http://www.azcentral.com/community/t...den-tempe.html
Arizona's first downtown urban garden debuts in Tempe

The Arizona Republic

The first downtown urban garden in Arizona will debut at 9 a.m. Saturday on what used to be an empty acre in the middle of downtown Tempe.

The Downtown Tempe Urban Garden on Fifth Street east of Mill Avenue is the result of a cooperative effort among restaurateurs, farmers, community members and the city. The project is being spearheaded by the Downtown Tempe Community in partnership with Caffe Boa, GreenZona, Grow Well Arizona and Desert Appeal.

Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman will address the volunteers and community partners who have donated to the garden. Caffe Boa Chef Payton Curry will be on hand doing demonstrations with products that will grow in the garden. A kids lemonade stand will also be set up to accept donations.

Businesses such as GreenZona and Grow Well have donated soil, seedlings and other resources. Seedlings have been cultivated and the first produce-likely a mix of lettuces, herbs, tomatoes, squash, radishes, and cucumbers, will be ripe for the picking in early April. Fresh produce will be available to chefs and members of the public. Since it's not a traditional community garden where anybody can grow food, access will be limited, with a goal of creating top-quality produce.

Caffe Boa and Curry are hosting a brunch on March 7 to raise money for the community project. His much-lauded culinary career has made him a favorite among Valley foodies, most recently at Scottsdale's Digestif. His liberal use of locally grown and made ingredients is also one of his trademarks.

For information about the urban garden or to volunteer, call Downtown Tempe Community at 480-355-6060 or go to Go to www.tempeurbangarden.com for more information on getting involved.

http://www.tempeurbangarden.com/Urba...Attachment.jpg

Does this mean the urban garden on 5th St just south of Roosevelt doesnt count as downtown?

I posted something about it last June, when it had a different name than Block 1949, no response:

^^^I went to a very small brewery (Sleepy Dog) directly across the street from those new apartments and was amazed at the size and urban feel to them. Reminded me of the developments on Apache.

They had good beers, not much of an atmosphere. They were playing movies, not music in there, so it was kind of quiet, but I imagine once the residents move in, it'll be a great location for people to stumble across university for a beer.

I haven't ever really posted on this website before but i have been following it for several years Now.

I am currently an Urban Planning Major at ASU and we are working with the city of Tempe on this project for the semester. If anything interesting happens I'lll be sure to let you guys know.

We are also helping Mesa with redeveloping the Fiesta mall area, it's not related but the city council voted to shrink Southern ave from the hospital past Alma School.

two lanes tree lined wide sidewalks. Because the new zoning codes will be calling for street facing shops and restaurants and a massive increase in density for the whole area.

I thought it was nice to see a city council (mesa of all) that supports these anti-suburbia plans...I think this means hope for the future :notacrook: now as long as our plans survive the upcoming public meetings. Damn seniors!

Welcome aboard Obadno! That is good news. Fiesta mall needs a lot of help. I'm mean really, how many strip malls can you pack in there :shrug:

Centerpoint story on abc15
 

http://www.abc15.com/content/realest...Ssse4YeiA.cspx (see video, upper right)

TEMPE, AZ - They are the tallest buildings in the East Valley - but they may never be finished.

"All my money is tied up in this, and if that money is lost, I'm going to be really wiped out," said buyer Mike Williard.

He had expected to be calling Tempe Centerpoint Towers - Unit 305 - home by now.

"It's got a beautiful view of Centerpoint Plaza and looking into the trees," he said. "Everything was done in my unit, ready to move in."

After putting down an $81,000 deposit on the condo three years ago, today he's stuck outside the fence.

"I feel like I own a piece of this building," Williard said.

For those buyers that put up deposits, that money may never come back.

"I don't think there's any likelihood that they'll get any of their money back," said Mark Winkelman, CEO of ML Manager LLC, the entity handling the upcoming foreclosure auction of the 375-unit Centerpoint development.

In an exclusive hard hat tour, Winkelman showed ABC15 finished condos on the 17th floor and the unfinished 7,500-square-foot 22nd floor penthouse, complete with a lap pool, hot tub, and views in every direction.

SEE PICTURES FROM THE TOUR IN THE ABOVE PHOTO SLIDESHOW

"One of these days it's going to be an absolutely amazing unit for someone," Winkelman said.

