Tempe Development Thread

[PhxSprawler]

Originally Posted by Phxbyrd211

I'll never understand why ASU has to do everything in such large scale. They seem to have put the honors college as a top priority for instance. I say why not just build a 5,000 student residential college somewhere else in the state rather than jam everything into Tempe? True they are doing that somewhat DT but I think Phoenix and UA took the primary lead there and Crow is reaping the rewards. They should cap the full-time enrollment at ASU and UA and then just begin to accomidate everyone else depending on the part of the state they live or wish to move to?

So much to catch up on after being busy for a week. I see what you are saying, but I think there is room for both a 5000 person college AND the super dense ASU campus with an urban feel. For the social aspect, the overcrowding is quite welcoming, and the taller, denser buildings create a more sustainable environment versus a decentralized campus. Besides, density is what this site is all about!

[Don B.]

This is the image/map shawneriksmith was trying to show:



--don

[Phxbyrd211]

Sprawler,

How do you have the 5,000 student honors college in the middle of the 50,000 student ASU and have it feel like a distinct seperate institution? Secondly, a huge state school is good socially in some ways but also bad in some ways where a medium sized school would be better. It all comes down to location. The University of Chicago is not very big but their students have as many social options as they could ever want.

As to the soccer stadium, I prefer the Tempe location to the Mesa one if it can't be in central Phoenix. At least it would be somewhere people could take the train to and walk when the weather was nice. Thank goodness for instance that the waveyard is in western Mesa and not somewhere further out.

[tempedude]

^^^The honors college dorms and classrooms are going to be clustered together on the southeast side of the campus, so it will in a way be separated a little from the rest of the campus but still connected. What ASU is doing here is the first of its kind in the nation. That is having a campus within a campus. Its a cool concept. I like it.

[Phxbyrd211]

I think this is a better direction Arizona should go:


Miami University is a selective coeducational nonsectarian public university founded in 1809 in the university town of Oxford, Ohio with its primary focus on educating undergraduates[4][5] It is one of the original eight Public Ivys listed by Richard Moll in 1985.

Miami University is reputed to be one of the most beautiful university campuses in North America[citation needed] The campus features modified neo-Georgian red brick buildings on an open, tree-shaded campus void of high rise skyscraper dormitories. Robert Frost once declared Miami the "prettiest campus that ever there was."[

Miami graduated an American President, Benjamin Harrison, putting it in a prestigious category of a league of Presidential alma maters. Miami is only one of four colleges (Stanford, Michigan, and the U.S. Naval Academy) to produce both a U.S. President and a Super Bowl winning quarterback (Ben Roethlisberger). It is also the alma mater of many U.S. Senators, U.S. Representatives, U.S. military leaders, Ohio Governors and Fortune 500 business executives.
Miami is also famous for its School of Education, the McGuffey School, named for Professor William Holmes McGuffey, who taught there and wrote America's most widely used pioneer text books - the McGuffey Readers - while at the school.

The rural Oxford campus with Georgian architecture is considered to be similar to Thomas Jefferson's University of Virginia campus and one of the most beautiful in the U.S;

Miami University is known around the Greek World for the Miami Triad, three fraternities founded in the 19th century that spread throughout the United States, and is called "Mother of Fraternities." These were Beta Theta Pi (1839), Sigma Chi (1855), and Phi Delta Theta (1848). The Delta Zeta sorority was also founded at Miami University in 1902 as was the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity in 1906. Alpha Delta Phi was the first fraternity to arrive on campus in 1833.

