no, it is not.

If the billboard had nothing but mexicans, I wouldn't think anything of it, other than "oh there are mexicans," which really is nothing to be afraid of.

Very interesting. If I recall correctly the area just NE of there is pretty scuzzy. I'm surprised thats not having an adverse effect on sale. I guess they figure people will be heading south across the river for most of their dining and going out anyway, so perhaps what is immediately north isn't of importance.

if so, then it would also. racism isn't just blatant, but often subtle. subtle or blatant is still wrong. as for Centerpoint it may just be a bad oversight on their marketer.

double post

Wow, Tempe will look great if these projects actually happen, now when will they tear down that unsightly flour mill? If ever? I suppose if it was otrn down the whole Mill Avenue theme would be slightly tarnished but that area would still rock...

^Tempe has NO plans to tear down the Historic Flour Mill. As ugly as it may seem, the mill is what gives Mill Avenue its name, and it is an icon to the city. Recently, developers wanted to convert it into a condo...I do not know the status of it right now, but that is what I heard in the media.

Frankly, I'd rather see new mixed-use development build along Mill Avenue and the mill rennovated to include some sort of museum or restaurant (maybe the restaurant can become a new restaurant for the nearby Mission Palms Hotel expansion immediately to the south).

Also, the mill sits adjacent to the west entrance of "A" Mountain, so a nice gateway entrance to the butte would be awesome. The whole site has potential. The flour mill can be rennovated, so do not bet on it to be torn down.

-Andrew

^ The Mill is awaiting redevelopment schemes, and last I checked the property was locked in MCW Holdings (the developer of the brickyard that went bankrupt) lawsuit with the City of Tempe.

The silos themselves are historically protected so there's almost no way those are coming down--I wouldnt stand for it one bit either. It is possible to renovate them into condos or whatever, so that'll likely play a big part of whatever we'll see.

The Mill parcel itself is ostensibly fairly difficult to develop--it's oddly shaped and there's almost no room for on-site parking. I think, however, that such challenges will lead to a truly unique project.

I'd like to see the following get developed:

http://emvis.net/~sean/ssp/new_hfl_concept.png

Edits:

the 2 - 6 story stuff should be live work.

The rail tracks would be repaved with red brick, exposing the steel rails still. Historic signage and exhibits down a landscaped pedestrian path could showcase the area.

All parking structures would be underground, making this super expensive to develop.

The finishing touch--gold neon/flourescent resignage of Hayden Flour Mill on the existing tower.

Some interior photos for those not too familiar with the area (sorry if this is way off topic)

http://emvis.net/~sean/ssp/2005-09-2...h/IM000208.JPG

Neon lights and recessed curved windows some day?

http://emvis.net/~sean/ssp/2005-09-2...IM000212-2.JPG

http://emvis.net/~sean/ssp/2005-09-2...h/IM000212.JPG

http://emvis.net/~sean/ssp/2005-09-2.../IM000214a.JPG

http://emvis.net/~sean/ssp/2005-09-2.../IM000214b.JPG

http://emvis.net/~sean/ssp/2005-09-2.../IM000214c.JPG

I've always liked that fresco. Restore it!

^ Any renovation of this crumbling edifice will require massive amounts of tax dollars, otherwise it will languish forevermore, as it has for decades.

--don

Son of a bitch you beat me camelback _road!!
I always go to post and someone beats me.... (Onyx article)

This is the article about the Constellation Group- they are out of Australia and bad ass! We should write to them and beg them to develop the Silo Mill- they did one before...

http://www.azcentral.com/community/t...t-millZ10.html

http://www.constellationproperty.com/website/

Speaking of the flour mill in Tempe:

http://www.azcentral.com/community/t...vmill0516.html

Historic Hayden Flour Mill may yield 2 cultures' relics

Katie Nelson
The Arizona Republic
May. 16, 2006 12:00 AM

The Hayden Flour Mill could become closer to becoming a usable historic site this month, after years of snags that have blocked redevelopment of downtown Tempe's most recognizable icon.

