Tempe Development Thread

[Tempe_Duck]

Originally Posted by MegaBass

I a little disappointed that they're backing off from their 2005 plan for a Packard North Parking Structure. I do like though the idea of having those ads and I recall mentioning that they should do something similar to that Legends project in Downtown to better promote events and what not.

If we are going to believe that Rio Salado project website that was posted a while ago, that entire area will be dense buildings sooner or later.

[AJphx]

Originally Posted by Leo the Dog

I don't fully understand the technology

Well it actually looks like it is simply solar panels on a holding structure above the parking lot.

Most of the parking structures have solar panels on them now. However there are a couple that don't, including the one by the light rail station and the one behind the lds building. I'm actually surprised because they are putting panels on regular buildings now... but I would have thought it would be easiest to put panels on all of the garages first. I mean they are completely open on the top, nothing to block the sun, and provide shade for the top level.

[nickkoto]

Originally Posted by MegaBass

I a little disappointed that they're backing off from their 2005 plan for a Packard North Parking Structure.

Aside from a few football game days a year, it would be empty (just like the existing Packard structure mostly is). There are virtually zero classrooms north of University and for most students/faculty there couldn't be a less convenient location on campus to park.

The only reason anyone even parks in Lot 59 is because the permit is 1/4 the price of the more desirable permits, and it's the only lot on the Tempe campus where Downtown/West/Poly permits are honored.

[MegaBass]

Originally Posted by nickkoto

Aside from a few football game days a year, it would be empty (just like the existing Packard structure mostly is). There are virtually zero classrooms north of University and for most students/faculty there couldn't be a less convenient location on campus to park.

The only reason anyone even parks in Lot 59 is because the permit is 1/4 the price of the more desirable permits, and it's the only lot on the Tempe campus where Downtown/West/Poly permits are honored.

Well if and when ASU/Tempe starts that Rio Salado Project on Lot 59 North then there goes X amount of spots available to students.

[HooverDam]

ASU-Cubs partnership makes sense, mayors say

23 comments by Gary Nelson - Aug. 4, 2011 12:31 PM
The Arizona Republic

When you haven't won a World Series in 103 years, maybe the next step is a deal with the Devils.

OK, sharing their new stadium in Mesa with Arizona State University might not directly help the Chicago Cubs break their epic drought. But it could help enliven the Wrigleyville entertainment district that is supposed to turn the stadium into something more than just another spring-training venue and help the Cubs generate new revenue.

And in baseball, revenue often adds up to wins. Just ask the Yankees.


A possible Cubs-Sun Devil partnership was broached this week in a letter ASU Athletic Director Lisa Love sent to baseball season-ticket holders. ASU would practice and play rent-free in the stadium, which will be built on the site of Riverview Golf Course.

That's about 2 1/2 miles east of Packard Stadium, where ASU has been playing since 1974. Although Packard was renovated in 2003, ASU hasn't won a national baseball title in 30 years.

Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman said a Cubs-ASU partnership would benefit both his city and Mesa.

"We have been working together to create better synergy" along the Rio Salado Parkway-Eighth Street corridor, stretching from downtown Tempe to Mesa's Riverview shopping district, Hallman said. Tempe wants Mesa to help establish a streetcar line along that route.

Beyond that, Hallman said moving ASU's baseball team from Packard Stadium will allow the university to redevelop the site on the southwestern corner of Rural Road and Rio Salado near Tempe Town Lake.

Packard Stadium, he said, "needs to be rehabilitated significantly," and moving the baseball team to Mesa would spare the expense of a renovation or new stadium.

In her letter, Love alluded to those same motivations.

"This partnership could save Arizona State University Athletics a considerable sum of money," she wrote.

The cost would be $2 million compared with $20 million to $25 million to rebuild Packard Stadium, according to Virgil Renzulli, ASU vice president for public affairs.

Packard sits between Sun Devil Stadium and ASU's Karsten Golf Course. ASU is looking into redeveloping the course as commercial property and using the development fees to replace its 53-year-old football stadium.

