A Los Angeles–area tile manufacturer has acquired the vacant former Sam Levitz Furniture store and warehouse on Tucson’s East 36th Street and intends to convert the nearly 130,000-square-foot building into a tile production plant and the company’s new headquarters. The property at 3430 E. 36th St. sold for $8.6 million, and the buyer — a family-owned firm that makes handcrafted Spanish and Southwestern-style tile — says it will retain its existing Southern California operation while adding production capacity in Tucson.
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The vacant former Sam Levitz Furniture store and warehouse in Tucson, the site ARTO plans to convert into a tile manufacturing plant that company owners say will bring dozens of jobs.
Armen Alajian, who co-owns the company with his brother Vod, described the purchase as an expansion tied to steady growth. "We're a growing company and the building was the right price," Alajian said, adding that the firm hopes to "bring more color and texture into the community." He told reporters the new facility will be operational within roughly a year and that the company expects to hire at least 85 people to staff the Tucson site, a mix the company envisions ranging from general labor to executive-level positions.
Alajian emphasized the handcrafted nature of the business as a driver of hiring: "We're handcrafted, so the more we do, the more hands we're going to need," he said. He also spoke about hiring younger workers and training new entrants to the workforce, describing the company's approach to staffing as an opportunity to develop talent rather than requiring long-term commitments. "We like hiring new people to the workforce," he said. "We're not married to the idea of you being at ARTO for the next 72 years, But we're hoping that we can be your favorite job even when you graduate to the next level."
The company will retain its existing Los Angeles facility, which currently employs about 100 people, Alajian said. The Tucson site, by contrast with the former tenant of the building, will not operate as a retail showroom. Instead the 36th Street building will be dedicated to manufacturing and distribution: products will be made on site and shipped out rather than sold to walk-in customers.
ARTO traces its roots to 1966, when Arto Alajian — a classically trained artist from an Armenian family who was born in Alexandria, Egypt — founded the business. The company specializes in Spanish and Southwestern tile designs and has seen its work appear on national television: the firm’s tiles have been featured in several episodes of the HGTV series Fixer Upper after catching the attention of host Joanna Gaines, Armen Alajian said.
The building ARTO purchased has a long commercial history in Tucson. It was owned by a member of the Levitz family from about 1974 until the company shut down in the fall of 2024. Sam Levitz Furniture, which operated stores in Tucson for more than 70 years, announced liquidation sales in 2024 at both the 36th Street and Orange Grove Road locations after its Prince Road store closed earlier that year. In a news release at the time, second-generation owner Sam R. Levitz reflected on the chain’s closure: "It’s incredibly bittersweet for us to say goodbye after 71 years in business," he said, adding that the family was proud of the legacy and the relationships built with customers and employees.
The original business was founded in 1953 by Abraham Samuel Levitz. He passed the operation to his son in 1991 and died in 2005. Levitz was credited with pioneering a "direct-to-you" warehouse concept, and the company expanded beyond a single store on Tucson’s East 18th Street into a broader franchise over time, according to the firm’s historical records and obituary details.
Alajian offered some personal context for the decision to bring the company to Tucson, describing his family as a multigenerational, home-schooling household that often traveled through Southern Arizona during business trips and vacations. At one point the family was living with eight children under one roof, he said, and those road trips included stops around Southern Arizona so the children could visit museums and historic sites. The company’s move signals a shift for the large, vacant building from a furniture warehouse and showroom to an industrial production hub, and company leaders say they expect the operation to create multiple dozen jobs when it begins production within the coming year. The Los Angeles facility will remain in operation as ARTO expands its footprint to include Tucson.
Company principals have already begun on-site preparations. In a video posted to X on July 3, co-owner Armen Alajian (@themfg) showed himself cleaning an air-conditioned office and assembling a desk at the former Levitz building, signaling that setup for the new manufacturing headquarters is underway ahead of the projected one-year timeline.
Pima County property records list the building at 3430 E. 36th St. as 123,394 square feet and show the $8.6 million sale recorded from 36th & Palo Verde Investors LLC to an entity doing business as Arto 3430 LLC (Arto Brick).
Brokerage listings indicate the transaction closed on June 12, 2026, with Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR principals Stephen (Steve) Cohen and Paul Hooker representing the seller and Rick Borane of Volk Co. representing the buyer.