A Tempe company, Archaeological Consulting Services Ltd., will begin digging Monday around the mill and silos to search for artifacts. Archaeologists expect to find remnants from the years the site was actively used as a flour mill, along with traces from when the area was a settlement for the ancient Hohokam tribe.

City leaders said they view the eventual development of the mill as a crucial step to linking the downtown shopping and business districts with the recreation and housing being built along Town Lake.

The city has heard a range of proposals for the site, including outdoor recreation stores, a historical museum and converting the silos into condos or a hotel. It's possible that the city-owned land could have some combination of those components.

But before anything can happen to the mill, the archaeological dig hopefully will unearth a piece of land's past.

The dig is the first tangible movement toward renovating the historic site in years. The land has been tangled up in a yet-to-be-settled lawsuit and a fight between the city and a local developer over what can be built on the property and who can build it.

On Thursday, an open door into the mill's main building let its musty smell into the open air. Archaeologists will use backhoes, shovels and trowels to probe the mill and silos. They'll start the digging at the southeastern corner of the Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway.

Using old fire insurance maps as their guide, a team of eight people will search for a two-story adobe jail. Team members will keep an especially careful look out for the structure's outhouse, or whatever is left of it.

It sounds strange, said Bob Stokes, who is in charge of the project's field work, but the garbage and trash tossed into the privy's hole might tell the archaeologists the most about what people ate, bought and used during that time period.

"It's not only a bathroom, it's a convenient trash can," Stokes said. "We might be able to learn what the inmates were eating, the kinds of utensils they were given . . . whether they got poorer cuts of meat, vs. better cuts of meat, or if there are few bones, if they got very little meat at all."

Archaeologists can also use the remains to do a micro-botanical analysis. It will tell them about the health of people during that time to see if they had parasites and if they were treated, Stokes said.

The archaeologists will remove strips of concrete around and between the other sides of the mill building to search for other artifacts and building remains. But while doing so, the team will take special care to keep its digging away from the buildings so the mill and silos will stay structurally sound for renovation.

This "exploratory" or "testing" digging phase will last five or six weeks. This phase will determine if there is more detailed work to be done, Stokes said. If something worth digging up is found, "large-scale excavations" would start in the fall, but it hinges on what, if anything, is found initially.

The $340,000 archaeological investigation is being paid for by a grant from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community from casino profits. Staff support is coming from the city, the Tempe Historical Museum, and the Tempe Historic Preservation Office.

--don

Hayden Ferry Lakeside development pics-
Actually pulled over on the side of the freeway to take these!
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e7...velopment2.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e7...evelopment.jpg

^ You are insane. :D

--don

No kidding.

Can we get you to pull over on the I-17 South to I-10 East on-ramp while you're at it, too? ;)

Whole Foods grocery to be part of Cosmo condo project

Katie Nelson
The Arizona Republic
May. 23, 2006 01:03 PM

How about the 10 east to 17 north (one of the high flyovers)? :D

More Towers in Tempe!!
 