Mesa Mayor Scott Smith said the Cubs-ASU idea "fits in perfectly with what we're trying to accomplish in Wrigleyville. I think it has the potential to be a pretty spectacular experience."

Smith is visiting Chicago this week on a personal vacation and planned to meet Cubs officials there for an update on stadium plans. In November, Mesa voters approved spending up to $84 million for baseball facilities and $15 million for infrastructure to help the team move to Riverview, which has room for business opportunities the Cubs can't develop at landlocked Hohokam Stadium. Mesa and the Cubs are still hashing out details of a final development agreement in hopes of breaking ground this year. The Cubs are to begin playing there in 2014 and so could ASU.

Robert Brinton, president of the Mesa Convention and Visitors Bureau, also sees an economic upside to an ASU-Cubs deal.

"This creates more user days from a standpoint of how often the facility is occupied," Brinton said. "I think that's a very helpful thing when we look at the potential of Wrigleyville and the needs of Wrigleyville to have activities going on here."

It wouldn't be unprecedented for ASU to play in a Cubs facility. The Sun Devils played at Hohokam Stadium in 2002 because of the previous Packard renovation.

Cubs vice president Mike Lufrano declined to comment on the status of negotiations with ASU.



Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/...akes-sense-mayors-say.html#ixzz1UA3cYDQT

Love the idea of a Modern Streetcar along that corridor. I actually think down the line it could be done in a way to connect Phx Muni, Downtown Tempe, Riverview and maybe into Downtown Mesa.

[Leo the Dog]

^^Street car makes sense along that corridor to me too.

[DaveInTHX]

Re the Street Car down Rio Salado, I was thinking that same thing.... how cool would that be? Mill Ave, Tempe Marketplace, Cubs / ASU games... all within very easy reach of each other.

[TempeSilverFox]

NCounter at Mill and Third opened on Saturday. Went there this morning for breakfast and loved it. The concept, design and layout of the restaurant fosters interaction between patrons as well as with the staff. The food was great, the atmosphere was upbeat, friendly and trendy. Check it out!

[ciweiss]

http://www.azcentral.com/business/reales...mpe-arizona-get-apartment-complexes.html

Two new apartment complexes are on tap for the East Valley, including a Tempe project that developers say is the largest of its kind in the Valley in more than two years.

Work on the $29 million San Marquis Apartments, at Baseline and Rural roads, is under way and set for completion in late 2012. It will have 224 units.

It's a venture of Kitchell Development and Mark-Taylor, two firms with development and property-management experience.


The two companies also plan to break ground soon on a second and larger project, the 383-unit Parcland Crossing luxury apartment community at Loop 202 and Alma School Road in Chandler. That venture, with an estimated cost of $44 million, also is slated for completion late next year.

"We see multifamily as a key growth sector over the next several years," said Ryan Cochran, Kitchell's director of development, in a statement. "A number of our mixed-use developments will have a multifamily component."

Both developments will feature units from one to three bedrooms, ranging from 625 to 1,400 square feet. They also will include amenities such as resort-style pools, clubhouses and granite countertops. Monthly rents are expected to run from $850 to more than $1,600.

Leasing of units at both projects will begin in the first half of 2012.

US Bank is financing the Tempe complex, and Wells Fargo is providing lending on the Chandler project.

Phoenix-based Kitchell has offices in Arizona and California and employs about 1,000 people.

Scottsdale-based Mark-Taylor counts roughly 365 Arizona workers and operates in Nevada, Oregon and Washington.



Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/business/reales...t-apartment-complexes.html#ixzz1UyMCoJ8M

[ciweiss]

It looks like they are setting up some landscaping where the Hayden Ferry building 3 was going to go (in the corner). I guess they don't plan to build anything on that anytime soon... bummer.

[MegaBass]

EVT reports that Dunkin' Donuts is opening a location on campus at Vista Commons. Would have liked it sooner after the Mill Avenue location closed but better late than never. Speaking of Vista del Sol, Ocotillo Hall is completely razed and they'll be starting on VdS extension of 'The Haciendas' soon.

