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Upward May 30, 2006 1:53 AM

Wow, that looks amazing!

loftlovr May 30, 2006 11:37 PM

Wouldn't this be nice!?

loftlovr May 31, 2006 12:39 AM

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.

loftlovr Jun 7, 2006 9:51 AM

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.

Azndragon837 Jun 8, 2006 4:25 AM

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

Vicelord John Jun 8, 2006 4:37 AM

Edited:

Irrational drunken post.

My apoligies.

plinko Jun 8, 2006 4:45 AM

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

PHX31 Jun 8, 2006 5:04 AM

"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?

Azndragon837 Jun 8, 2006 5:09 AM

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

Don B. Jun 8, 2006 6:11 AM

^ 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

Upward Jun 8, 2006 6:41 AM

What's your problem, Vandercook? You're starting to make me glad you didn't join the forum until after I moved out of Phoenix.

You always claim to be joking around, but you "can't shake the devil's hand and say you're only kidding"

kevininlb Jun 8, 2006 2:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHX31
"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?

Message to Deborah: Gurl, puh-lease! :slob:

Don B. Jun 9, 2006 5:25 AM

Tempe has three new skyscrapers proposed:

1. Constellation, 17 stories (200 feet), 322 E. 6th Street (Armory site)
2. Constellation, 20 stories (225 feet), 322 E. 6th Street (Armory site)
3. Suncor Hotel, 14-stories (167 feet), Hayden Ferry Lakeside

http://www.azcentral.com/community/t...ze0608Z10.html

Condo craze just gets crazier as Constellation points to sky
6th St. proposals are 17, 20 stories


Katie Nelson
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 8, 2006 12:00 AM

Developers filed paperwork with the city for yet another high-rise condo complex for downtown Tempe this week, marking the fourth project intended to reach higher than 18 stories. The series of high-rises sprouting within Tempe's core - plus the dozens of other towers being built around Tempe Town Lake and the downtown - point to a concentrated condo craze. Constellation Property Group is the Australian-based company with offices in San Diego that submitted building proposals for 322 E. Sixth St. Right now, the lot contains only a single-story tan warehouse-style building known as the Armory, and is often empty when it's not being used for sporting event parking. Plans show Constellation intends to build 17- and 20-story condo towers at College Avenue and Veterans Way. The 364-unit complex would be at the foot of Tempe Butte, and be nearly as high as nearby Sun Devil Stadium.

The project likely would include commercial and retail space, plus four floors of underground parking with room for 750 vehicles, according to the proposals. Each building would get its own amenities such as swimming and relaxation pools, saunas and cabanas.

"We see there are design-led people who appreciate good architecture there," said Lana Wood, a spokeswoman for Constellation. "What we're bringing will be unlike anything else in the area."

Many of the planned complexes are going after the same crowd: those seeking urban surroundings. And like the others, the site is within walking distance from the planned light-rail station, Mill Avenue and Tempe Town Lake. And, as with other possible projects, the height concerns some.

"On the one hand, I have always felt that for our downtown businesses to be successful as they need to be . . . residential is a key component," Councilwoman Pam Goronkin said.

"On the other hand, height is a concern. It has been for a long time for a number of reasons, not the least of which are sightlines to the amenities which we have like A Mountain, in addition to the fact we have to balance our height so it is not all focused in one place."

The Constellation group, though, said its project will stand out.

"We want something lush and green," Wood said. "That acts as a juxtaposition with the nearby rock formation."

The project's backers include locals, too. The College Avenue Advisors business partnership originally purchased the site. That group includes local lawyer Grady Gammage Jr. College Avenue Advisors in turn paired with Constellation,which is affiliated with Australian architect Eugene Marchese. Both Constellation and Marchese are behind dozens of projects in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, and in Las Vegas, San Diego and Austin, Texas. Marchese and Constellation also have expressed interest in redeveloping Tempe's historical Hayden Flour Mill.

