Tempe Development Thread - Page 605

Forrester1998 · #**12081** Posted **Apr 26, 2025, 3:30 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by azsunsurfer

Interesting, I always thought the DRC was the first stop even for rezoning?

Right, the development entitlements always go through DRC and then the full council but there's a number of entitlements that the developer must procure before they file for building permits:

GPA - General Plan Amendment (If development does not match zoning listed in most recent general plan, requires supermajority of council for approval, not required for this project)
Rezoning - Required if development does not match current zoning, often this is required to bring the zoning in line with the general plan because the passage of the general plan itself does not change the zoning.
PAD - Planned Area Development, my understanding is that this establishes the broad guidelines for a development (list of included parcels, allowed density, parking requirements, building height, unit types, etc) would welcome more thorough explanation from anybody who has a better understanding.
DPR - Development Plan Review, this is the finer detailed description of the project upon which building permits applications etc will be based.

So basically in December this project did the rezone and PAD applications because they were trying to get a land sale through by the end of the year and sometimes establishing the PAD is prerequisite to that, but they werent ready for the DPR so they are just getting that through now.

locolife · #**12082** Posted **Apr 26, 2025, 2:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by muertecaza

Sounds like the House of Tricks development has the inside track with city council over the historic preservation board's objections:

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/loc...tricks-historic-church-site/82899665007/

I was worried they'd try to demo the HOT building, glad to hear that's not the plan. Also, the building looks good, less "value engineered" then most. Seems like a solid all-around plan.

locolife · #**12083** Posted **Apr 26, 2025, 2:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by builder03

If you think about it, the side of the building shown in the render will be covered up by the building on the corner of 7th and College, whenever that gets built. I believe the finishes on the north/south side of the building look a little nicer than the east elevation shown in the render. Same deal with the existing Atmosphere tower, the east side of the building is pretty bland. I believe these were designed with the expectation of neighboring towers being built in the future.

That is a very good point.

azsunsurfer · #**12084** Posted **Apr 28, 2025, 7:21 PM**

The Watson Flowers building was finally demolished to make way for that homeless shelter

exit2lef · #**12085** Posted **Apr 28, 2025, 9:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by azsunsurfer

The Watson Flowers building was finally demolished to make way for that homeless shelter

more affordable housing = fewer homeless shelters

azsunsurfer · #**12086** Posted **Apr 29, 2025, 1:14 AM**

If it was up to me I would have preserved that building maybe as a museum vs. the homeless shelter. I wonder if the "world's first car-free subdivision" will eventually have to fortress it up between this and the motel they converted to homeless housing next door.

exit2lef · #**12087** Posted **Apr 29, 2025, 2:27 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by azsunsurfer

If it was up to me I would have preserved that building maybe as a museum vs. the homeless shelter. I wonder if the "world's first car-free subdivision" will eventually have to fortress it up between this and the motel they converted to homeless housing next door.

Sue's Espacio (next door to Culdesac) is a small shelter with 40 rooms. The development planned for the Watson Flowers site is affordable housing.

homeless shelter ≠ affordable housing

As stated before, more affordable housing = fewer homeless shelters

MiEncanto · #**12088** Posted **Apr 29, 2025, 4:01 PM**

The only clear market connection is

more housing = more affordable housing

More affordable housing = less need for transitional housing, supportive housing, etc.

It's difficult to argue that boosting subsidized apartments is going to directly link to a decrease in emergency shelters like what we have at the HSC.

The handful of "affordable housing" units that get built each year are a drop in the ocean. The 10% set aside for "workforce housing" in the newest incentive apartment tower is a joke. These don't have any impact on what's going on at homeless shelters.

We should be making it easier to build housing at all levels, whether it's todays luxury apartments (affordable housing in 20 years!), owner occupied middle housing like condos, townhomes, duplexes, triplexes, etc. And even traditional owner occupied single family helps with affordable apartments because transitioning families who want to move out are currently trapped.

I just saw an article today that the NIMBYs in the historic hoods are pissed people may build middle housing near their properties. This is the behavior that hurts housing. Meanwhile these turds pay half the property taxes as everyone else because of their incentive program. I know they didn't make the law but it grinds my gears that those wealthy enough to live in Palmcroft would have the nerve to pay less in taxes and shut down housing efforts.

Forrester1998 · #**12089** Posted **Apr 29, 2025, 5:15 PM**

Lol, 173 people arrested at the Tempe Tavern for underage drinking during a raid. Can you even actually fit 173 total customers into the Tempe Tavern?

https://ktar.com/arizona-news/173-people-arrested-tempe-underage/5699219/

This news is mostly unrelated to the subject of this thread EXCEPT it's an opportunity to highlight that the NE corner of Apache and McClintock is currently a severely underutilized piece of land that currently does not have any kind of planned development (the SE corner of course has Tempe Metro apartments and the SW/NW corners both have entitled projects though they haven't applied for any build permits or anything yet). The current land uses on the NE corner are a smoke shop, Tempe Tavern (see above ^^), the 2 story Paradise Inn motel, and what I think is a shuttered former sheet metal distributor.