[PhxER]

Pat Tillman Veterans Center Opens
The Pat Tillman Veterans Center is a 3,340 square foot facility located in the lower level of the Memorial Union on the Tempe campus.

It will provide a single point of contact for ASU veterans and their dependents, bringing together academic and student support services to promote a smooth transition from the military, provide assistance for veterans benefits, deployments, information, and referrals, as well as a place where veterans can gather for study groups and social activities.

ASU’s student body includes 1,391 veterans and 387 veteran dependents.

The university was named a “Military Friendly School” by GI jobs magazine for the last two years and was named one of the top 30 “Best for Vets: Colleges 2010” by the Military Times Edge magazine.

Link

[PhxER]

Café expanding into Microbrewery
Cartel Coffee Lab on University Drive and Ash Avenue will be expanding into the world of beer when it opens a microbrewery in the suite adjacent to its current location.
Cartel Coffee Lab is extending into the suite recently occupied by Tropic Tan, which went out of business. The extension will house the brewing operations as well as an espresso machine.
“Our goal is to keep the new space a bit more lounge-y, a bit less laptop-y, more hanging out,” owner Jason Sliberschlag said.
The expansion is still months away as Sliberschlag needs to acquire the building permits, he said. After the new space opens, he expects to be serving beer about four months later.
He plans to offer an Indian pale ale, an amber ale and a stout. The beer will be distributed to the Cartel Coffee Lab locations in Scottsdale, Phoenix and Tucson.

Read more Here

[MegaBass]

ISTB IV construction photos. Architects, students install Sedona sandstone floor in under-construction ISTB IV building (Slideshow)

[MegaBass]

Manzanita Hall on the Tempe campus began last week — a remodeling project expected to be complete by Fall 2013.

[Jsmscaleros]

Tempe just made it much easier for private land owners to turn vacant parcels into parking lots... and other Mill Ave. District News:

http://www.sofa-connect.org/connected/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=26#p136

[Leo the Dog]

Originally Posted by Jsmscaleros

Tempe just made it much easier for private land owners to turn vacant parcels into parking lots... and other Mill Ave. District News:

http://www.sofa-connect.org/connected/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=26#p136

This is terrible news!

Sundt’s parking lot would help with a parking crunch that can take place during the daytime when Arizona State University is in session, Hormann said. The lot’s proximity to ASU will draw students who now park elsewhere downtown and free up spaces for visitors, she said.

But she doesn’t see a parking shortage. Visitors should always be able to find a spot even if the place they normally park is full, she said. Downtown has about 10,000 spaces.

I've never had a problem parking in DT Tempe and I can't believe Tempe is buying this explanation from Sundt.

[MegaBass]

Originally Posted by Leo the Dog

This is terrible news!



I've never had a problem parking in DT Tempe and I can't believe Tempe is buying this explanation from Sundt.

That lot though was always full during the semester so I guessing they're thinking if they overhaul as a parking lot more students will look at it as an alternative rather than getting these astronomical parking passes through the university.

[PhxER]

West Sixth filled with Students

College students make up almost80 percent of the first tenants living in the West Sixth high-rise apartments, General Manager Amity Peters said.

The 22-story Tower One was completed in late July and opened for resident move-in on Aug. 1. West Sixth began accepting applications for the second, 30-story tower in June and anticipates residents to move in Nov. 14.

Studios begin at $945 per month, while two-bedroom units begin at $1,550 per month, Peters said. Rental prices increase by 20 percent on the seventh floor, and 10 to 15 percent if the unit is on the eighth floor or above.

Erhart and Cochran live on the 12th floor and said they split the rent, which is approximately $1,700. All three students said their parents are paying for the apartments. (Lucky Bastards!)

Tower One contains 186 units, not including the townhouses, and all 186 units are full, Peters said.

With the rent comes access to the 9,000-square-foot gym and a pool area containing cabanas, fire pits, and Wi-Fi.

Read more here

[Leo the Dog]

^ What a great deal. $1700 for a 2 bedroom from students paying out of state rates probably from other cities/regions where rent is comparable. I figured these buildings would fill-up right away.