Tempe Development Thread

[HX_Guy]

Business Journal has the story too...

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2011/02/18/deal-for-centerpoint-condos-finally.html

[ciweiss]

I walked by Mill and 3rd today and they are working on the old Mills end place. They are doing some heavy renovations. I asked the worker what was going in and he mentioned Encounters? (Orange N) and they will be serving coffee/bagels so it sounds pretty Mills Endish... which is good. It will be interesting to see how they do. There are more lightrail riders so hopefully that will help with the station right there. Between this and the old Centerpoint buildings it has been a good week for Mill.

[dtnphx]

Centerpoint project sold; summer debut planned
Tempe towers were plagued by setbacks
by Russ Wiles, The Arizona Republic

The delay-plagued Centerpoint residential complex has been sold, with the buyer pledging to immediately resume construction on the two luxury high-rise buildings, convert them to apartments and complete the project so that tenants can start moving in beginning in late summer.

Zaremba Group, a Cleveland-based developer, paid $30 million for the project in a deal with ML Manager LLC of Peoria that closed Friday. Zaremba will give the project a new name, West Sixth, to reflect its location just west of downtown Tempe.

ML Manager is the successor to initial lender Mortgages Ltd., which had extended $135 million in financing on the project. ML Manager was formed to dispose of and maximize the revenue potential from bankrupt Mortgages Ltd.'s remaining assets.

Zaremba had announced plans to buy the project last year but backed out over legal issues focused around liens placed on the property by unpaid contractors.

The twin high-rise project at 111 W. Sixth St. broke ground in 2005, with developer Tempe Land Co. intending it as a high-end condominium complex featuring an upscale retail plaza, restaurants and a winery. When the developer defaulted, the project was taken over by ML Manager LLC and lingered in an incomplete phase, with nearby businesses and residents complaining that it had become an eyesore.

The property failed to sell at a foreclosure auction in April.

The project consists of 22-story and 30-story high rises. Phase I, focusing on the 22-story building, will be ready for occupancy by Aug. 1 and include mixed-use retail and restaurant space on the ground floor.

Phase II, the 30-story residential tower, will be completed by December, Zaremba said. In total, the buildings will incorporate 375 apartments, which is also the number of condominiums that were originally anticipated.

The West Sixth development will feature amenities such as a 9,000-square-foot fitness facility with a yoga studio, tanning beds and lounge. The complex's resort-style pool area will feature cabanas, fire pits and barbecues.

Apartment rental rates haven't been announced.

"West Sixth offers unmatched amenities and will be the pinnacle for urban lifestyle," said Kent Chantung, director of residential development for Zaremba Group, in a statement.

Zaremba, which manages three other properties in the Valley, specializes in stabilizing distressed housing developments.

"West Sixth represents a significant contribution to growth and construction for the Valley and will expand Tempe's standing as a significant metropolitan destination," Chantung said.

Zaremba is a third-generation family business that started as a home-remodeling business in 1920.

----------------------------------------

I like the idea that they've changed the name. Gives it a fresh start.

[phoenixheadphones]

I guess that American Appeal on Mill closed, which I mostly don't care about, but it sucks that they stucco'd over the old Tempe National Bank building and then left a few years later. The building was an Egyptian Revival style, which is very rare for Phoenix.

I guess AA is struggling lately and closing a lot of stores ( not enough call for vnecks and tights i guess..) but its not great for mill. I do think way overblow the "Mill Ave. is dying" thing, because new places always come in an replace the old, and i actually think its the street is getting better. Z Gallery goes so we get Magic Mushroom, Pizza Uno goes we get Sushi, plus that new Fixx coffee shop is pretty awesome. Sure borders is gone, but they all are now.


http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/jackalope/2011/02/american_apparel_closes_on_mil.php

[Vicelord John]

The year of the deep V is over, and only androgenous teenagers can wear their clothes anyway.

[phoenixheadphones]

Originally Posted by Vicelord John

The year of the deep V is over, and only androgenous teenagers can wear their clothes anyway.

haha- and i for one, welcome this new deep V-free world

[PHX31]

Originally Posted by phoenixheadphones

I guess that American Appeal on Mill closed, which I mostly don't care about, but it sucks that they stucco'd over the old Tempe National Bank building and then left a few years later. The building was an Egyptian Revival style, which is very rare for Phoenix.

I don't remember this building... do you have a picture of it before the "renovation", showing the Egyptian Revival style?

[phoenixheadphones]

Originally Posted by PHX31

I don't remember this building... do you have a picture of it before the "renovation", showing the Egyptian Revival style?

http://www.tempe.gov/historicpres/TempeNationalBankBuilding.html

These give a fairly good idea, though the pictures arent very detailed. I know i've seen some better photos, but i'll have to track them down.

[Vicelord John]

wow what a shame. Maybe they'll do like that building on Van Buren and Central and eventually pull the stucco off of the facade.

[PHX31]

Interesting... they sure didn't do the building any favors. They enclosed the columns/overhang and made it part of the interior.

That is (was) a cool old building. The Phoenix area has a ton of buildings that need facade restoration.

[phoenixheadphones]

Yeah hopefully someone gets that stucco off of there, but Tempe never should have let them do that in the first place. Of course, that could be said of a lot of things around town.
But it really was an interesting building. That postcard photo kind of shows some detail, with the little Egyptian-style column and the design along the roof.

[PHX31]

/\ Yeah, looks like it had some nice details. At least the sign/placard "The Tempe National Bank" still remains.