SHEA/TRIYAR CAPITAL VENTURE PLANNING $400 MILLION MIXED-USE PROJECT IN TEMPE

Tempe – A venture formed by Jim Riggs of Shea Commercial and Tony Wall of 3W Cos., both of Scottsdale, and TriYar Capital in Phoenix (Steven Yari, Shawn Yari, Bob Agahi, principals), plans to develop a 1.5 million-square-foot mixed-use project at the northwest corner of University Drive and Forest Avenue in Tempe. University Square Investors, formed by Riggs, Wall, et al., paid just under $24.5 million to assemble the 3.219-acre site. A trust and a company formed by Sidney Joseph of Tempe were the sellers of most of the site in two deals totaling just over $23 million. Biltmore Management Inc. of Tempe (William Was, Jr., principal) was the seller of a small parcel for just over $1.39 million. The planned development, which will require a PAD overlay from Tempe, includes a 30-story hotel/condominium tower, a 26-story condominium building and a 12-story office structure. In all, plans on file in Tempe call for 490 residential units, 300 hotel rooms, 256,000 sq. ft. of office space and 49,000 sq. ft. of retail. No comment coming from any of the venture partners in the planned $400 million development. The site for the proposed project is bounded on the north by 7th Street, on the south by University Drive, on the east by Forest and on the west by Myrtle Avenue. Existing buildings on the site include several retail and restaurant businesses and three former single-family homes that are being used for retail purposes. All of the structures, located just east of Mill Avenue, would be razed for the new development. The venture has filed for zoning approval and could obtain the necessary entitlement by June, according to representatives in Tempe’s planning department. Shea Commercial, 3W Cos. and TriYar have extensive experience as developers in the Valley. Shea has developed numerous office condominium complexes in the Phoenix area and has a few residential condominium projects in the works. TriYar has developed residential and retail projects and is under construction on a W Hotel and upscale condos east of Scottsdale Road and south of Camelback Road in Scottsdale. Wall has developed office and retail space in the Valley. Find out more from Riggs at (480) 451-9077. Contact Wall at (480) 361-6054. Talk to the Yaris and Agahi at (602) 748-8888.

^Does that mean no more Mama's Pizzeria?

I saw a sign for the zoning meeting as I walked to work this morning and was wondering what this project was. Thanks for the info!

Mama's Pizzeria left its building last year, now occupied by Lorenzo's Pizza. Yes, this means that:

-Lorenzo's Pizza

-The Arches Plaza (which includes Subway, Alphagraphics, India Bistro, Mai Island Grill, the Pita Pit, Tempe Bicycle and Dave's Hot Dogs...all yummy food)

-The Buildings on both sides of Forest that contain: Wet Paint Art Supply, E-Ba Cafe, and the HQ Smoke Shop

....will be gone.

The developers better include a ton of retail spaces to supplement the lost retail and restaurants. Wet Paint Art Supply provides most of the Architecture Students the materials needed for studio (I used to shop there all the time when I was in the Architecture program). Mai Island Grill is an excellent Hawaiian eatery, and so is India Bistro, a lovely Indian Buffet that is moderately priced. Remember, this project (which is very likely) is right across the street from the ASU Architecture Building.

-Andrew

/\Are you sure this includes all of those properties? Wet Paint, etc. are on the east side of Forrest... the article said the project is bounded by Forrest west to Mrytle.
It does mean that Hogi Yogi will be gone, which was pretty good back in the day (it may be closed now, temporarily).
I'd like to hold off on making any comments until I see the renderings and site plan, but to raze that whole area seems excessive.

Amazing. Almost $8 million an acre. Some dead farmer is rolling over in his grave.

I'll miss Lorenzo's. Where else can you get good food and a $3.50 pitcher of beer? It would be great if the developer allowed for student-oriented retail but usually expensive development has expensive ground-floor rents.

The market in Tempe for high-rise condos and hotel rooms is apparently even deeper than we thought. This is the kind of success derived from basic nurturing of good urbanist principles: pedestrian-friendly streetscapes, historic preservation, good transit, and a strong, knowledge-based economic engine (ASU).

^ This is a pretty big project for Tempe. It's incredibly dense (i dont think there is a denser project on the line) and its varied uses will place an enormous amount of people on the streets at almost all times of the day.

We are fortunate to have Shea Commercial headquartered here. Since the Phoenix area will always have issues putting up office towers because of the lack of demand for anchor space, Shea's build to suit-office condo approach is probably the best bet at the area getting non-residential towers for a little while. I'm always glad when sprawl developers start going urban, and it looks these guys are embracing the concept head on. The Waterfront is Scottsdale's most important project right now--I have high hopes for a similar anchor for downtown Tempe.

