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Metro Phoenix Development thread


MJLO

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With so much going on around the valley, it seems silly not to have a Phoenix Developement thread.

I'm looking for more information on the New City Scape Project . This once finished will change the layout of downtown Phoenix, and potentially turn Phoenix from a suburban city center, to a dense urban core. From what I understand, Phoenix will never be a very tall city due to the proximity of Downtown to Sky Harbor. But it has the potential to be a magnificent city. I'd love to see us here at UP create more interest in the Phoenix area. Are there other forums out there dedicated to Phoenix? If you guys can find more developement news, post it with me lets work together, and grow UP AZ

Edited by MJLO
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CityScape, jointly developed by RED Development, LLC and Barron Colliers Company, is a multi-use development at the core of Downtown Phoenix. The multi-use development will become a focal point for urban living and community activity.

CityScape encompasses two lineal blocks in the Copper Square district of downtown Phoenix, Arizona. The boundaries are: Central Avenue to the west, N. 2nd Street to the east, Washington Street to the north, and Jefferson Street to the south. The project is adjacent to the US Airways Center and within two blocks of Chase Field. The Light Rail Transit System (LRT) runs by the project with two nearby rail stations, providing convenient access.

RED Development, LLC is the master developer for the CityScape project and has a strategic development alliance with the Barron Collier Company, which owns the eastern-most block of the project. Overall project design is being led by Callison Architecture, Inc. Cardon Development Group is RED Development

Edited by loftguy
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Welcome Loft guy, thanks so much for the info. I have a few questions for you. Downtown revitalization, is it to be considered, that downtown Pheonix has or had been experiencing a period of decline? Being a resident for only a short period of time, I know very little about the past trends of the city. Also being a long time resident of the Detroit area, when the word revitalizatioin comes up it conjures up images of decline that you just don't see in Phoenix. When I look around I see a city that's in the midst of becoming a world class city. That downtown Phoenix, is scrambling to catch up with the growth that the metro area has seen .

Will CityScape rise? How many other projects are proposed, going to go up, or in the midst of going up in downtown? I know that downtown Tempe is experiencing quite a bit of growth as is Scottsdale. Im planning in finishing up some research and posting separate threads for those. Anyone else have any info too, feel free to share.

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Many projects are proposed Downtown-

I think Cityscape will happen personally. It is too perfect of an idea.

The new W hotel- I believe this will happen.

Of course light rail and ASU Downtown campus/ huge Convention center addition...

44 Monroe, Summit at Copper Square are both high rises under construction. CopperSquare condos may happen. Cosmo Towers iffy... Artisan Lofts phase two probably will. Portland Place is under construction.

-Lots of cool stuff going on Downtown and Midtown-

definatley revitilization going on!

Phoenix's Downtown will be great in another 2 years...

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Ooh, how about the UA College of Medicine stuff.

The department who deals with the building construction (Facilities Design & Construction) is in the same group as my department, and I'm working on a web site for the group. I also got my hands on their pictures and renderings from a brochure.

The new campus is located at 5th Street and Van Buren and includes some historic building remodelling (namely Phoenix High School). Expected opening is July 2006, but I don't know.

More info

comphx.jpg

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Tempe stands by front man for its lake hotel project

http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/130889

I hadn't heard about this project, but it certainly makes sense. The only hotel on the Tempe Town Lake now is a Best Western at the east end near Rural. Even if this particular deal falls through, a hotel will surely come in and build on the site. Hotels in Downtown Tempe are pretty prime.

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Tempe is a pretty cool town from my view, I drive thru it every day on my way to work. Are they trying to compete with Phoenix for hotels? Do they have convention capabilities in Tempe?

Downtown Tempe really only has one significant hotel that I know of- Mission Palms by Mill Ave (by the IHOP) . The city has always avioded tourism dollars. It would be nice to have a few by the lake...

Thanks for the article colin- good to know...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Tempe is cool and Mill and environs are about as close to a pedestrian environment as you'll find in the valley. It's become too collegiate for me as I've hit my thirties but I still have affection for the area. A cool photo would be one of the...art or architecture building I think. It's located on campus right off Mill and next to Gammage.

The criminal front man for the hotel is nothing new for PHX metro. Charles Keating served several years in prison for financial offences. Keating is the man who brought The Phoenician Hotel, one of the best hotels in the country, to Phoenix.

Tempe Town Lake will eventually be lined with shops and a few hotels I wager. That was the plan when it was conceptualized.

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Cityscape rendering

That's a beautiful structure.

I don't know if you've ever read the Phoenix Wikipedia entry, but it actually discusses some specific projects, but then, in the same breath, says something to the effect of "most of these projects will never happen".

I think that it's difficult to build high-rises in any city where people treasure their views. There's a lot of people who would really resent being denied a view of Camelback Mountain or Squaw Peak (or whatever the hell they call it now). Phoenix does have a tremendous advantage over Tucson in this respect though: it's less dominated by mountain views and thus has fewer residents concerned with height restrictions and losing their view. That's why there are more high-rises there now and why there will always be more high-rises.

But also, as the Wikipedia entry points out, the land speculation is destined to crash very soon, and a lot of these projects will drive into bankruptcy. It's difficult to convince people to live in a high-rise in a town dominated by fringe, suburban sprawl.

Just a thought.

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wow thanks Joel, I really hope CityScape goes to fruition, that would be a great addition.

I know what you're saying about people and their views colin, But I think if anything, high rises augment the back drop of mountians not hinder it. I do feel however that Tuscon has a better chance of getting AZ's tallest, instead of Phoenix. Sky Harbor Limits the heights of Phoenix's buildings. I guess I hadn't realized that Tucsons residents were pretty staunch about the landscape.

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Height restrictions are pretty hardcore here. The Presidio Terrace development at 100' had to get a waiver from the zoning board. UA has a height restriction of about 4 stories, although a few have been given waivers, specifically the Gould-Simpson Building (which you can see from most parts of town). That's why our parking garages are smaller than they probably should be.

There was a brief condo tower proposal Downtown next to the library that would have been one of the tallest in town, but the developers were just full of crap and it ran out of gas quickly.

The mountains are what's attractive here, and we're surrounded by them. It's a selling point, and most people are not eager to lose that for new buildings.

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It's only bad in the Biltmore area (NIMBY'S)

There is a constant argument over height restrictions- and I was almost positive Trump would get his way here- politics shot that down...

Tempe gets blocked a bit from Sky Harbor- as does Downtown- but almost everyone in Downtown wants taller buildings!

-The lot (Patriot Park) that Cityscape sits on is worthless- houses bums right now... Would be perfect for this project...

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It's only bad in the Biltmore area (NIMBY'S)

There is a constant argument over height restrictions- and I was almost positive Trump would get his way here- politics shot that down...

Tempe gets blocked a bit from Sky Harbor- as does Downtown- but almost everyone in Downtown wants taller buildings!

-The lot (Patriot Park) that Cityscape sits on is worthless- houses bums right now... Would be perfect for this project...

The one that gets me in the Biltmore is the condo tower built right up against the Ritz. Talk about obliterating a view...haha. I love the Biltmore area, though. The Fashion Park area at any rate...the Biltmore itself is nice too.

Thanks for the art building pics, loftguy.

Ok cool, for some reason I thought it was a neighborhood that was a little bit upscale.

It is also that.

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