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Walked around downtown...yes in 111° because I'm crazy like that...and thought I would post some updates.

1. As mentioned on the low-rise thread, O'Neil is setting up the tower crane today. Also, Broadstone Portland now has a tower crane. So 3 more cranes in the skyline, but Wexford's came down.

2. The scaffolding around AC has come down and the hotel actually looks much nicer than I thought. The white and grey really stands out next to the garage and APS tower.

3. ASU is completing it's final floor. Not a skyline changer by any means, but adds some good infill. It's especially nice to see coming West on Fillmore.

4. Adeline is on the 14th floor with some facade on the lower floors and Link 2 is also on the 14th floor. So these towers are roughly halfway.

5. Derby is starting to move faster and on the 4th floor with the elevator shaft is up to about the 7th level.

6. X is pretty much topped on the Eastern end and 1 floor to go on the Western half.

7. Aspire has completed 1 level above ground.

Snapped a few update pics. I was using my super-wide lens to eliminate verticle perspective, so they are a tad blurry in some spots. Sorry I didn't get more...but I was already dying trying to get these. :diablo:

AC Hotel

Adeline

ASU

Derby (thought I would include the luffing crane for dramatic effect)

Link 2

Link 2 up close

Great pics Crested thanks for the updates and your health in this heat.

I am a very big fan of the new forum photo system. Makes the page look less cluttered.

Also, too hot for walking. Thanks for the photos but put that on pause until it cools off a bit.

Thank you Crested!

I think ASU is actually a skyline changer. It's about the same height (200' vs 208' IIRC) as the Ho without the antenna which is visible from the 202 freeway. I think I've been gone too long but I do not like seeing the same generic ASU logo on the historic post office.

AC is disappointing. I can't remember what we originally saw but there's something that looks institutional about it.

Link 2 should add some bulk to the skyline but won't fill it out. Awesome shot of this one.

I still can't tell if Derby is stalled or not.

You can definitely see X Phoenix driving on the i17 south and i10 east heading into downtown Phoenix. I am very excited to see the finish project of Adeline next year, I believe it will add to the skyline. I really hope the city decides to build more south of Talking Stick Arena and Chase Field in the next 10 years to make the city pop a little bit more. Lastly, I hope Roosevelt Row continues to grow because I feel that part of downtown will make or break how much development will be needed in the future.

On the derby if you look at what Code5 posted on July 25th on the Derby thread and Crested post yesterday you can tell it's moving.

Derby is moving still. Workers are there daily. I have seen a couple of days where nothing seemed to be going on, but they were working on the crane on those days. I'm guessing the crane probably was having issues. Not sure how reliable luffing cranes are vs hammerheads, but probably a pain in the arse due to the additional moving parts and cabling.

Also in other news. More permits submitted for Palm Court, but they are showing as "not issued". Seems like they have been getting denied left and right. The last 7 permits submitted over the last month or so are all showing as not issued. Probably why the tower is being held up from starting? I'm not a permit professional. Does anyone know what the process is for a denied permit? Do they submit new ones or just correct the issues holding up the original submission? Also, I did see "what appeared" to be workers removing bushes adjacent to the grass lot on the APS boundary yesterday. I'll be by there again today to verify if they were removed. If so, "could" be a sign of vegetation removal commencing ahead of planned construction, but take that with a grain of salt.

Hopefully they were just "not issued" meaning they sent back for corrections which is typical, and not actually "denied". Normally you get first review comments back from the City reviewers after you submit for permit and must make all the correction and resubmit for permit. If you have failed to make the correction, you get denied and have to do a new first submittal and pay the fees again (massive cost), which would really suck and is not common.

As far as landscape work being done, that is normally your first sign of construction. The Landscape Salvage permit work must be completed prior to issuing any other permits to start construction. Once you see some of the trees in the vicinity roped off, that normally means that permit is done and construction is imminent.

So true as for the seven permits being denied all permits must be tie to each other. Therefore if there's an issue with one then they would all be denied until the first issue is corrected. then they would be issued.

Great pictures Crested! Thanks for posting them.

Is there a current list of tower cranes (downtown only) and what projects they are for? I am having a hard time following everything, and lately I haven't been downtown to check for myself.

