On June 12, 2026, Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR closed on the former Sam Levitz warehouse at 3430 E. 36th St. in Tucson, Arizona for $8.6 million. ARTO, a Southern California-based maker of handcrafted tile, brick, and stone surfaces, purchased the 129,394± SF freestanding building. Steve Cohen and Paul Hooker, both Principals and Industrial Specialists at C&W | PICOR, represented the seller in the transaction.
Sam Levitz served Tucson for over 70 years before announcing its closure and liquidation sale in 2024. The shift to online retail and big-box chains like Amazon, Costco, IKEA, and Wayfair made it increasingly difficult for large-format furniture showrooms to operate profitably, as foot traffic declined, credit tightened, and shoppers grew more price-sensitive. While it marks the end of a long run for a Tucson institution, the property is now in the hands of a company that shares a similar spirit: family-owned, craft-driven, and committed to quality over convenience.
Founded in 1966 by Arto Alajian, a classically trained artist born in Alexandria, Egypt, ARTO has spent nearly 60 years making tile, brick, and architectural elements by hand at their Los Angeles County facility. Every product, whether concrete tile, ceramic tile, glazed brick veneer, clay, artazzo, porcelain, or natural stone, is crafted by a team of about 80 people working with concrete, terra-cotta, and ceramic.
ARTO serves architects, designers, distributors, and dealers across residential and commercial projects, from kitchens and bathrooms to large-scale commercial and exterior applications, and sells its products across the United States and internationally. The acquisition marks an expansion of ARTO’s manufacturing operations into the Tucson market. The building’s warehouse, distribution, and showroom and manufacturing sections are well-suited for ARTO’s needs. The transaction also benefited from a new federal incentive created under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which allows manufacturers to fully expense the qualifying “shell” portion of a building used for production in the first year it is placed in service. For Armen, as an owner-user investing long term in ARTO’s expansion rather than a corporate buyer looking to flip the asset, that provision helped make the Tucson acquisition pencil.
Armen first walked the building in the summer of 2024, while it was still operating as a furniture store, and the visit stuck with him. He returned that December while spending Christmas in Tucson and arranged a Sunday walkthrough with Steve Cohen to take a closer look at the property. As the deal progressed, he credits both Steve and Paul Hooker for consistently making the site available for architects, consultants, and inspectors, which was especially important to him as an out-of-town owner.
Armen Alajian, who owns and operates ARTO alongside his brother Vod, described the move the way only a founder could. “It’s like the dog that finally caught the UPS truck,” he said. “You spend so long chasing something that you never really stop to think about what you do if you actually catch it. We caught it. Now we figure out what’s next. It is a big step for us, but like the saying goes, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”
Arto Alajian passed away in 2014, but his sons Armen and Vod continue to run the company out of the same Southern California factory their father started after selling handmade clay brick veneers on his milk delivery route in Venice, California. With the Tucson acquisition, ARTO is now planting roots in a new market and bringing nearly 60 years of craftsmanship along with them.
