Interactive Map
 

:D I'm glad everyone likes the interactive map. I thought it was nicely done; so much so that I just e-mailed the Phoenix Copper Square site with a link. They have a nice interactive map of what is already in place in DT Phoenix but nothing like this that shows projects that are under construction or planned. It would be a great resource to have something similar for DT Phoenix. We will see if they take the carrot.

Very very nice. Did anyone notice the ASU Town Lake Property its number 4, before you click to zoom in on downtown. Does anyone have any info on whats going on there?

Way Cooler Than I thought
 

Lordy, Lordy...I just discovered the full power of this interactive map. If you click on the stars or the project name at the top and wait a few seconds it opens up yet another window with detailed maps, project information and renderings!. How friggin awesome is this!!! If I was wearing one, I'd take my hat off to the city of Tempe and whatever IT geek genious came up with this. :worship: :worship: :worship:

http://www.tempe.gov/business/Develo...rojectsMap.htm

Mosaic Mixed-use Project
 

Number 9 on the downtown map is the Mosaic project. It contains a cool, rotating 3-D rendering. I love this project for the University/Ash intersection. It contains a grocery store, restaurant, retail and residential...that's what I'm talkin about when it comes to mixed-use. Well done!

Development Stages Graph & Pier 202
 

http://www.tempe.gov/business/Develo...ts%20Graph.pdf

This graph was just updated and shows the various stages of each Tempe project.

Also, I found a little bit more on the Pier 202 project. The interactive map has a nice overhead plotting but these quasi-renderings give it a little more definition. I like the location abutted to the ASU golf course. I always felt sad about the location of the golf course between the gravel pit of the river bed and the SRP power plant. Its amazing what a little water feature can do :wizard:

[IMG]http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/472...iteplanrx1.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/5...planmasno1.jpg[/IMG]

Gotta love Secret Projects #5 and #16, the conspicuously named "open item".

A previous release of the graph had no #13.

Secrecy to me means the project won't happen, and the back-door dealings in which civic leaders and developers are in close cahoots reek of improprities. I haven't heard a word about a "very real" project that I had to censor myself about a year ago.

I'm a little unimpressed by Pier 202--it seems really sprawled out but perhaps the structures are a lot taller than I'm seeing them to be. Hopefully they phase this one right to get the maximum value of the land.

I think you're misunderstanding the chart. Open item most likely means there are no planned developments, and therefore open item. The city just has the empty parcels listed with any hopes of develpment.

Pier 202
 

Sean,

The image isn't real clear to be able to accurately count floors but the purple towers appear to be about 20 stories. I think that's nice height for this area. Pier 202 is in the design development stage. It will be interesting to see the final design with some nicer renderings. :2cents:

Growth at what price?
 

http://www.statepress.com/issues/2006/11/01/news/698603

The link is to a November 1st article in the ASU Web Devil from the perspective of ASU students, small business and residents. It deals with their concerns and some prognostication about the affect of things to come. Its a fairly long article so I did not copy the text, just the link. It is more of an editorial piece and tempers some of our exhuberance with possible cold realities for others. ... an interesting read. :happysad:

Thanks for the article JiminCal!
I spent two days on the new Tempe interactive site by the way!

I don't think there should be such a worry about gentrification in Tempe.

It's not gonna change so drastically over night...

Besides- Why build a multi million dollar lake if you don't want high rises and nice restaurants and hotels near by?
It will just create more of a mix and help the overall property values!

I agree to a great extent. I think its some NIMBYism coming out :irked: With 50K ASU students at DT Tempe's doorstep, there will be many entrepreneurs to serve them with affordable offerings as well as those that cator to the well-healed masses that will reside @ Centerpoint and other higher-end condo's yet to come. The only thing that really struck me as a legitimate concern was the traffic conjestion. Tempe will need to be very aware of infrastructure required to move people in and out of the area without becoming terribly boggged down at times. The one plus they have is the experience with 70K people converging on Sun Devil Stadium and the traffic control required to move them. It would be great if many of the condo residents actually worked in the area as well. Got to build those mixed use towers!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e7...exterior-1.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e7...cs3/aCEkit.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e7.../aCEstairs.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e7...cs3/aCEliv.jpg

Apache and Rural.
I think it is going to happen. (Not a phony)

^^^You have a link to the website?

Where exactly? What corner?

Supposed to be on the north side of Apache, east of Rural, near where the old Taco Bell and the gas station are. This guy has been in front of the city's design review board a few times now.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/c...e1102z6Z6.html

Tempe seeks way to provide increased affordable housing

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


Apartments, condos, brownstones and single-family homes are all in high demand within Tempe's city limits. It has some of the fastest real estate sales rates in the Valley, statistics show, and they're still increasing.

