[ASU Diablo]

Sounds like some decent height might be going up on the SEC of 3rd & Van Buren St, north of St Mary's Basilica (current parking lot). Was originally supposed to be 2 floors but now is considered "major".

https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2024/10/02/major-project-phoenix-catholic-diocese.html

As the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix celebrated a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday for its third seminary house in downtown Phoenix, there were hints of more real estate projects to come.

For the past year, the diocese has been expanding its seminary school in Phoenix so that seminarians — students who are studying to become priests — never have to leave the state again to achieve that goal.

On Oct. 1, the diocese opened St. Mary's House on the campus of the historic St. Mary's Basilica in downtown Phoenix.

A 75-year-old structure that served as a former friary at the church was retrofitted to house 20 men in their philosophy year. The project was financed by an undisclosed donation from the Diane & Bruce Halle Foundation.

This year, there are a record 50 seminarians studying to be priests in the Diocese of Phoenix's Nazareth Seminary program. St. Joseph's House will be the fourth and final house expected to open in fall 2026 for men in their final year of study, known as their theology year, before they are eventually ordained as priests in 2030.

Meanwhile, Father John Muir, the vicar general for the diocese and the pastor of St. Mary's Basilica, said another multimillion-dollar real estate project is in the works to build a center that will be used for meetings, fellowship and education.

It also will include a mental health ministry space, a coffee and gift shop, among other amenities to serve the downtown Phoenix community and the young adults from nearby universities. A structure would be built on the north side of the Basilica, and a bit east into the grassy area of the campus at 5th and Van Buren streets. Originally, the building was envisioned to have two floors on a relatively small footprint, said Muir. There's enough room for a 20,000-square-foot foundation, he added, but he said the exact number of floors isn't yet decided. Once the concept is finalized, the project would be taken to the city for zoning approval, he said. If approved, Muir said he would like to see construction start by fall 2025 and be finished within eight to 12 months from the start of construction.

"A lot of things have to go right to make that happen," he said.

An grant from the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust will help pay for project. Muir would not disclose the amount, but said it was "very generous."