Neighbors can learn more about the Armory site buildings at a neighborhood meeting tentatively scheduled for late this month, although a specific date, time and location have yet to be set. Plans for the project can be viewed at the building site. They will be on display beginning in November.


http://www.azcentral.com/community/t...el0608Z10.html

Developer of Lakeside plans to add hotel-condo

Jahna Berry
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 8, 2006 12:00 AM

Suncor Development Co. plans to add a 14-story hotel-condo project with 183 guestrooms, 40 condos and a restaurant to the cluster of blue buildings the developer is building next to Tempe Town Lake. While the developer has worked hard to keep the details under wraps, a few tidbits about Suncor's hotel project emerged when the Redevelopment Review Commission held a brief public hearing on the proposed project. In the plan, the hotel would sit just south of Suncor's recently completed Edgewater condo tower. The hotel is expected to be 167 feet tall, with basement parking, ground floor lobby and restaurant and hotel guest rooms on eight floors and condominiums on five floors.

Suncor has been reluctant to say much about the project because many would-be hotel developers make announcements that never come to fruition, said Randy Levin, vice president of design and urban infill development at Suncor. Suncor will make an announcement when the financing, the proposed hotel brand and other details are concrete, he added. If the hotel project takes off, it would become part of a flurry of construction at the 17-acre Hayden Ferry Lakeside complex near Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway. Construction crews are building a 12-story office tower, a parking garage for 2,460 cars and a 12-story condo tower called Bridgeview. Eventually, the completed Hayden Ferry project would include three office towers, the hotel, and four luxury condo towers.


--don

combusean Jun 9, 2006 5:58 AM

Good lordy. All this development even after the boom. I'm glad that first wave is gone--let's see if the folks who actually stick around can put these new proposals to concrete.

Azndragon837 Jun 9, 2006 8:09 AM

Here is a related subject from the same page where Don posted the article above:

Tempe's downtown housing looking up

• Hayden Square

Some of the first housing within downtown Tempe.

Number of units: 119.

Highest point: About 50 feet, 4 stories.

Completion date: 1989.


• Orchid House

The first of the upscale condos to come to Tempe's core.

Number of units: 83 units.

Highest point: About 100 feet, 7 stories.

Completion date: 2002.


• Centerpoint Condominiums

A four-tower condo complex in the heart of downtown.

Number of units: More than 800.

Highest point: 343 feet, 30 stories.

Completion date projection: Not available.


• University Square

If approved, would be the largest of the announced condo complexes.

Number of units: About 420.

Highest point: 341 feet, 30 stories.

Completion date projection: 2009.


• Cosmopolitan

Plans to replace Gentle Strength Co-op with a Whole Foods Market.

Number units: 187 units.

Highest point: 238 feet, 18 stories.

Completion date projection: 2009.


• The Armory

The newest proposed condominium project.

Number of units: 364 units.

Highest point: 225 feet, 20 stories. (Two towers: one is 17 stories, the other 20 stories)

Completion date projection: September 2009.

http://www.azcentral.com/homepage_in...8cov-tempe.jpg


Note: Includes projects in the city's core, not those planned around Tempe Town Lake.


-Andrew

Azndragon837 Jun 10, 2006 4:06 AM

Here is a rendering of the Cosmopolitan Building to be built on the NW corner of University and Ash in Tempe. The first floor will include Tempe's first grocery store (I believe a Whole Foods) since the IGA closed years ago at University and Mill. Cosmo is currently going through the development process at Tempe, and a final decision by council will hopefully be in August. A simlar post is in the Phoenix Development Thread along with KML's other project, the KML Gateway Tower. The image is taken directly off of the KML website.

http://www.kmlsw.com/


KML Cosmopolitan (18 stories, 247 feet)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...s/477472e3.jpg

-Andrew

kevininlb Jun 10, 2006 7:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by combusean
Good lordy. All this development even after the boom. I'm glad that first wave is gone--let's see if the folks who actually stick around can put these new proposals to concrete.