Winkelman said 90 percent of the condos in the shorter 22-story south tower are nearly done, but the 30-story north tower needs a lot more work.

"It's a major project, and it was a major project for the developer. It's still a major project for whoever ends of buying it and taking it on," Winkelman said.

"Something has to be done to this thing," said ASU real estate professor Dr. Jay Butler. "You can't continue to let it simply exist. Do you implode it? Start over again?"

Butler said the high-rise lifesyle is unproven here in the Valley.

"That market probably really never existed in the depth that anybody was hoping for," Butler said.

Centerpoint is not alone.

A glut of available units being built, combined with a down economy and depressed home values, have left a number of condo projects in trouble.

Projects like Summit at Copper Square, 44 Monroe, and Chateaux on Central, among others, have all had financial difficulty.

"If it takes you a lot of time to finish a project, markets turn. They don't last forever, and that's really what happened here," Butler said.

"The losses are massive," Winkelman said.

Construction at Centerpoint came to a halt a year and a half ago.

Developer Tempe Land Co. LLC ran out of money.

The primary lender, Mortgages Ltd., filed for bankruptcy after the suicide of its chairman, Scott Coles.

Now, the project is scheduled to be auctioned off in April.

"I've heard values ranging from zero to 40 or 50 million dollars in its current state," Winkelman said.

When it does finally open, the units might be rented as apartments rather than sold as condos.

Despite all the delays and difficulties, Williard still wants to call Centerpoint home.

"I think it's a beautiful building. It's just a little rough around the edges here," Williard said. "I still am hopeful that I can live here maybe a year from now. And I'm sure that five years in the future this will be a vibrant busy plaza."

Williard and the other 40 early buyers can file with the bankruptcy court to try to get their deposits back, but they're in line behind the project's primary investors and the unpaid contractors.

:previous: What if they still want to live in the building still and don't want their deposits back? Would they have to put down new deposits with the new owner to hold their unit? Or does it all depend on the terms of the bankruptcy?

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned here or not...but I was in AZ Mills over the weekend and noticed that they have a giant aquarium going in. It is under the Sea Life brand that is owned by the company that owns Legoland and the Sea Life in Carlsbad. Pretty cool stuff. Too bad they put it in a mall and not in downtown Tempe or Phx.

^My guess is that it will depend upon the terms of the bankruptcy.

As far as CenterPoint goes, here are my thoughts as to what should be done with it. I mentioned this sometime ago in another thread:

Of course there should still be the planned ground floor retail to accompany it.

Tempe lands state's 2nd Mini Cooper dealership
 

http://www.azcentral.com/community/t...-mini0311.html

Seems they should have a mini Mini showroom right on Mill. They could probably stick 2 or 3 cars into one of the empty stores. Then if someone wants to buy/drive one they could drive them over to the real dealership. Bottom line is with Toyota hurting some of these other companies could sweep in and take their market share if they plan right. - not that I would want Mill to turn into showroom row but 1 or 2 could be interesting to fill the vancancy. I wonder how the scooter store is doing down there?

I'm that Centerpoint buyer
 

Hi, I'm the buyer quoted in the Centerpoint article and ABC 15 news story. Unlike the contractors and Mortgages Ltd. investors, the Centerpoint buyers were considered unsecured creditors. So, obviously, we will be getting nothing from the Ch. 7 bankruptcy process. Only 41 buyers signed sales contracts and made deposits (three of those to the developers). I have spoken to a number of them, and maybe 25 or so are still willing and able to buy if they offer us a reasonable deal. Our deposits were not kept in escrow, but released to the developer. My $81,000 deposit and all of the others totaled about $2 million. In total, $180 million has been spent so far, and $45 million is needed to complete building one.

Our only hope now is that the new owners will choose to keep the few existing committed buyers on board, considering they have 375 units to sell in both towers. I imagine a new buyer will be able to buy the project for perhaps $25 to $40 million. You would think they could come up with $1 million or so to cover the existing buyers deposits. Of course, the pricing will have to be cut in half, at least, or no one will buy anything.

I don't know how they are going to get financing for the individual buyers. The developer will probably have to make special arraignments with a lender to provide the mortgages, because they are unlikely to qualify for FHA backed loans.