In 2004, the Oxford campus theoretically abolished tuition differentials between state residents and nonresidents (all Ohio residents receive an automatic scholarship). This effort was undertaken to make Miami more affordable to moderate-income families in Ohio by giving the university more flexibility in the disbursement of state funds. As of the 2004–05 academic year, all students pay tuition of over $19,000 per year; Ohio resident scholarships are $10,000 or more depending upon financial need, extraordinary ability, talent in mathematics or science, or declared interest in teaching.
The Fiske Guide To Colleges rates Miami with 4.5 stars out of a possible 5 and cites it as a "rising star among state universities."[citation needed] In 2006, Kiplinger ranked Miami 38th among all American public four-year universities for "top flight academics and affordable costs," the top ranking of an Ohio college. In 2003, The Wall Street Journal named Miami a "feeder school" and ranked it 22nd among public universities in their article titled "Want to go to Harvard Law?"[11]

A July 2006 New York Times article cited Miami University as a "hidden gem" stating the "focus is truly on educating undergraduates. This is a medium-size institution with the advantages that confers but it still has the feel of a small liberal arts college."[12] The Kaplan-Newsweek College Catalog calls Miami a "hidden treasure-terrific schools that deserve more national attention".

A 2004 article from The Education Trust, a non-profit program of the American Association for Higher Education, praised Miami University for its statistically superior graduation rates among both its student body and student athletes.

The Fiske Guide To Colleges rates Miami with 4.5 stars out of a possible 5 and cites it as a "rising star among state universities."[citation needed] In 2006, Kiplinger ranked Miami 38th among all American public four-year universities for "top flight academics and affordable costs," the top ranking of an Ohio college. In 2003, The Wall Street Journal named Miami a "feeder school" and ranked it 22nd among public universities in their article titled "Want to go to Harvard Law?"[11]

A July 2006 New York Times article cited Miami University as a "hidden gem" stating the "focus is truly on educating undergraduates. This is a medium-size institution with the advantages that confers but it still has the feel of a small liberal arts college."[12] The Kaplan-Newsweek College Catalog calls Miami a "hidden treasure-terrific schools that deserve more national attention".

[JimInCal]

Here is a rendering I found of the street level detail on the Monti's project. I believe we have since heard that the building shown over the historic Monti's building will be placed behind it and not on top. I think that's a very good thing as the low, historic structure gets completely overwhelmed by the modern additions in this version.

It's too bad that arguably the most important historic structure in the Phoenix area is so plain and uninteresting in its architecture. It looks like an early version of the stucco strip mall.

[flyer84]

Can't see the photo??

[loftlovr]

JiminCal- where did you find that?
I may get shot- but I kinda like it....
They even gave it a big sign atop the addition.
Still- it sure dominates Montis!
Worse than I could have ever imagined....
But the rest of the design seems nice-
I hope the design stays the same but set back behind Montis.

[JimInCal]

loftlovr, I racked my brain but I find more and more that I purge all non-essential data to make room in my dwindling memory banks. I forgot to cite my source and now it's gone forever. See what you have to look forward to post 40 It is a cool rendering though; very dense looking.

[andrewkfromaz]

I think the vision the owner has for Monti's itself is a strong one: tear down the parts of the building that aren't even close to original, making the business smaller but more cohesive and intimate. As for the placement of the new buildings, I think that not building over Monti's creates more challenges for good urban design (activated street frontage, building set close to the street, human scale heights of no more than four stories within about 20 feet from the sidewalk, etc.)

[Phxbyrd211]

Yes the rendering is massive but when you look closely there's Montis right there where it always was. It almost appears very protected and put on a grand stage and highlighted. I bet visitors and new arrivals would buy the resturante as truly upscale steakhouse now that it isn't qhite so hokey. This would make that corner really start to jump.

[JI5]

They should have allowed that. It looks amazing! Arizona is dumb.

Random Question - Does anybody know what happened to the plan to have lasers over tempe marketplace? Woulda looked good...

[desertdj]

I have been wondering about those lasers too. When I went there last the day after Thanksgiving, I also noticed dozens of palm trees all over the place were cut down? What a waste of money, hopefully they had a warranty on it!

Originally Posted by JI5

They should have allowed that. It looks amazing! Arizona is dumb.

Random Question - Does anybody know what happened to the plan to have lasers over tempe marketplace? Woulda looked good...

[HooverDam]

Originally Posted by JI5

They should have allowed that. It looks amazing! Arizona is dumb.

Random Question - Does anybody know what happened to the plan to have lasers over tempe marketplace? Woulda looked good...

Probably the same thing that happened to the lasers at Patriots Square Park, someone realized it was dumb.

