[mhays]

It's always good to have more things for visitors to do.

Damn it Howard, I was going to say that. Of course that would be the nickname.

I like that the lower levels would be shady. Big issue.

I also like that it looks relatively unusual, but would it in reality? Glass is more reflective than that. It would look more like the typical ball-on-stick than the renderings suggest. Likewise, they'd probably end up enclosing some things like restrooms, kitchen, etc.

But I'm not sure the observation tower concept is good here. First, it's too common, and new ones have less wow factor. Second, is there really enough to look at? Distant vistas are common from most streets and buildings. Successful observation towers tend to have a lot to look at in the neighborhood, with most/all points on the compass being interesting. Third, while the Phoenix area has a lot of tourism, a small percentage of it is Downtown (this would be step in changing that, but only one step).

Being this close to the core could be problematic. In my city, there's a lot of pushback on allowing highrises anywhere near our tower. Likewise, other towers block the view in some directions when they're too close, vs. being far enough that they're part of the view.