Maricopa County Is Leasing a 1928 Landmark for a $135M, 255-Key Hotel

Maricopa County is not selling the Security Building. It is keeping title and leasing it out as a hotel for at least twenty years.

That structure is the interesting part of a $135 million project announced on August 25, 2026. CivicGroup of Phoenix and Sunflower Development Group of Kansas City will convert the 1928 Curlett & Beelman building at 234 North Central Avenue into 255 rooms.

Project Scope

The building was listed on the National Register in 1985 and has spent recent decades as county office space. Much of the early work is subtractive: pulling out drywall, carpet, non-historic partitions and cubicle systems to expose the original fabric underneath.

The finished hotel carries 15,000 square feet of meeting space including a restored 5,500-square-foot 1928 ballroom, plus five food and beverage outlets. Construction is targeted to start in Q1 2027 and finish in Q4 2028. An architect and general contractor of record have not been announced.

Why It Matters

Public owners sitting on obsolete downtown office stock have a narrow set of options, and outright disposition is politically expensive. A long-term ground-style lease keeps the asset on the county’s books while moving the capital risk and the operating obligation to a private team. Expect other counties to look at the deal structure before they look at the building.

The demolition sequence also deserves attention. Sixty years of tenant improvements sit between the drywall and the 1928 finishes, and nobody knows exactly what condition the original ballroom plaster is in until the crews get there. Selective demolition on a National Register building is where these budgets move.

Project Team & Details