If the City of Tempe is really that quick with their entitlements process and can get this thing approved by June, it would send a pretty clear message that Tempe's PZ&D office works and could open the floodgates for similar projects. Remember, entitlements are the first thing that puts the value into the land.

The last time I went by this block I noticed the hole it formed in the burgeoning streetwal--imagine, in a few years we should see a pretty contiguous line of high density development along University, with Cosmo, the SWC of University and Mill, the ASU gateway, and now this. I hope the Ruby Tuesday block on the NEC of University and Mill is next.

Totally agree, though the redevelopment of that lot could be all based on current return and land values. Remember that the building on that site is only 8 years old. I don't know who owns the lot, but my guess is that there's probably still alot to be paid on that land and Ruby Tuesday may have upwards of 5 years left on their lease. Sad, but possibly true.

I remember when they built that thing. Completely the wrong land use for that corner. Should have had at least 2-3 stories on top of it (office and/or housing). Same for Jack Black's building across the street which was built at the same time (where PF Chang's is).

Curious...what's going in on the SWC? There's a gas station and a Burger King there right now, correct?

The gas station has been tore down and they were clearing the asphalt a week ago, I'm guessing to salvage the underground storage tanks and clean the site up. I dont know what's exactly going there, however.

The Burger king is still there. What's gone is just the NW quarter acre of the block that the Mobil was on before, a popular hangout for taxis and probably the last place in downtown Tempe to get a pack of smokes and a soda. Whats this about basic retail again?

I disagree... for as stunted as Centerpoint was it almost made more sense that way in the end to make the unintended real signature of the project--the restaraunt/corner gateway--only one story.

I mostly want to see Ruby Tuesday gone cause I got salmonella there. But there's another side to it. Something about that corner just screams 1990's "sorry, folks!" downtown architecture that we all ended up getting after the bust. A 20+ story tower--even in that same basic ground floor plate and design would be perfect for the corner.

/\ College Store on College north of Mill has all of that stuff, smokes, beer, food, etc. I've bought several Foster's oil cans after tests/presentations at that store. I know it's not downtown, per se, but close.

you do know those streets run paralell to each other right?

Good catch eagle eye, obviously I meant Univ. :tup:

wasn't obvious to me. I don't have ESP.

I think he means Campus Corner, which is on College accross the street from Panda Express.

/\ Good catch eagle eye, obviously I meant Campus Corner. :haha:

The zoning meeting is June 8th.

Looks like the date has changed again to June 5th for the zoning meeting.

5th and Mill
 

Hello everyone! Long time reader, first time poster. :) I was wondering if anyone knows why the NE corner of 5th and Mill is still empty. I think a Coldstone once occupied that space but if I remember correctly that was a long time ago. Anything cool going in there soon?

Also, I love all the new development in downtown Tempe but so far I have not seen any new restaurants or bars planned for the area. Mill Ave is great but with all the new people living down there I don't think that Mill will be able to accomodate everyone. Any ideas?? Thanks.
-seth

Dunno about 5th and Mill. Is it just the retail space that's vacant or is the whole building vacant or what?

Most of the highrises covered in this thread take a couple years to even build to their first phase. Centerpoint is still at least a year off, and that's "only" 22 stories. That's about how long the average smaller infill project takes as well. In either case, most of these projects aren't built right on Mill, but rather divert traffic off to Rio Salado and University which are still pretty capable. Once demand starts warranting new, properly timed stoplights, moving people in and out of downtown wont be so difficult. Traffic patterns for residential highrises generally aren't nearly as intensive as similarly dense office and retail blocks tho.

It's too early to tell how many of these new highrisers will actually use light rail and the bus, but I'm led to believe that the demographics and transit/retail options available by the time everything opens will really smooth things out.

The interim construction that's the root of the current problem, on the other hand, is something the transitioning areas will just have to grin and bear. It's worth it in the long term.

