Tempe Development Thread

[Locofresh55]

Originally Posted by John_Vandercook

Loftlovr and sundevilgrad,

There is a mighty nice theater at Tempe Marketplace. My point about AZ Center was that if you want an "urban" theater, you still have one that is a gazillion times nicer than centerpoint. TM, has that new harkins which kicks ass as well.

If this were a decent theater, I could understand the crying about it closing, but it wasn't, it was a piece of shit! I watched Kicking and Screaming there on a date once and thought I was going to get herpes/hepatitis/everyotherstdknowntoman just by walking in there.

/end rant.

and yeah, I'm an asshole, what of it? I wasn't calling you out, so don't get your panties in a twist. I was simply making a point that why cry about something closing when you have something 100000 times better within 5 minutes?

I think there should be an initiation where you get 5-10 nasty posts from Vandercook and your reaction will determine whether or not you pass. I say let the man be a prick....it keeps us entertained.

[andrewkfromaz]

I don't think losing Centerpoint will be the end of the world. I just hope they tear it down/get working on whatever is going in its place in short order.

Mill Ave. will have a theater again someday, just wait and see. It may not be as convenient as Centerpoint was, but hopefully it'll be a lot nicer.

[loftlovr]

I am open to all arguments and I can see other points of view-

But how much would a decent remodel have cost for that theater?

Tempe Marketplace is very cool (I know I will take heat since it is a suburban idea) but it is damn convenient and has so many cool places and the college students are eating it up.... And yes- the theater there is very nice.

But when I used to live at The Vale in Tempe, my favorite thing to do was to hop over to Mill and walk around, shopping, eating and always ending in a movie. Kind of like the Esplanade theater to the Biltmore area. Convenient.

Now I'd have to go to Tempe Marketplace which requires a drive and a shopping mall like experience. It removes me from the organic Mill Avenue experience.

I will get over it- I just really liked that feature and amenity for Mill.

It looks like most disagree with me but maybe not if you lived within a mile...

[Don B.]

I can see both sides of the argument. I myself have been to Centerpoint a half dozen times and I thought it was a decent movie venue. Not the best, but certainly serviceable, and it helped make DT Tempe walkable. I can certainly see where losing these theaters hurts downtown Tempe.

On the other hand, once Tempe Marketplace was proposed and built, I knew it would be the death knell for Centerpoint. It was too small to economically compete with Marketplace, and Harkins is in the business of making money, not running a charity operation. I wish they would take more chances but perhaps they are missing the boat on this one, and thus leaving an opportunity for someone else more creative to step in.

Certainly, getting in and out of Marketplace is a cakewalk compared to the relative zoo of Mill Avenue. As a commuter student to ASU from 2001 to 2004, I spent way too much time sitting in traffic in Tempe and fighting my way through the narrow congested streets because Tempe is deliberately trying to make it hostile for automobile drivers, not to mention fighting and paying the plethora of parking tickets Tempe issued during my tenure there. I just got back from San Francisco and traffic there makes Tempe look like Apache Junction, so everything is relative, I suppose.

It is what it is, though. Life is too short to dwell on it. Let's move on. Perhaps another theater will come along when Tempe builds up more.

--don

[HooverDam]

I wonder if down the road AMC will attempt to open a theater on/near Mill, I don't think they have a theater anywhere near there.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by HooverDam

I wonder if down the road AMC will attempt to open a theater on/near Mill, I don't think they have a theater anywhere near there.

Wouldn't surprise me. AMC seems more comfortable with urban theaters in which customers park in a garage or on the street -- like its current theaters at Arizona Center and the Esplanade. Harkins, on the other hand, seems to like sprawl and surface parking these days. Besides Arizona Center, the closest AMCs to Tempe are central Mesa (Stapley & US60) and Ahwatukee, so a Tempe site wouldn't compete with existing theaters. If only AMC could match Harkins in terms of customer service, movie selection, and theater cleanliness.

Basically, I see it as the following:

Harkins = good theaters in mediocre locations
AMC = inferior theaters in better locations

[Phoenix22]

When are they building the Le Meridien hotel in Tempe?

[PhxSprawler]

Originally Posted by Phoenix22

When are they building the Le Meridien hotel in Tempe?

I thought it was already under construction, but could be wrong. Their web site claims it opens in August, 2009.