[desertdj]

http://www.azcentral.com/community/tempe/articles/1205tr-circle1206.html
Downtown Tempe could get its own Dupont Circle

Katie Nelson
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 5, 2007 12:12 PM

Downtown Tempe could get a striking focal point linking downtown Tempe to Town Lake.

One of the area's business groups unveiled a plan this week to "create the most interesting intersection in the state of Arizona" at Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway.

Pam Goronkin, Downtown Tempe Community Inc. director, didn't lay out specifics on how the intersection could change, but instead hawked the overall concept at the group's board meeting





A dramatic entrance into downtown Tempe is necessary, she said, to properly connect the Tempe Beach Park recreation and event area with the rest of downtown. The project would take advantage of three major building projects: Hayden Ferry Lakeside, the renovation and redevelopment of the Hayden Flour Mill and Monti's La Casa Vieja.

The goal would be to create a prominent landmark that celebrates Tempe's history and establishes a focal point that gives a "sense of arrival," Goronkin said

Early sketches she used to sell the DTC board on the idea showed a dramatic traffic circle with a statue, LCD light-lit date palms and wide cobblestone walkways. It was reminiscent of Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C. or Columbus Circle in New York City.

The ultimate product may not be a traffic circle though, considering several board members were critical of the concept because of its potential impact on traffic. ASU leader Virgil Renzulli, architect Stu Siefer, attorney Grady Gammage and attorney Charles Huellmantel were among those who conveyed that sentiment - yet ultimately, the board unanimously approved backing the project.

Funding hasn't been identified, said DTC Chairman Darwyn Harp, and the group didn't specify a timeline for when the project would happen.

The Rio Salado Parkway-Mill Avenue intersection has been hot Valleywide lately: More than 1,000 real instate industry insiders attending an Urban Land Institute meeting in September voted it the third "hottest" intersection in the Valley.

The intersection of 24th Street and Camelback Road in Phoenix was ranked first. The Scottsdale and Camelback roads intersection in Scottsdale came in at No. 2. The seven other intersections weren't ranked in any particular order, but Tempe's Priest Drive and Warner Road intersection were among them.


with the way traffic backs up on mill going south I dont know how a traffic circle would work but im not a traffic engineer so im sure they can figure it out.

[Phxbyrd211]

I think the traffic circle would eliminate the light and instead there would be yeild signs in the four directions. I'm not sure what the effect would be but someone must.

[andrewkfromaz]

Sounds like a bad idea to me. What about the impact for pedestrians? There are people who walk (more often jog) north of Rio Salado. Traffic circles aren't ideal places for pedestrians - they're harder to see and have more driving area to cross. I think the intersection is fine, when it gets built up, it will look like the "3rd hottest in the Valley."

[HooverDam]

I'd have to see a rendering to know if I'd support the circle idea or not, but I like the general idea. At least it shows our Valley is finally thinking about stuff like this. Right now the lake and Tempe Beach Park and the Hayden Ferry Lakeside development feel very cut off from ASU/Downtown Tempe- Mill Ave. A dramatic entrance that connects all these areas better would be a welcome treat in my estimation.

Originally Posted by NIXPHX77

and statuary at each of 3 corners or sides dedicated to Theodore, Franklin, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

meh, I could see something for Teddy, since the dam has relation to him, but the other two didn't have much of an impact (that I know of anyhow) on the Valley. Unless you want to include FDRs New Deal projects, but those aren't really specific to Valley history. I wish the Valley would promote its heritage more, I'm the only person I know (in "real life" ) who even knows who Jack Swilling is, and I find that depressing.

[NIXPHX77]

a monumental intersection sounds great, and that is a wonderful
location. we need this and more of them valleywide, esp. in popular urban districts (i.e. Roosevelt at 3rd St/4th st.; central and camelback;
central at mcdowell, etc.)

i always imagined a great public square intersection at Central and Roosevelt, one which would include a fountain(s) and statuary at each of 3 corners or sides dedicated to Theodore, Franklin, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

[wissundevil06]

What are the possibilities that they could remove the bike lane and metered parking on Mill ave. and make it two lanes? People can ride their bikes on the sidewalks, so I don't see that being a problem.