Phoenix-based developer George Oliver, who has been generating office redevelopments in the Valley since 2017, is on to its next project: Bond, a renovation taking over the Biltmore Commerce Center in the Camelback Corridor at 32nd Street.
“Similar to luxury hotels, every George Oliver project has a different name and brand, with amenities that meet the needs of a specific market and neighborhood,” Founder and Managing Partner Curt Kremer said. “This name comes from the idea of reconnecting the bond between the employee and the workplace that was lost in the pandemic.”
When searching for the new Food and Beverage Director at Bond, Kremer and his team wanted to find someone with deep roots in the Valley and, more specifically, someone who might already have strong relationships with existing tenants on Camelback Road. Enter Mark Tarbell, whose experience in the industry goes back more than three decades.
“Mark’s passion was always front and center for every discussion our team had with him about the possibilities for food and beverage at Bond,” Kremer said. “His expertise was impressive and his excitement was contagious.”
Tarbell will oversee Cultivate, what he calls “an office and neighborhood gathering place,” and The Vault, a craft cocktail lounge with a speakeasy vibe that will offer small plates and Euro-inspired tapas, crudos, crackers and edible gold and pearls.
Cultivate will offer coffee, pressed juice, smoothies, “power” drinks, and a light breakfast menu, perfect for grab-and-go.
“Cultivate will offer lunch to keep your brain and body fired up,” Tarbell said. “We’ll also offer a ‘wine bar and caviar’ service after 3 p.m. for those who need to wind down after a long day at the office.”
The cocktails at The Vault will be created and executed by Mikey Morales, who has overseen the spirits program at Tarbell’s, The Tavern, and The Wine Store for nine years.
“Mikey is extraordinary, with a wide range of diverse experiences, including serving as a trained chef and running Sportsman’s Fine Wine & Spirits for five years,” Tarbell said.
Using the Bond app, employees can order in-suite service that is delivered right to their desks. Tarbell will offer a high-end, tablecloth setting for elevated lunch meetings or staff/client appreciation events. The development will also have a catering program available to those utilizing the atrium, office suites, meeting spaces, and outdoor spaces.
“This project is exciting on many levels. High on the list are opportunities to create an elevated speakeasy, to expand T’s Catering, to use our hotel background to provide ‘In Suite Service’ and to crush a coffee and wine bar hospitality experience in the atrium,” Tarbell said.
Acquisition for Bond started in 2022, with the first phase of the building set to open in mid-2024. The building features a 20,000-square-foot conferencing center with varying room sizes: the largest can seat around 200 people and the smaller serve as individual conference rooms, designed with technology and acoustics for video conferencing requirements.
“We’ve pushed boundaries to create what we believe should be front and center in today’s office environment,” Kremer said. “That means incorporating food and beverage, health and wellness, and robust conferencing capabilities with a very modern yet comfortable design.”
Along with office space, Bond will offer a two-story fitness center that includes locker rooms, a sauna, a cold plunge and a yoga studio, outdoor seating, plus a mother’s room, billiard and darts room and a library.
The first portion is slated to open in summer 2024, with the remainder of the project completed at year end. Bond is George Oliver’s sixth office project in the Valley. Other developments include Arbor in Tempe, CASA in Uptown Phoenix, and Quad in South Scottsdale. To learn more, visit https://www.bondphoenix.com/.