[andrewkfromaz]

[Phoenix22]

Originally Posted by PhxSprawler

I thought it was already under construction, but could be wrong. Their web site claims it opens in August, 2009.

Thanks,

I did not know that was the Meridien building

[tempedude]

Currently...the Bridgewater and the Edgewater along with office tower I and II, and the parking structure with the loft offices are constructed. No signs of the Meridien as of yet. I would have thought that they would have begun construction by now, but have heard nothing about it for awhile.

[wissundevil06]

Saw something new. The inside "inside" of Lumina has been fenced off.

[HX_Guy]

That's horrible about the Harkins on Mill. Really the only time I ever go (went) to Mill was to catch a movie then then walk to one of the nearby restaurants on Mill to grab something to eat and sort of get my "urban" fix. With the theater gone, I don't see going to Mill much if at all anymore.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

That's horrible about the Harkins on Mill. Really the only time I ever go (went) to Mill was to catch a movie then then walk to one of the nearby restaurants on Mill to grab something to eat and sort of get my "urban" fix. With the theater gone, I don't see going to Mill much if at all anymore.

I agree, but one positive note is that Valley Art is still open. In fact, I decided to go to Valley Art this past weekend despite my earlier words about not going out to the movies much anymore. Harkins is at least keeping that theater in good condition.

[azsunsurfer]

Yes it is unfortunate that the theater is gone now but I believe that if a full cineplex returns to Mill in the future it should be like that of what they have done in Hollywood's redevelopment, an archlight, which is a very highend movie theater. I know it is not student friendly but based on the demographics they are trying to lure I think it would work best. Also does anyone know what is going on with Office tower three at hayden?

[Phoenix22]

Originally Posted by tempedude

Currently...the Bridgewater and the Edgewater along with office tower I and II, and the parking structure with the loft offices are constructed. No signs of the Meridien as of yet. I would have thought that they would have begun construction by now, but have heard nothing about it for awhile.

I would have thought so too.
for some resaon Tempe is going so slow on the projects.
I read about a lot of project, but I don't see them except for centerpoint.

I don't know what happen with ONYX tower, the pier 202, and a lot more.

Someone posted a status on those projects last year, and I think that by now, some of them would have been in Construction, but nothing yet, including the Le Meridien

I think Glendale is moving faster, even the dodger stadium spring training facitliy is under construction, very soon it will be Main street, viall villagio, Zanjero district, Westgate is going fast.
and much more

[JAHOPL]

Tempe gives OK for Monti's towers
Garin Groff, Tribune, January 11, 2008

"Tempe finally approved plans for three towers next to the historic Monti's La Casa Vieja on Thursday.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/106338

Graphic: See the location and layout of the building
Video: See a video of the history of Monti's La Casa Vieja in Tempe
View a slideshow of the building

The City Council unanimously approved the 1.1-million-square-foot hotel and condo project following months of controversy and changes to the proposal at Thursday night's meeting.

Tony Wall of Scottsdale-based 3W Companies said he will first build a hotel along Mill Avenue while restoring the historic La Casa Vieja. He said he would later build two condo towers rising 257 feet.

The first version of the plan would have placed a 300-foot tower directly above the historic La Casa Vieja, which triggered preservationists to blast the plan. The adobe structure likely would have crumbled during construction, critics said, or at least be obscured by piers supporting the tower.

Wall then backed the tower away from the adobe structure and won praise from former critics though neighboring landowner US Airways called for a "good neighbor height" of 225 feet. Tempe's elected officials had blasted the airline as a bully for refusing to agree to various concessions offered.

La Casa Vieja was built in 1871 by Tempe founder Charles Trumbull Hayden. The house also served as a general store, boarding house and community gathering place. It's the Valley's oldest continuously occupied building, often called the most significant historic structure in the metropolitan area."

257 feet would be about the same height as the shorter of the two Centerpoint towers.

[desertdj]

Here is the wordy-er version of the story...

High-rise Monti's project unanimously approved
Dianna M. Náñez
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 11, 2008 09:45 AM

Generations of Monti's La Casa Vieja-goers wearing yellow "Save Monti's" stickers on their chests flooded Thursday's Tempe City Council meeting.