But as home builders and developers are putting urban housing in place, some city leaders question the cost. They welcome the housing boom, but the possibility of high home prices keeping moderate-income buyers out of the new stock is worrisome.

"As housing costs have gone up, basically people who work here can't afford to live here," said Allen Carlson, the executive director of Newtown Community Development Corporation, which runs affordable housing programs.

"It's progressive that we have a city that is looking at ways to mitigate that to make sure there is housing that's affordable to our workforce - the teachers, the policemen, the firemen, the service workers."

In recent months Tempe has been pushing ways to tackle its need for affordable housing, although some methods are in early stages and may not ultimately be implemented.

The first is formation of a committee that is focused on Tempe's affordable-housing issues. Mayor Hugh Hallman reorganized and reassigned council committees once two new members were elected. Councilwoman Shana Ellis will head the Transportation and Affordable Housing Committee.

Tempe's officials also plan to add an "affordable-housing coordinator" to the city staff by re-labeling a Community Development Department job.

Another strategy involves "in lieu fees," being used by other cities to set a standard for how much a developer contributes to the city's coffers.

The money would be used to buy or invest in affordable housing for people in the low- to moderate-income level range. A developer could also contribute by setting aside a certain amount of home units in its new housing.

Lastly, Tempe is looking at creating a "density bonus program" for the areas near the new light-rail stations.

http://www.azcentral.com/specials/sp...ry0907Z14.html

(Scroll Down a bit)

Mill faces
Unusual faces help make unusual places. Here's a look at one individual who helps shape downtown Tempe.

A big brown building at a key intersection of downtown has been sitting nearly vacant for several years. The Republic talks with owner Don Plato of Scottsdale about why, and what's in its future.

Question: What are your plans for the building on the northeastern corner of Fifth Street and Mill Avenue?

Answer: All this time, I've been talking condo, and I have registered the name Mill Avenue Lofts for that corner. But the politics, the politics. There are certain people who think you shouldn't have height along Mill Avenue, so for that area there can be six stories and nothing more. My original intention was to live there. I was going to live at the top. I just don't want to live in a 6-story building."

Q: So if you can't do condos, what will you use the space for?

A: "I'm a builder. I built Fat Burger and Bamboo Club and Sammy's Woodfired Pizza, and the Slices Pizza building. . . . But now I also do gelato. The Gelato Spot is my new focus. I also want to put one in here. I want to give Cold Stone (Creamery) a run for its money."

^ That would then be, what, the fifth Gelato Spot already? Expansion madness.

$500 million development envisioned for Hayden Mill

William Hermann
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 16, 2006 08:51 AM

Avenue Communities this morning announced it will develop a $500 million retail, office and commercial site on and around historic Hayden Flour Mill in downtown Tempe.

Archaeologists now are unearthing Indian sites in the area - at the foot of Tempe Butte and the north end of Mill Avenue - and nearby canals that were dug by early settlers to find and preserve historic material.

Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman said the city is working closely with Avenue Communities to bring the proposed 580,000 square-foot development to the shores of Tempe Town Lake.

"This project gives voice to our ancient and modern history and connects the lake and all it brings to Tempe with our historic Mill Avenue district," Hallman said. "With this project, we finally create a single, unified whole for the area and for the economy."

But before construction can begin, careful archaeological work must be done to inventory what is on the site.

So far, archaeologist Robert Stokes said, "We know that there was no major Native American village or community on the site - though there were several nearby. We're finding pottery shards, the remains of a jail the early settlers built, and much other early work done in the 1880s through 1950s."

Stokes works for Archaeological Consulting Services, Ltd, of Tempe, and the report he and his colleagues write after their work is done in 2007 will go to Tempe. The city then will work with the developer of the 5-acre site to see to it that important historical material is preserved, Stokes said.

Ken Losch,, principal and partner of Avenue Communities, a Phoenix development company, said preserving history "is a major part of what our development here is all about."

"In fact, this is a difficult site to develop: It's hard to do construction on this hillside and obviously the area is loaded with historic artifacts," Losch said. "But we are going to incorporate the old mill buildings into our buildings: into our Oyster Bar, retail, offices, everything. Nothing important on this site is going away. The historical parts of this site willI be a part of what we're doing."

Losch said before construction can begin, Avenue Communities must acquire the land from Tempe, but Hallman said he expects nothing to stand in the way of the project.

"This is real, it's going to happen, and it's going to be very good for the city," Hallman said.