Also, before it was sold and demo'd for the 955 E. University high rise project, Devil's Advocate had a bit of a reputation as an underage drinking bar (I don't have first hand experience w/ that but had heard that both online and from friends during college) and I wonder if some of those people got diverted to Tempe Tavern and that's why suddenly there's complaints.

azsunsurfer · #**12090** Posted **Apr 30, 2025, 3:57 PM**

Tempe fighting!

https://azbex.com/planning-development/tempe-drc-approves-townhome-development/

azsunsurfer · #**12091** Posted **May 1, 2025, 4:42 PM**

What's that tower in the background of the new rendering, "903 S Terrace Rd??"

https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2025/05/01/two-tempe-towers-student-housing-near-asu.html

Forrester1998 · #**12092** Posted **May 1, 2025, 5:22 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by azsunsurfer

What's that tower in the background of the new rendering, "903 S Terrace Rd??"

https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2025/05/01/two-tempe-towers-student-housing-near-asu.html

That's an older proposed project that got its entitlements around ~2017 I think (I could be wrong) I honestly assumed their entitlements had lapsed but yeah it was approved for 22 stories and would be student housing (I forgot the # of units). It was mentioned a lot during the Leo Tempe rezoning request as part of the justification for the height (aka matches surrounding projects) and it seems like the city would still support the project if it ever got back on its feet.

ASU Diablo · #**12093** Posted **May 1, 2025, 5:24 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by azsunsurfer

What's that tower in the background of the new rendering, "903 S Terrace Rd??"

https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2025/05/01/two-tempe-towers-student-housing-near-asu.html

Wasn't this supposed to be another X Tempe project or something?

Additional renderings of The Leo from link above:

azsunsurfer · #**12094** Posted **May 7, 2025, 5:45 PM**

https://tempe.hylandcloud.com/Agendaonli...ket&itemId=0&publishId=0&isSection=false

If you scroll down you'll see the new Marshall phase and honestly it looks better than the one they are putting up on the Apache side!

muertecaza · #**12095** Posted **May 8, 2025, 9:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by azsunsurfer

https://tempe.hylandcloud.com/Agendaonli...ket&itemId=0&publishId=0&isSection=false

If you scroll down you'll see the new Marshall phase and honestly it looks better than the one they are putting up on the Apache side!

Agreed, I like the corrugated metal.

combusean · #**12096** Posted **May 9, 2025, 2:00 AM**

Man, I didn't think they'd go for that kind of height on Spence without having property frontage on Apache. We'll see.

Raymie · #**12097** Posted **May 9, 2025, 6:49 AM**

Heard today that Pita Jungle at University and Mill is closing mid-month and apparently looking for a new location nearby due to high rent. Conveniently, it's been 10 years since their last move, which tells me that they had a reasonable lease and given all the development or changing traffic patterns it's been sent into the stratosphere. Or that the owner is anxious to turn over that corner lot for redevelopment.

exit2lef · #**12098** Posted **May 9, 2025, 12:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raymie

Heard today that Pita Jungle at University and Mill is closing mid-month and apparently looking for a new location nearby due to high rent. Conveniently, it's been 10 years since their last move, which tells me that they had a reasonable lease and given all the development or changing traffic patterns it's been sent into the stratosphere. Or that the owner is anxious to turn over that corner lot for redevelopment.

It's hard to believe it has been a decade. I'm still nostalgic for the restaurant's original location at Apache and Dorsey. That was their sole restaurant in the mid-90s before they became a chain. It would be nice to see taller, denser development at that corner, ideally involving the Jack in the Box site just north of Pita Jungle.

muertecaza · #**12099** Posted **May 9, 2025, 4:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by exit2lef

It's hard to believe it has been a decade. I'm still nostalgic for the restaurant's original location at Apache and Dorsey. That was their sole restaurant in the mid-90s before they became a chain. It would be nice to see taller, denser development at that corner, ideally involving the Jack in the Box site just north of Pita Jungle.

There was nothing quite like a Stinkweeds/Pita Jungle weekend run.

combusean · #**12100** Posted **May 9, 2025, 7:34 PM**

I was poking around and I noticed that the Marshall Phase I bought that hotel for $10 million/acre.

To put that into perspective, the 3 story apartments next door only built in 1987 and are perfectly serviceable could sell for double the 2020 purchase price and redevelopment might still pencil out.

I was under the impression that newer structures like that would be around for a while but that's not necessarily the case. Land seems to really be that valuable in North Tempe.