Glendale

[MJLO]

Ok so check it out. My little brother was at the Glendale Arena today. I had to pick him up, So for the first time I got to experience Glendale. WOW, There is so much construction going on in that part of the valley. I was blown away. Aside from the Westgate development going in. Can someone give me some insight into Glendale and its past perhaps. I have to say, that new NFL stadium where the Cardinals will be playing. Is about the single ugliest stadium I have ever laid eyes on. It has the appearance, like a bad science fiction movie took a big crap in Glendale, and they decided to have the Arizona Cardinals play in it.

But that brings up another point. Which I'll beotch about in the development thread. There is an awful lot of agriculture mixed in with all the construction. How big is Glendale (Square mileage wise). Because it appeared to have a decent amount of room to grow before it's built out.

[colin]

55.8 mi

[MJLO]

I doubt it. Every major city in the country houses a massive NFL Stadium. Detroit has two(although one sits unused). I'm really anxious to see what comes of Glendale though that's for sure. With the developement going on, it's going to look pretty amazing for the superbowl. The superbowl is supposed to be a time to showcase a city. But Phoenix won't be showcased. It'll be Glendale. Do you think Glendale has the potential to take over Phoenix as the Metro center? Even though it is a fraction of its size? Perhaps I should start a new thread on it all together what do you think?

[colin]

Do you think Glendale has the potential to take over Phoenix as the Metro center? Even though it is a fraction of its size? Perhaps I should start a new thread on it all together what do you think?

Yeah, but there are ZERO hotels in Glendale. These people coming for the Super Bowl aren't all going to be staying at their friends' homes in Glendale. Those trashy chain motels on the 10 are going to fill up quickly.

The Metro Center is in Phoenix, Peoria Avenue at the 17.

No way. Glendale is suburban, sleepy. There may be some in-fill stuff coming in soon, but it will never be anything like Downtown Phoenix or even Downtown Tempe. Maybe Mesa...

[MJLO]

I dunno dude, I've seen some pretty aggressive, construction projects out that way. On the other side of 91st ave, they are putting in another lifestyle center. It's supposed to have a midrise in it, not that that's going to make it " downtown Glendale", but that tells me they are being pretty aggressive about that part of town.

[loftguy]

http://www.districtsatzanjero.com/theProject.aspx

[MJLO]

Thanks Joel that's what I was talking about. I couldn't see any tentative project schedule on this. Have they broken ground on it? Also in that they had an article about how the west Valley has overtaken the east valley in growth. (by 3000 people) which is barely a blip.

[loftguy]

Thunderbird to become live/work school

'Changing dynamic' spurs plan

Scott Wong

The Arizona Republic

Jun. 30, 2006

The Thunderbird business school will take the first step today to transform its Glendale campus into an education-based urban village to meet the growing needs of its 1,000 students, faculty and staff members.

Preliminary plans call for shrinking the campus' educational core to about 40 acres and ringing it with a 175-room hotel, hundreds of live/work units, upscale apartments, office space, stores and restaurants.

Officials today will request that the city amend its General Plan to allow for the new uses, said John Berry, a land-use attorney representing the internationally ranked business school.

In about three weeks, the school at Greenway Road and 59th Avenue will request that the property be rezoned.

Construction could begin on vacant parcels at the 150-acre campus as early as next year. Officials at Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International Management, could not say Thursday when the project would be completed.

The changes are being proposed in response to a demographic shift at the school, Chief Operating Officer Tim Propp said.

The university's more than 600 full-time students hail from more than 60 countries. The school's leadership courses, consortiums and other non-degree programs are attracting a growing number of foreign executives. And the school is seeing more students who are married and have children.

"We've got a changing dynamic," Propp said.

Because of that, school officials want to partner with private developers to create places on campus for full-time and visiting students to work, shop, eat and sleep.

Executive apartments could be leased on a long- or short-term basis. For-sale units would provide residents with an upstairs living space and a downstairs study or office.

Some of the housing units could be rented or owned by employees at the nearby Banner Thunderbird Medical Center, which is bulking up its staff.

The project would be built in several phases. First, vacant land along the eastern and southern edges of the property would be developed. When new apartments and for-sale units were built out, the school would redevelop existing student housing complexes, a 65-room hotel and other older buildings on the northwestern corner of the site.

Pedestrian and bicycle paths would be created to better link housing, shops and other spaces with the school's center.

Councilman Steve Frate, whose Sahuaro District includes Thunderbird, said Glendale would work in concert with the school to help realize what he characterized as a "quality infill project."

"It is a priority; it is a project that has a lot of merit to it," Frate said. "I will do whatever I can to help them, and the city will, too."

Thunderbird seeks input on urban village

School to use visits, fliers, open houses

Scott Wong and Erin Zlomek

The Arizona Republic

Jun. 30, 2006

With plans under way to transform the Thunderbird business school's campus into an urban village, school officials will now focus on gathering feedback from students, nearby residents and other community members.

