Phoenix Development News (3)

[PHX31]

Originally Posted by Crispy

It's actually the SWC of 7th Ave & Indian School that they are working on. The pay day loan place is gone along with the strip retail behind it.

Is the whole retail strip gone now? Last I saw it looked like they were gutting it and rehabbing it to look more "MCM". They hadn't just knocked it down.

[westbev93]

The Salvation Army is there, but everything between that and 7th Ave. has been razed.

[ASUSunDevil]

Mixed-use development to fill empty lot on Roosevelt after 50 years of vacancy

By Miranda Rivers, On Thursday, May 2nd, 2013




After work started about a month ago, construction on a mixed residential and retail complex on Roosevelt Street and First Avenue will bring new life to a lot that has been vacant for 50 years. (Marianna Hauglie/DD)
Residents of the downtown area will be seeing a new project surfacing on Roosevelt Street and First Avenue from a local team of developers who aim at rebuilding the historic Roosevelt district to reflect the culture and lives of its citizens.

Metro West Development is a real-estate development and investment company headed by Matthew Seaman, a graduate from ASU’s School of Architecture and Design and proud resident of the Roosevelt neighborhood.

“It is clear that there is a strong demand for more of a neighborhood feel that people want brought to the downtown area,” Seaman said. He added that his current project will draw more people to the neighborhood and make more people want to call the area home.

The vacant lot on the corner of Roosevelt Street and First Avenue will be a mixed-use development containing residential and retail space upon its completion. The plan is for the new development to have an apartment complex with about 60 units upstairs and space for restaurants and retail on the ground floor. Seaman is currently in discussion with small businesses, retailers and restaurants that will fit well with the neighborhood.

“When we initially purchased the property, we were always surprised at how a site like this, which is kind of a gateway into the neighborhood and downtown, could be vacant for so long,” Seaman said. “It is really a shame.”

Metro West began construction on the lot, which has been vacant for about 50 years, in mid-March. There has been a focus on narrowing the streets and adding on-street parking to create an atmosphere that is friendlier for pedestrians and bikers.

Katherine Coles, the city of Phoenix village planner, said she is hopeful any time new housing choices are added to the Phoenix area.

“It is a good thing,” Coles said. “I like that it has a lot of density and that it is right near the light rail stop.”

The proximity of the light rail was prime motivation for building on the lot. The development will benefit students, people of the Roosevelt neighborhood and people who wish to be closer to the bourgeoning culture of the downtown community.

Shawn Nichols, 24, is a resident of the Roosevelt area who thinks the new development will be beneficial to the neighborhood if the right businesses are put there.

“There is a lot of competition with businesses in the area. Food is always good, so I would like to see some new vegan shops added or even some boutiques that carry clothing specifically for men,” said Nichols.

This is not the first of the projects designed and built by Metro West Development in the Roosevelt area. The luxury condominiums located on McKinley Street and Fourth Avenue was one of their bigger projects. They also renovated an abandoned historic house and turned it into four brand new homes called the Cathedral Town Homes in a neighborhood along Roosevelt Street.

Metro West is a company that prides itself in helping to establish a neighborhood with a strong sense of community. Each design is carried out with the utmost care in hopes of creating something that will benefit everyone who thrives in that community. They take hopeless lots and adapt them into prosperous housing developments and businesses that draw people in to the city.

The apartment and retail space planned for the Roosevelt Street and First Avenue location is hoped to be under construction by the beginning of 2014 with businesses moving in by the fall of that year.

[Jjs5056]

I like taking the scenic route downtown and was wondering if anyone had more information on that terrible white and blue building on VB between OCPE and the Republic building. Is there any chance of this being knocked down or improved ever? That area really has potential, but then a superblock of concrete like this pops up and just kills the street life.

I totally get the backlash toward ground floor retail being everywhere, especially when there are vanacy isssues currently, but this is a perfect example of what can happen otherwise. An entire block dedicated to one business andone building, which has no interaction with the street. Picture that building with a nice glass lobby and just 1 or 2 retail spaces for a small coffee shop/newsstand or something. The area would be 10x better, seem like the center of a true CBD and just feel much more connected overall.