I think there's enough momentum in the Phx area for many of these projects to happen. I'll just give a personal anecdote. I am moving to Phx in 2 months -- sort of wish I stuck with my original plan to move to Tempe, but either way, excited! Anyway, I was talking to my realtor yesterday -- he seems to have a good grasp on the market -- and he said he's seeing a new trend in residents moving to the area this year. The investors have mostly stopped coming in and now it's a wave of young, year-round residents, at least according to this one realtor. I hope that's the case. The one aspect of my move that I am most looking forward to is watching Phx/Tempe/etc. grow and prosper over the next few years.

oliveurban Jun 12, 2006 5:44 AM

Hayden Flour Mill moves toward rebirth
by Emilia Arnold
The Business Journal of Phoenix

History and location have made downtown Tempe's vacant Hayden Flour Mill a prime spot for development, and now the city is taking the first steps toward transforming the iconic structure.

Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman said transformation eventually could include redeveloping the mill site into some kind of restaurant and retail theme to go along with the nearby Mill Avenue shopping and entertainment hub. The silos, in particular, he said, likely could become some kind of living space, such as condominiums or a boutique hotel.

Before new development can occur, an extensive study of the site must be completed because of a state law protecting historic burial grounds. Tempe Historical Museum Curator John Akers said the land was inhabited by Indian tribes dating as far back as 1 A.D. In 2005, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community granted the city $1.5 million to study the property, which archaeologists say is a known ancient Indian burial site.

The city hired Archaeological Consulting Services of Tempe to excavate the area. ACS and the city were to hold a public meeting June 8 to give residents an overview of the project, which began last month.

During the recovery phase, archaeologists will excavate what they find at the site, which could range from ancient Indian artifacts to more recent items related to the mill's operation.

"They're looking to us to make sure we preserve anything historically significant," said ACS Principal Investigator Victoria Vargas. Development can't begin until the project is complete, and that could be well over a year, she said.

The original Hayden Flour Mill was built in 1874 by Charles Trumbull Hayden for area farmers who wanted to mill their grain crops. It burned down in 1917 and was rebuilt again in 1918. The Hayden family sold the mill to Bay State Milling in 1981, which continued to produce flour there until closing in 1998. It has sat vacant since then.

These historical aspects have made the flour mill an important landmark to the Tempe community while also posing a question -- how the site should be redeveloped?

Its proximity to Arizona State University, downtown Tempe's Mill Avenue shopping and entertainment district, and the burgeoning Tempe Town Lake area make it a prime piece of real estate.

Initial plans for redevelopment into a residential, commercial and retail space fell through in 2001 when the economy slowed, Hallman said.

"I think the parties have tussled around for the past two and a half years and realized it's not productive to let it sit undeveloped," he said.

The city had sold the property to developer MCW Holdings in 1999 for $11.4 million, but the company defaulted on its payments in July 2003 and the city bought back the property, according to the city attorney's office.

A legal battle ensued in 2004 over the city's rights to repurchase the mill. However, City Attorney Marlene Pontrelli said Tempe now is in the process of settling the lawsuit, and the parties have agreed to resolve the matter amicably.
Hallman said the city has many other issues to overcome in the development of the site, including deed restrictions associated with the land and the lack of modern infrastructure there, such as water lines and an access road.

"I guess the fundamental goal is to make sure the mill and silo buildings are used and remain useful to our community," Hallman said.

It's been more than 15 years since the first proposal for redevelopment was made, but most of the initial proposals involved tearing down the building, he said, adding that's not an option today.

"I don't think this community would abide by that notion now," he said.

wilycoyote24 Jun 12, 2006 6:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camelback_road
The silos, in particular, he said, likely could become some kind of living space, such as condominiums or a boutique hotel.

Before new development can occur, an extensive study of the site must be completed because of a state law protecting historic burial grounds. In 2005, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community granted the city $1.5 million to study the property, which archaeologists say is a known ancient Indian burial site.

I think Stephen King has illustrated to us why this isn't such a good idea. :D

Vicelord John Jun 12, 2006 1:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wilycoyote24
I think Stephen King has illustrated to us why this isn't such a good idea. :D

amen.


and can someone please tell me what the nutty structure is on w. Rio Salado Pkwy is.


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