That effort will include going door to door to speak with neighbors, mailing out fliers and hosting on-campus open houses to gather input.

"We've been a member of the neighborhood for 60 years," Thunderbird spokeswoman Carol Sunnucks said. "We want to make sure anything we do moving forward is something in line with what the community wants and what is best for the community, not just what's best for school."

To collect public comments, Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International Management, has hired Technical Solutions, a Phoenix firm specializing in community outreach.

The school's proposal involves circling the 40-acre campus core with a 175-room hotel, hundreds of live/work units, upscale apartments, offices, stores and restaurants.

The graduate school asked Friday that the city amend its General Plan to allow for the new land uses. Later this month, the school, at Greenway Road and 59th Avenue, will ask that the property be rezoned.

In the past, officials have batted down rumors that they planned to abandon the Glendale campus for a site in Scottsdale or other parts of the Valley.

Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs said Friday that Thunderbird's planning efforts demonstrate its commitment to remain in the city.

"This is an indication that they have made a decision to keep with the history, tradition and the city of Glendale," she said. "We are happy that Thunderbird has decided to stay on campus and reutilize it to fit the needs of today's students."

Students and recent alumni said the proposed project would bring the school more positive exposure.

"Our options here are a little bit limited in terms of food and the hours (of operation) and the diversity of what is offered," said Warren Donian, who graduated in May from Thunderbird's MBA program. "If they're going to bring in some nice restaurants and some other developments to spruce things up a bit, I think that's a needed change for the campus."

The prospect of more on-campus housing options scored points with first-year student Daniel Feferbaum. He said some students find the school's traditional dorm-style housing inconvenient and opt for more-accommodating apartment complexes off campus.

"For me, the only problem on campus is that you need to share the restroom with another person," Feferbaum said. "And I don't like sharing a room."

Feferbaum, a student from Brazil, said the live/work combination especially appealed to him.

"Because you are in contact with the school community, professors, students, there would be a lot of opportunities to develop projects together," he said.

[loftguy]

This is coming in Surprise- what do you guys think of the idea?

http://www.azcentral.com/community/westval...arley30Z18.html

Marley Park getting attached to living

Maura J. Halpern

The Arizona Republic

Jun. 30, 2006 12:00 AM

By year's end, prospective residents at Surprise's Marley Park will be able to choose from a variety of attached living options through the community's newest builder.

The new 157-unit neighborhood, built by Frank Residential, will feature lofts, carriage houses, villas and townhomes in the Spanish and Monterey styles.

"We're trying to combine the conveniences of a single-family house with the value of a multifamily product," said Bob Frank, president of Phoenix-based Frank Residential. "There's a real demand and it's much needed in Surprise."

These conveniences include pedestrian paths linking to Marley Park's other neighborhoods and 18-foot driveways leading to garages with direct residence access. A community pool is also planned.

The new neighborhood will be grouped in four- to seven-unit buildings with a two-story, single-family attached home on one end of the complex.

Seven floor plans, offering up to three bedrooms and three baths, will range from 1,000 to 1,800 square feet.

Presales will begin by the end of the year and prices will be released at that time. Frank estimates units will start below $200,000.

"The concept is that lifestyle and value are the important things we can offer that you can't get to the same extent in a single-family detached market," Frank said.

Essentially, he said, the low-maintenance homes will be designed in a layout that complements the community feel and charm of Marley Park.

"We will create a nice ambience," Frank said. "Streetscape is something often ignored in multifamily developments."

Frank Residential, which has built single-family and multifamily developments throughout the Valley, is Marley Park's sixth builder.

The 956-acre master-planned community also features detached homes from Ashton Woods Homes, Element Homes, Engle Homes, Randall Martin Home and Scott Communities. Architectural styles range from cottages to territorial-style houses.

Marley Park, developed by Scottsdale-based DMB Associates, sits south of Waddell Road and east of Reems Road.

The Surprise community includes nine themed parks as part of Phase 1, an Arbor Walk connecting the parks, a K-8 school and other amenities.

Marley Park Plaza, a 13-acre neighborhood shopping center anchored by an upscale Bashas' store will open next year.

Here, more than 90,000 square feet of space will house stores, restaurants and other services.

With the community's new living options, Marley Park General Manager Dan Kelly said the development will attract a demographic mix, from recent college graduates and young couples to empty nesters, active adults and additional families.

The new community "lives up to the underlying mission of Marley Park, which is to create a place for everyone to live," Kelly said. "All income levels, age groups and lifestyles."

[colin]

I don't know that I like "in the Spanish and Monterey styles" (the Valley certainly has enough of that) but it's definitely a great idea.

"Streetscape is something often ignored in multifamily developments"

Amen! I think many would like to live in a "real" town with a true streetscape and not have to drive somewhere just to get a quart of milk but the developers have just not been offering that yet.

Based on the article, I can't picture the development, but it sounds nice. What does this entail? Alleys? "18-foot driveways leading to garages with direct residence access"

[MJLO]

yeah I guess I'd have to see some kind of model to visualize it.

