The former headquarters of the Muscular Dystrophy Association has a new tenant.
Sunquest Information Systems Inc. plans to occupy the entire building next year, after remodeling work is done on the 83,000-square-foot building at 3300 E. Sunrise Drive.
Tucson-based Sunquest is a market leader in laboratory information systems. The company provides diagnostic systems used to treat patients.
Sunquest President Matthew Hawkins said the building was selected as an investment in employees and Tucson.
“We will create a setting where our employees and clients will find the inspiration to innovate and collaborate,” he said. The building features an open floor plan and views of the desert through floor-to-ceiling windows.
Sunquest has about 300 employees in Tucson. It also has offices in the United Kingdom and India. It was founded in 1979 and has more than 4,500 clients in 83 countries.
Sunrise Campbell Investors, a Larsen Baker LLC partnership, bought the mostly vacant MDA building in April 2014 for $9.1 million.
“The decision to buy this 83,000-square-foot building was based on our faith in Tucson,” said Don Baker, principal at Larsen Baker. “We knew we would find a great tenant for it.”
Sunquest will vacate its current location in the Williams Center, at Broadway and Craycroft, once the Sunrise building is ready.
The lease is one of the larger office transactions in recent years. The tenant was represented by Mark Irvin, of Mark Irvin Commercial Real Estate, and the tenant was represented by Andy Seleznov and Melissa Lal, of Larsen Baker.
MDA consolidated its operations in Chicago in 2013. It still leases about 10,000 square feet in the building and those employees will relocate by the end of the year.
Sunquest has selected Seaver Franks Architects as its project consultant. Construction is expected to begin in February.