Off the Top of my head

Downtown:
1 for the Battery (Apartment block 4 stories)
1 for Adilade 25 story apartments
1 for Hyatt Place Downtown 10 stories
2 for X Phoenix 30 story apartments
1 for low rise project replacing oniel printing
1 for the Duo???? idk cant remember the name Mckinly between 1st ave and 2nd ave 20 stories
1 for the Filmore low rise apartments (5-7 stories)
1 for the Derby 20 stories
1 for Portrait at Enhance 5-7 story low rise apartments
1 for Broadstone Portland (5 stories)
1 For ASU Thunderbird School
1 for Link Phase 2

Recently removed
AC Marriott
Wexler Biomedical

Coming soon:
3rd ave and Roosevelt
R03 Building 1

Midtown:
1 for Creighton medical
1 for Millennium midtown
1 for Non descript Apartments at Clarendon and Central

Coming soon:
1 For Thomas and Central

Recently Removed
1 for the Earl
1 for Centra

Also Recently removed:
2 cranes at the Airport for Sky Train stations.

And remember for Q4 the "Crane report" said we had like 3 cranes LOL

/\Thanks! Instead of Duo, I think you're thinking of Aspire. And you forgot about the ASU (dorms? classrooms?) next to Westward Ho.

So, 14 cranes just downtown then?

Man it would be gnarly if the Knipe Office and ECO cranes go up before any more come down. 16 cranes!!

I've only been here since 2013. Has there ever been a time when Downtown PHX has ever had this many at once? I'm guessing not as I don't see many pics with more than 2 or 3 developments getting built at any one time in the past.

I've been here since I was born. The answer is no.

Meow Wolf
 

Article posted on LA Times regarding how Meow Wolf is weathering COVID-19 and pretty much sums up why the hotel's been put on hold if not cancelled. It does not paint a pretty picture for Meow Wolf (let alone here in Phoenix). Only one sentence mentions Phoenix which could mean it's not forever dead:

Full article:
https://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...-entertainment


Edit: Also, ABJ article on Meow-Wolf posted today. Phoenix mentioned again only once, but article does seem a little more positive for a hotel to still come to Phoenix.

(hit ESC key to stop the page from loading to view full article): https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquer...mega-mart.html

If Meow Wolf had to sacrifice its expansion plans to save the House of Eternal Return, I'd be okay with that. While it was a thrill to hear they were coming to Phoenix, there is also something to be said for the unique experience of Meow Wolf's original location. My children are telling me that whenever the pandemic ends, the first out-of-state trip they want to make is to go back to Santa Fe for a Meow Wolf visit.

Still, I think it's a shame, if we did lose it. I read a while back that they said they wanted the Meow Wolf Hotel to be apart of the downtown Phoenix skyline.
Meaning it would have been pretty sizable and it would've been one of the most unique looking highrises in downtown, therefore making it instantly iconic and recognizable.
Downtown Phoenix needs more iconic. But I digress....

Phoenix's online search system is odd and can be a little misleading..

If you're looking at permits at this page: https://apps-secure.phoenix.gov/PDD/Search/Permits - there are a couple things of note..

Everything listed on the PERMITS search page has already been approved through plan review. The reason it says "Not Issued" is that the permit has not actually been paid for (therefore not formally 'issued' yet). You'll notice for Palm Court's grading permit, the permit number is currently "CGD T811824". The T-Number is a placeholder until the City receives payment for the permit, at which point it will change to a CGD-20XXXXX number depending on when it's issued.

To see if a plan review is actually approved or not - we need to be looking at the Plan Review search: https://apps-secure.phoenix.gov/PDD/Search/PlanReviews

The items found on that search page are not permits, but plans submitted and in review. You can see the status of each review, which reviewers have approved/have corrections, etc.

It's a confusing way to search records online. Other cities do it better.

Source: Former Phoenix Planner (I was the Site Planner for Palm Court when it came in for Preliminary Site Plan) (and still in the industry, somewhere else with a nice view of the grass lawn where the tower is going..)

To add to that, and you can probably confirm or deny this, I am under the impression that permits are next to impossible to find at locations where the lot is being split.

Example:

A developer is going to break one large parcel into 10 lots, lots of those permits can be issued to addresses that don't yet exist, or even with a blank address and just an APN.

Am I way off? I've always understood that to be true.