[MJLO]

Ok I was in Glendale today for work, thought i'd stop by and get some pics, but i had an issue with the camera. I got a couple pics of the stadium they are putting in.

here's a bad photo of it from far off, It looks like something out of a

bad science fiction movie. Aside from that it looks alot smaller than

the other NFL stadiums i've seen, anyone know how many people it

will seat?

And accross the street, a big blank field, Glendale has alot of this,

I am suprised at all the agriculture out that way.

[colin]

Wow! That is really ugly.

I would imagine that Glendale assumes the area right around the stadium will be developed very soon. I'd be interested to know whether it's the City holding it up, or the farmers have priced the land way too high (which happens all the time).

Picture from when it was u/c back in the day (April '05, I believe):

[MJLO]

Colin, I have no doubt the area around the stadium will be developed. When I have time, I'm going to chronical all the things going in around that building. It's insane. Those fields are owned by farmers, or part of large corporate farms who knows. I would wager that it might be hard to get those guys to sell that land. Although now that I think of it, the sale of that kind of land in Glendale, would make it so they wouldn't have to work again. Either way, one thing I noticed, is that right now that areas infrastructure seems ill prepared to handle the influx of traffic that's about to head it's way. They are going to have to completely redo 91st ave from I-10 up.

[MJLO]

has anyone heard or seen anything new about the Stadium or Glendale development? I heard that they are expecting somewheres in the neighborhood of 120,000 people to visit the area this weekend. Between the stadium and Cabellas It should be pretty packed around there this weekend.

[colin]

The Discovery Channel's "Extreme Engineering" is featuring the new Cardinals Stadium now (it may be a re-run though). Look for it in the listings.

There's not a whole lot of "Phoenix-ness" to the program, but it's interesting to see it go up.

[MJLO]

I wonder what people think when they see the cards stadium being build in the middle of a corn field.

[MJLO]

Another Glendale Development peice. Renovations being made to older parts of Glendale. With all the life being breathed into Glendale, "older" parts of the city are starting to see redevelopment and revitalization. It cracks me up that in the valley, Things built in the 60's are being razed and redeveloped. This area really is "recycleable". Not that any of the things have historic significance. But in the past it doesn't seem that anything important was built pretty much anywhere in the state.

[MJLO]

What do we know about Glendale? From what I gather, it is one of the Valley's more "blue collar" burbs. But aside from overnight become a world class premier entertainment venue, is there much in the city? I was reading a story in the republic, talking about a five story parking garage in "downtown Glendale, and it got me thinking. Does Glendale have a downtown?

[colin]

Yep, and it's become a fairly large tourist destination, famous for its antique shops.

Grand and Glendale/59th Ave. You should check it out one day.

[MJLO]

six hotels underway near stadium.

Glendale making a bigger push to be a desination in the valley, there a six hotels under construction, that should be finished when the games begin in 08'.

New hotels are rising at Glendale's Zanjero project, an effort to bolster the West Valley city as a destination that can accommodate out-of-town sports fans.

Construction is under way on two Marriott hotels - a 126-room Residence Inn and 120-room SpringHill Suites - at the heart of Zanjero near Loop 101 and Glendale Avenue. The projects are to open in October.

Two more hotels, a 96-room Holiday Inn Express and 116-room Staybridge Suites, will break ground soon just south of the Marriott projects. They are expected to open by December.

That would bring to five the number of hotels around University of Phoenix Stadium open for business for the Fiesta Bowl and Super Bowl XLII in early 2008. A 320-room Marriott Renaissance Hotel will be completed at Westgate City Center, just west of Jobing.com Arena, in September.

"The planned hotel construction furthers the city of Glendale's desire to become a destination city for travelers," said Jon Froke, the city's planning director. "The new rooms will provide an opportunity to expand our capacity in the hospitality industry and capitalize on the emerging sports and entertainment district."

[colin]

I rode through Glendale this weekend while in Phoenix (on the way back from Saguaro Ranch) and was really impressed with what they've done with the Grand/59th/Glendale intersection Downtown: Grand has been sunk so the intersection has become less busy and a little more ped/bike friendly. It was very well executed too. I tried to point all this out to the driver, but he was more interested in getting Downtown as fast as possible since we only had 2 hours to kill.

I'll have to hang out up there a little more next time I'm in the Valley. Second week in April I'm going to Tempe for a show, but I may not have the time for it.

Oh, but am I so glad that they've finally decided to start building hotels out in the cotton fields. I mean, it seems like the most logical place in the city for a group of hotels, yet none were built and stadium-goers had to stay near Arrowhead in Peoria or out by I-10. Ri-dic-u-lous! When will the madness of building major destinations with no infrastructure end, Matt?

[MJLO]

Come on Colin, this is the Valley, we plan for growth here AFTER it happens. To predict and schedule ahead would not be very kosher.