The group of about 50 supporters packed council chambers and erupted in emotion when the council unanimously approved redevelopment of the property that includes the historic stucco building that houses the restaurant, making way for three high-rise towers restricted to a maximum height of 257 feet each.

The new construction will be set back from and surround the existing stucco structure.

Michael Monti, flanked by his wife Christen, nearly 1-year-old daughter Sofia and 82-year-old mother Shirley, showed signs of stress after a months-long battle. His eyes welled with tears as he expressed relief following the meeting.

"Every single occasion in my life was in some way celebrated at Monti's - my wife and I were married there," he said. "It's a legacy for my family. I didn't want Monti's to just fade away."

Monti and his business partner Eddie Goitia hope to begin restoration of the original adobe structure and retool the courtyard area for outside dining and music within the next eight months.

The vote put an end to a fierce clash between US Airways and developer Tony Wall of 3W Companies over buildings heights, making way for an approximately 1.1 million-square-foot hotel, condo and commercial project at the intersection of Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway.

Wall said the deal brokered between the parties was "the best thing for Tempe."

"Fifty years from now what's on that corner is going to be the same as what's on that corner today," he said. "The next step is to take our design plans to the Design Review Commission."

Wall said he expected to have plans ready within the next 60 days.

Monti said he and Goitia chose to sell the property to Wall because the developer agreed to preserve the historic structure, which Monti's father Leonard purchased in 1954. Leonard Monti died in 1997.

Monti said the approval of the project provides financial freedom for his and Goitia's families from a waning restaurant market. They will continue to operate the steak house under a lease agreement.

The adobe structure was built as Charles Trumbull Hayden's family home in approximately 1871. It is thought to be the oldest continuously occupied structure the Valley and is the birthplace of former Senator Carl Hayden, according to the Tempe Historical Museum.

The building is a link to the past for many longtime Tempe residents. Councilwoman Shana Ellis told the audience Thursday that she and her sister once worked as waitresses at the restaurant and Mayor Hugh Hallman said his father worked as busboy at the site before the Monti family purchased it.

Some now consider the historic building key to the revitalization of downtown Tempe.

Wall said the lot is a gateway into the Mill Avenue District for people living and working in the new businesses and residential developments on the banks of Town Lake.

The project seemed stalled after a contentious council meeting last month.

US Airways claimed Wall's proposal to erect buildings up to 325 feet tall could jeopardize flight operations. Attorneys for US Airways lobbied the buildings not exceed 225 feet. However, the Federal Aviation Administration wrote a letter stating that buildings up to 300 feet would not pose a threat to aircraft navigation.

A legal protest filed by US Airways last month triggered a super-majority vote requirement at the Dec. 13 council meeting, meaning six of seven council members had to vote in favor of the project in order for it to be approved. Fearing he did not have the votes, the developer asked that the vote be postponed until Thursday's meeting.

Paul Gilbert, an attorney for the developer, said the airlines and his client had met several times since last month's heated row.

When Gilbert went before the council Thursday he said he had the support of US Airways this time.

The deal will allow Wall to erect a 257-foot building; a 252-foot building and a third building that will not exceed 257 feet.

Airlines attorney Stephen Earle donned a "Save Monti's" sticker when he approached the council Thursday. The sticker highlighted the airlines about-face on the project and drew laughter.

Following the meeting, Earle said as a 30-year resident of Tempe he was pleased to see an end to a battle between neighboring local businesses.

"The time we had to work on (the deal) let the parties focus on what they needed, not what they wanted," he said.

Gilbert said Wall gave a number of concessions to see the development approved.

"In my opinion he didn't have to give up what he did, but he did to it to make it a success," he said.

Nobody at the meeting spoke out against the project.

[Phxbyrd211]

I think it's horse crap that the FAA allowed 300' and US Air still tried to block that and force them in 257'. Has the FAA ever been considered a libertarian, free-wheeling institution?

[PhxSprawler]

Originally Posted by Phxbyrd211

I think it's horse crap that the FAA allowed 300' and US Air still tried to block that and force them in 257'. Has the FAA ever been considered a libertarian, free-wheeling institution?

It seems like U.S. Air should have scrapped their plans and built their addition to 301' if they were concerned about aesthetics. I thought their gripe was over the safety of their planes, not a plea for a "good neighbor" policy because they share a city block.