiser said the building was designed to look like it was floating, but additions made in the 1980s and 1990s enclosed the first floor, which changed the overall look.
“We wanted to let the building float again, so we added the glass back to the first floor,” Kaiser said. “The building has to be transformed on a pragmatic level for modern business needs.”