[Jsmscaleros]

Lots of new info on the Tempe modern streetcar system is available here:

http://www.sofa-connect.org/connected/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9&p=38#p38

You can also check updates on Valley Metro's website: http://www.valleymetro.org/metro_light_rail/future_extensions/tempe/

[ciweiss]

I noticed today at the Tempe town lake dam there appears to be new footing for the bridge that will go over the dam. Or at least it looks like it could be a bridge footings...
They have also paved a road that goes down to the dam.

[[email protected]]

University Square Proposal^^



The Armory Proposal^^





100 Mill Avenue Proposal^^

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/9373116.jpg

Farmers Art District & the Mosaic Proposal ^^




Does anybody know whats going on with these projects?

[HooverDam]

Originally Posted by [email protected]

Does anybody know whats going on with these projects?

All of them are long dead along with dozens of other projects Downtown, Midtown, Uptown, Camelback Corridor, Scottsdale, Glendale, Chandler, et cetera.

The Valley got an unfortunate late jump on the last high rise boom, we always unfortunately seem to due to overly conservative developers. By the time the market crashed, we hadn't gotten much built.

[ciweiss]

^^^^^^^^

Good question. In other news the below article talks about some different companies moving into Hayden Ferry Lakeside II. That is good news. I also noticed today when I walked by the old Mills End place that the new place has brought some of the inside walls down so the new place should have a totally new look. In other news there is still a ton of vacancies in DTown Tempe. Dunkin Donuts moved out I thought for sure that would make it with all the college kids nearby - as well as nearby businesses. Are people trying to be healthy all of a sudden or maybe just no money for donuts...

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articl...ft-moving-office-from-phoenix-tempe.html


Microsoft has opened an office at Tempe Town Lake.

The company has taken the top floor of Hayden Ferry Lakeside II, the 12-story building at 60 E. Rio Salado Parkway.

About 150 sales, marketing and service employees have moved from Phoenix Plaza, at 2929 N. Central Ave., into 23,535 square feet in Tempe, 1,500 square feet larger than their Phoenix space.

Four other tenants recently signed leases for the building as well. Details aren't being disclosed, but Bryan Taute, senior vice president of CB Richard Ellis, indicated that the soft commercial market helped promote the deals.

The tenants wanted to upgrade their facilities, and they took advantage of landlord willingness to negotiate.

"Even though, for example, Microsoft probably could have renewed for less than they're paying at the new facility, it's less than they were probably previously paying," Taute said.

"It was an opportunity to take advantage of the market and upgrade their facilities. That's probably true for all tenants."

The four other recent leases:

- Citrix Online, subsidiary of Citrix Systems of Goleta, Calif., will occupy 19,919 square feet and will expand its space when it moves in May from Fountainhead Corporate Center. Citrix Online provides the Web conferencing tool Go To Meeting, among other products.

- The New York-based Guardian Life Insurance Co. moved its sales office in November from Airport Technology Center, at 44th and Van Buren streets in Phoenix. It took 8,092 square feet.

- Financial advisers Ronald Blue & Co. of Roswell, Ga., located from Mesa Financial Plaza in December. It occupies 7,842 square feet.

- Solium Capital LLC moved its U.S. headquarters from Southfield, Mich., in August into 6,740 square feet in Tempe. Solium Capital provides software for stock-plan administration.

The building's occupancy stands at more than 90 percent.

The building's owner, New York-based Sumitomo Corp. of America, was represented in the deals by Taute and Brad Anderson, also of CBRE.

Hayden Ferry Lakeside II is part of a mixed-use project of 1.6 million square feet of office, retail and residential condos. Built in 2007, the building was awarded the Energy Star label in 2010 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for operating efficiency



Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/business/articl...ce-from-phoenix-tempe.html#ixzz1FnBdJqfg

[[email protected]]

Originally Posted by HooverDam

All of them are long dead along with dozens of other projects Downtown, Midtown, Uptown, Camelback Corridor, Scottsdale, Glendale, Chandler, et cetera.

The Valley got an unfortunate late jump on the last high rise boom, we always unfortunately seem to due to overly conservative developers. By the time the market crashed, we hadn't gotten much built.

damm that sucks :/ those would of been better then ANY building in downtown Phoenix. Oh well maybe they will come back later?

[Tempe_Duck]

Does anybody know what is going on at the Newman Center. I walked by there today and everything except the church it self was torn down or in the process of. I didn't see any permit signs for future development. I know they had plans for a dorm or student housing at one point before the market collapse. I figured that it was dead. Is it being build now or something completely different?

[MegaBass]

Originally Posted by Tempe_Duck

Does anybody know what is going on at the Newman Center. I walked by there today and everything except the church it self was torn down or in the process of. I didn't see any permit signs for future development. I know they had plans for a dorm or student housing at one point before the market collapse. I figured that it was dead. Is it being build now or something completely different?

From their site:

http://www.asucatholic.org/support_bldg_update.php

This weekend’s “Mass of Thanksgiving” marks the beginning of the “demolition phase”. Early this week you will see a fence go up and the “Center” will officially close. The Newman offices will also begin the move into our temporary offices at 715 E 7th St. (brown building to the west - about 50 yards away). Please bear with us as business activities will be somewhat limited for a couple of days.

Schedule:
Feb. 26 “Mass of Thanksgiving”
Feb. 28th Move Offices
March 1 – 8 Removal of asbestos (ceiling and floor tile).
March 8 – 18th Building Demolition
March 21st Construction expected to start