5th and Mill
 

I'll have to go check and make sure, but i'm pretty sure it is just the corner retail space on 5th and Mill and not the whole building. It is two stories and it is all boarded up.

University Square
 

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/ima...ity-square.jpg

More Tempe towers proposed
By John Yantis, Tribune
May 19, 2006

Downtown Tempe block may tower
By John Yantis, Tribune
May 26, 2006

I'm usually a little skeptical about wow projects like this, but there are so many positive forces in Tempe right now that this doesn't seem like such a stretch. If the real estate market doesn't tank altogether, I can see this happening. Still, it's a legitimate question how many high-rise condo towers Tempe can support. The location here is very, very good, so I'll give this one an edge on the competition.

The architecture is pleasant enough, comfortably ensconced between midcentury and mid-Wilshire. If this means generic, so be it. This is the kind of success which breeds more success.

University Sq. is definitely massive. I like it.

There is definitely a genuine ball rolling in Tempe right now, and I too wonder how far it will go.

It's interesting to see how ASU markets it's new downtown Phoenix campus as this eventual and quintessential big-city "urban campus", when, in probably just a matter of a few years from now, it's main campus in Tempe will nearly be offering that exact same product/ experience. Definitely not a bad thing, just interesting to see all of this more larger-scale organic development happen in Tempe, while we wait for the same in downtown Phoenix.

I like that little pedestrian walkway that jets over Forest, if that's really what it is. I doubt anything like that will come to fruition, though, because of air rights and what not over a Tempe Street.

Wow, that looks amazing!

Wouldn't this be nice!?

http://www.azcentral.com/business/ar...hoops0529.html

Sports complex on way
Tempe, Ky. firm sign facility deal

Ty Young
The Arizona Republic
May. 29, 2006 12:00 AM


Tempe officials and a Kentucky basketball organization have signed a deal designed to turn 18 acres into a sprawling sports facility for decades.

And if the developers have their way, the facility will become a regional hub for Amateur Athletic Union sports tournaments.

The Kentucky Basketball Academy, under the name STH Enterprises, was awarded a bid to develop the site near Rio Salado Parkway and Priest Drive, south of Tempe Town Lake. The company is known for housing large-scale regional and national basketball and volleyball tournaments at a similar facility in Lexington.

Steve Hatton, Kentucky Basketball Academy facility manager, said his company has entered into preliminary negotiations with the AAU to host events at the facility. The AAU is one of the largest amateur sports organizations in the country and holds tournaments every month at the Kentucky Basketball Association facility in Lexington.

"We've been trying to get something done in Arizona for about three years" with the AAU, Hatton said. "Talks have really started heating up in the last 18 months."

Bobby Dodd, AAU's president, could not confirm that the organization is planning anything bigger for the facility, but said he and the Kentucky Basketball Academy have conducted discussions on the topic.

The city agreed Wednesday night to enter into a development agreement for the 18 acres.

The company will build and run the 60,000- to 90,000-square-foot facility that will house six multiuse courts for basketball and volleyball, including one stadium court with seating for about 1,500.

The building also will house a cafe, retail store, locker rooms and meeting rooms. The plan also calls for six acres of softball and multiuse fields for soccer and lacrosse.

The $4 million facility is expected to draw regional and national sports tournaments, providing an economic push for hotels and restaurants, Vice Mayor Mark Mitchell said.

"This will help the business community in so many ways," he said. "We want to make Tempe a destination point for amateur sports tournaments."

The city will lease the land to the academy under the building for $5,000 per year.

The 30-year contract has two 10-year extensions that could be enacted if the company meets performance measures.

In the first year, the company must hold at least two regional or national tournaments and a minimum of 10 local tournaments. In Year 2, the company must add at least 500 basketball games, 200 volleyball games and 80 field sport games.

After the life of the contract, city officials will review the company's performance and decide whether to extend the contract.

Community Development Manager Chris Salomone said the city looked into the Kentucky group and found it was well recognized in the amateur sports arena. At its facility in Kentucky, the group sponsors numerous events that bring hundreds of teams - and their parents' tourism dollars.

