PHOENIX, Ariz. (October 15, 2001) - Esplanade Place, a 12-story, 56-home luxury condominium high-rise that broke ground in June in the renowned Camelback Esplanade, is more than 85 percent sold, making it the fastest selling project in the Valley with homes valued at more than $1 million.

"Esplanade Place has really been an amazing phenomenon in the Valley," said Tim Maddock of The Meyers Group, a national real estate information and consulting service with offices in Phoenix. "We knew an urban living trend was coming to the Valley, but we've never seen these kinds of numbers before. There's really nothing to compare this to."

According to Maddock, Esplanade Place sold as many as seven units per month through July of this year with several of the units going for more than $2,000,000.

"Nobody else has reached this stage with a high-end product like this. When you consider that the average absorption in all price ranges Valley-wide is about three and a half sales per month, it's really astounding. Sales on this project so far are nearly double that and they're selling million dollar homes."

Esplanade Place is being developed by the Pivotal Simon Group in collaboration with homebuilder GHE & Associates, Inc.

"There's nothing else like this in Phoenix right now," said Geoffrey H. Edmunds, president of GHE & Associates, Inc. "People want to buy here because the location, exclusivity and amenities of Esplanade Place make it the epitome of luxury high-rise living in the Valley."

Sales and marketing on the project are being handled by Cambridge Properties, Inc.

"We've been delighted with the sales velocity so far," said Keith Mishkin of Cambridge Properties. "Right now, we're about nine months ahead of our initial sales projections, which were ambitious from the start."

Scheduled for completion in December of 2002, the landmark high-rise will have homes from 2,400 to 4,250 square feet, with prices ranging from $795,000 to $2.5 million. Designed with an intimate yet spacious layout, only four to five homes are being developed on each floor.

The first floor of Esplanade Place will feature a concierge and doorman-staffed lobby; state-of-the-art fitness center; distinguished clubroom; full service business center; and a 12-foot water feature. A secured, access-controlled underground parking structure will offer direct, car-to-residence elevator service.

On floors two through nine, residences range from 2,400 to 3,550 square feet, while floors 10, 11, 12 and the penthouse will have residences ranging from 3,075 to 4,250 square feet. A rooftop spa, sundeck and negative edge pool will complete the luxury high-rise.

Esplanade Place will provide residents with numerous hotel-style amenities, including valet parking, concierge, mail, maintenance, business support and laundry/dry cleaning services.

"This project will set the standard for luxury urban living in Arizona," said Francis Najafi, CEO of Pivotal Group. "Phoenix is coming of age and there's a real interest in the high-rise, cosmopolitan kind of lifestyle that Esplanade Place offers."

Phoenix-based Cornoyer-Hedrick is the architect for Esplanade Place. McCarthy Building Companies is the general contractor.

Pivotal Group is an institutionally based diversified real estate investment and development firm widely recognized for its ability to create high-quality residential and business environments. Earlier this year, Pivotal Group purchased 650 California Street, a nearly 500,000-square-foot, 33-story Class A landmark office building in San Francisco.

In recent years, Pivotal's notable acquisition and development activities include Ritz-Carlton Phoenix; Camelback Esplanade in Phoenix; WestWing Mountain, a 1,300-acre master planned community in northwest Phoenix; the landmark Century Plaza Hotel and St. Regis Hotel in Los Angeles; Promontory, a $500 million, 6,000-acre master planned resort community in Summit County, Utah; Red Mountain Spa, a luxury spa resort near St. George, Utah; and a variety of other real estate assets located throughout the western United States.

The Pivotal Simon Group is a partnership between Phoenix-based Pivotal Group and Los Angeles-based William E. Simon & Sons Realty. For more information on Esplanade Place, contact Keith Mishkin of Cambridge Properties Inc. at (602) 667-9400.

For more information about Pivotal Private Equity, visit www.pivotalgroup.com