"My" condo was complete 18 months ago. I had picked out the cabinets, the tile, the granite, and paid up front to upgrade the appliances, plumbing fixtures, and a storage locker in the parking garage. Here are photos of how it looked then.

I would be interested in talking to any other Centerpoint buyers.

Mike Williard

williard@cox.net
602-550-0235

http://www.abc15.com/content/realest...Ssse4YeiA.cspx

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Canon EOS 40D
Copyright Mike Williard

How did they find you?

I thought Tower 1 was 90% completed? Are you sure about that $45 million figure?

I also have a really hard time believing the current worth of the site has a low end of 0 from the above article, which more or less assumes there's a demolition liability.

Centerpoint buyer
 

They found my name because I had been interviewed last year in an Arizona Republic article. I also provided information for the New Times story, but refused to let them use my name.

Tower 1 is 90% complete, tower 2 is said to be 50% complete. I heard the $45 million figure at some of the many bankruptcy hearings I attended. $180 + 45 = $225 million, so $45 million would be 20% of the total. I think it's higher than you would expect because of the need to finish the 7th floor common area with the pool, spa, fitness center, kitchen, theaters, and the restaurants on the ground floor. The New Times article claims the developer estimates $45 million to complete tower 1 and $75 million to complete both (doesn't quite make sense).

Here are the New Times articles:

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2009-...n-the-rubble/1

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/val...step_for_c.php

There is no way they will demolish the buildings, because they are so far along, and it would be very costly to do so. Implosion is not feasible for this kind of structure or location.

I have recently heard from an ex-Centerpoint employee that there are a number of potential bidders. I believe it will sell for $25 to $40 million.

It seems they'd be able to get it habitable long before things like the amenities are completed. A kitchen would have made sense for four towers of luxury residents but is overkill for whatever will become of it in its current phase even if completed. What kind of concessions would you be willing to take? If you got to own your unit along with the other depositors in a midmarket mostly rental tower at a discount would you take it?

Centerpoint buyer
 

All the amenities were never terribly important to me. I was more interested in the excellent location, the idea of being able to walk to the many restaurants, post office, bank, CVS, town lake, and light rail. Of course, I was disappointed when Harkins theaters, Borders, and many restaurants closed in the meantime. I am a big fan of modern architecture and furniture, so this would be ideal for me. I sold my house in boring suburbia (Desert Ridge area) two years ago.

I wouldn't mind rentals in the building. In fact, if I could just get my money back, I would rather rent. But that is not possible. This is a wonderful time to be a renter. My landlord is losing over $500 per month.

Check out this interactive rent vs. own calculator:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/b...ator.html?_r=1

That's too bad that this has happened. Great pics and views... you have a bird's eye view of the rabbit fountain. That would be awesome. I hope it all turns out.

Thank you for sharing all the great photos and details of the towers!

I would be happy to see the towers turn into rentals, although doing so might turn Centerpoint into the second incarnation of the Vue on Rural/Apache. Not necessarily a bad thing - I suppose posh towers filled with rich college freshman is the lesser of two evil scenarios here.

http://southwest.construction.com/so...1_FlexPark.asp

Clarius Partners LLC, with capital partner Walton Street Capital, is developing SkyWay 202 Professional Park, a 60-acre fl ex-use professional park located at 40th Street and Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway in Phoenix.

Southwest Orthopedic and Spine Hospital, an inpatient surgical hospital, will be Sky-Way 202’s first structure. The 94,000-sq-ft facility will feature an on-site intensive care unit, eight operating rooms, two preparatory rooms, and approximately 60 patient recovery rooms. Construction commenced during the first quarter with completion scheduled for Spring 2011.

Construction of the park’s primary infrastructure, roadway, 2-acre retention basin and utility backbones that will serve the hospital as well as future developments is now underway.

Because of the economy, the developers elected to reposition SkyWay 202 to focus on market segments that were less susceptible to the market downturn.

JE Dunn will act as general contractor on both the SOSH facility and the infrastructure improvements. The architectural firm of Ascension Group designed the SOSH facility while Kimley-Horn provided civil engineering services. Butler Design Group performed site planning.



Anybody know if this will be on the north or south side of the freeway??