"They have a good history of putting on these tournaments and bringing people in," he said.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/a...re0602Z14.html

Size may matter in planned Tempe complex

Katie Nelson
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 3, 2006 12:00 AM


It would likely be taller than Tempe Butte. It may have more hotel rooms than Tempe's Courtyard by Marriott, Holiday Inn, or Twin Palms.

The $500 million project that would go in near downtown and Arizona State University is poised to become the largest mixed-use project in the city.

Developers are publicly touting the University Square proposal around town, indicating it would take up an entire square block and include a 12-story office building, 23-story condominium tower and 30-story hotel. If built, the project would replace a series of 1960s-era shops that are no higher than one story.

There is a hurdle to clear, though. The Federal Aviation Administration has declared University Square a "presumed hazard" because of the proposed project's proximity to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

The project's 3.3 acres are bounded by University Drive on the south and Seventh Street on the north in between Myrtle and Forest avenues.

"It's a fantastic urban site, probably the best urban site in metro Phoenix," said Tony Wall, president of 3W Cos., one of the development partners involved. The other brawn behind the project is Shea Commercial of Scottsdale and Triyar Cos. of Westwood, Calif.

Being situated near ASU in downtown Tempe would allow the project to cater to many types of clients, said Jim Riggs, president and CEO of Shea Commercial.

"We're going to bring together the gap between Mill and the university," Riggs said.

There would be a cost. About a dozen small businesses would have to move.

"It's one of those things. It's coming to an end," said Brad Hultquist, 46, who has run one of his two Grooming Humans hair salons on the site for nearly two decades.

"There's a sense of urgency and a lack of affordable retail and services space in this area. Some of them (other small businesses) don't have a place to go."

Hultquist said he isn't worried. He's developing a contingency plan to enable his business and 17 employees to stay in the area - maybe even in University Square - because he agrees with Wall: Their block is one of the Valley's hottest locations.

"I can't picture myself or my business anywhere else," Hultquist said.

The concept might not go over as well with everyone in the area. The increasing height of projects planned in Tempe has become controversial with many residents and the FAA. The planned 22 and 30 stories of Centerpoint Condominiums at Sixth Street and Ash Avenue and the proposed 18 stories of the Cosmopolitan building that would go nearby on University Drive serve as examples.

University Square's developers say the 30-story maximum they hope to have approved is a "necessity."

"The height adds to the value," Riggs said.

"It makes sense with the vision of downtown Tempe and growing upward," Wall said. "We're creating the urban environment that's there and growing in Tempe."

The FAA "presumed hazard" designation, though, still looms. In a May 1 decision, the FAA stated that initial findings "indicated that the structure as described exceeds obstruction standards." The final determination is pending a public review that ends July 7.

The project could also encounter other obstacles. Traffic congestion, parking, water and sewer capacity have become hot-button issues for other developments.

And a related article in today's AZ Republic about the University Square Project:

Neighbors want answers to project plan

http://www.azcentral.com/community/t...ea0607Z10.html

Katie Nelson
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 7, 2006 12:00 AM


Traffic congestion and parking were on the top of people's minds Monday night when more than 45 people gathered at Lorenzo's Pizza, Pasta & Café.

The group learned about University Square, a hotel, condo, office and retail megaplex that would take up one of Tempe's city blocks if it gets approved by the city during the next year as they munched on pepperoni pizza at one of the businesses that's on the soon-to-be construction site.

The crowd consisted of mostly area residents, but a few business owners were in attendance. Both groups peppered the developers who plan to build the three-tower project that would reach as high as 30 stories on University Drive, smack between downtown Tempe and Arizona State University.
Traffic congestion and parking were the main concerns, and the only topics that created clear tension.

But building heights, blocked views and construction dates and times were also mentioned as topics neighbors are worrying about as plans for the project are put into place.

"This project is going to greatly impact my life," said Deborah Ryden, 58, who lives in a fourth-floor Orchid House loft that faces what would become the new University Square development.

"I don't think that any of us mind a new development down here. But I think most of the residents here agree we never thought we would see 30-story towers and be surrounded by high-rises," Ryden said.

Complaints from Ryden and many others centered on the impact of more vehicles coming to Tempe's already clogged downtown streets.

"That's why we're here," replied Tony Wall, president of one of the partners developing the project.

The developers and designers hope on-site amenities and workplaces, combined with the coming light-rail lines, would allow people to live without owning a vehicle, or at least reduce the amount of car trips they make.

The skeptics in the crowd, meanwhile, shook their heads.

People also asked if Seventh Street would be widened to accommodate the project's residents, employees and patrons, making the now-mostly quiet road a thoroughfare between Mill and College avenues.

And they wanted to know when the one-story shops currently on the land would be razed, and if rent would go up once the building was built.

Wall and the rest of the team said many of those specifics depend on the city, and answers would evolve in coming months - an answer that created some frustration within the audience.

"It's hard to imagine what this will be like in three years," said Amanda Conti, who was representing the local businesses Liquid Carma and Tattooed Planet. "We don't know what is going on. For us, we're floating until you let us know."

A trio of developers, two of which are from the Valley, is putting the project together. Shea Commercial and 3W Cos. from Scottsdale are working with the California-based Triyar.

Representatives from both Shea and 3W were at the community meeting, as well as two Phoenix-based architects who designed the project.

University Square would consist of a retail and parking on the lower floors with three towers extending upwards, including a 13-floor office building in the shape of an oval, a 26-story condo building along Seventh Street, and a 30-story hotel/condo tower that would be off Myrtle Avenue.

The project is only in the design phases now, said Wall, president of 3W. But the developers this month will begin to seek the needed permits to build.

They said they hope to break ground on the project's first phase a year from now.

Construction, the developers said, could take two to three years.

----------------------------------------------------------

Information from the AZ Republic:

The city's first public hearing for University Square is set for 7 p.m. June 20 before the Redevelopment Review Commission. The meeting will be in the City Council Chambers, 31 E. Fifth St


-Andrew

Edited:

Irrational drunken post.

My apoligies.

^Why do that? That kind of crap isn't allowed here.

"This project is going to greatly impact my life," said Deborah Ryden, 58, who lives in a fourth-floor Orchid House loft that faces what would become the new University Square development.

"I don't think that any of us mind a new development down here. But I think most of the residents here agree we never thought we would see 30-story towers and be surrounded by high-rises," Ryden said.

...LOL "surrounded by high-rises"?!?!?! What is she smokin'? Talk about a sensationalist....

...and talk about the pot calling the kettle black. I mean, it would be one thing for a person to have concerns about building heights in the area. It would be another of the same for someone to build a house next to another house and then complain when somone built another house and blocked their views. But someone who lives in the Orchid house complaining NIMBY style? WTF? She lives in a building that undoubtably raised concerns previously, probably view blocking concerns... now she's complaining about that? I would think anyone who bought into the "urban" lifestyle by buying a loft would not care about stuff like new towers, I'd assume they would promote it. And, it's not like it's directly next door, it's going to be a ways away, certain not blocking any view besides other ASU buildings and maybe a partial view of the Butte/stadium.

Why can't we be at a meeting like this and try to talk some sense into people?

We can be....see the June 20th Redevelopment Review Commission Meeting at 7pm. We can all go there and check it out. Some of us can go up there and tell the residents about what they should expect when living in an urban area. I can understand traffic problems...but blocking views? C'mon.

And John.....that kind of "kidding" is actually a bit offensive, I think you should cut out some of that before the moderators get to you.

-Andrew

^ I'd go, but I don't want to be accused of "nutswinging" or being gay because "I have all the info." Besides, I've got law school class that night....

--don