What are some other ways of accomplishing this without retail? Expansive lobbies? Small public plazas (with newsstands, food trucks, etc.)? Building vertically instead so that multiple businesses can make use of the plot to break up the block?

[HooverDam]

Originally Posted by Jjs5056

I like taking the scenic route downtown and was wondering if anyone had more information on that terrible white and blue building on VB between OCPE and the Republic building. Is there any chance of this being knocked down or improved ever? That area really has potential, but then a superblock of concrete like this pops up and just kills the street life.

I totally get the backlash toward ground floor retail being everywhere, especially when there are vanacy isssues currently, but this is a perfect example of what can happen otherwise. An entire block dedicated to one business andone building, which has no interaction with the street. Picture that building with a nice glass lobby and just 1 or 2 retail spaces for a small coffee shop/newsstand or something. The area would be 10x better, seem like the center of a true CBD and just feel much more connected overall.

What are some other ways of accomplishing this without retail? Expansive lobbies? Small public plazas (with newsstands, food trucks, etc.)? Building vertically instead so that multiple businesses can make use of the plot to break up the block?

I believe that building is full of tech equipment of some kind. I feel like Combusean knew about it...? Maybe its phone equipment, or computer servers or some such thing. I forget exactly what.

I agree, its an awful building and really kills that area.The 3 block area bounded by 1st St, 2nd St, Monroe and Taylor is perhaps the worst contiguous area of downtown-- just 3 huge block sized dead zones.

I also get the backlash against ground floor retail, but don't think its really justified. When we get more hotel rooms, more dorms, more residential in and around Downtown, we'll want that space. Sure, it should be done a bit more thoughtfully and in a planned way, but its important.

Especially along Van Buren, I know I've said this a zillion times, but VB is our chance for a Downtown shopping street. The main shopping Street in Phoenix was once Washington, but its sadly now lined with office buildings like Phelps Dodge, Wells Fargo, CityScape, 1 and 2 Renaissance, etc. that face the street with nothing but overly large lobbies-- uninteresting statements of their corporate grandness or something.

Van Buren is zoned for tall/big enough buildings that they could theoretically some day have things like a City Target, a grocery store, a Macy's, etc. on the ground floor.

[combusean]

The white and blue building is a data center. The building its housed in, the old Arizona Republic Building, is somewhat historic. There's also probably no chance of it ever going anywhere given the level of investment in that one building, by both the infrastructure in it and the "tenants" who rent space for Internet servers.

It used to be called the Downtown Phoenix Technology Exchange, then Sterling Networks bought it out, then Carpathia owns it now.

[Jjs5056]

Thanks, guys. Any ideas on how to at least improve the building if it's here to stay?

Hoover- FYI, I just called you out earlier in the Golub thread regarding VB becoming a retail street if you want to share some additional thoughts there.

Ultimately, my thoughts are similar regarding retail throughout downtown. Without it, we are going to end up segmenting out the city when we should really be aiming at an integrated, mixed-use destination. We don't want entire blocks dedicated to office only; otherwise, that whole area will be dead after 6 and further the attitude that downtown is bleak, unsafe- who wants to walk through dark, empty streets to get to the livelier areas?

That doesn't mean we need to try and have massive spaces for retail everywhere. It just takes careful planning... The city is already organically developing district-like areas. The Roosevelt area has much of the residential base and is known for its art scene; retail in the area should ideally be small to allow for artists affordable options to show their work, space for small cafes and markets, etc. I would like to start seeing some boutique shopping start popping up. I mentioned Buffalo Xchange maybe being a good fit for VB near Crescent, but I forgot that they are looking at Circles. That'd be a great fit and great start!

VB will need larger spaces for box-type retail. The CityScape area has turned into our restaurant, nightlife and entertainment hub. Certainly, anything built in that area should have large spaces for clubs or restaurants - even if empty now, this area will be the one attracting hotel and any hi-rise residential in the future.

The area near ASU is kind of trickier for me to decide the mix I'd like to see... It was mentioned that Taylor Mall was converted to office, which is a real shame. Some casual bars, with drink specials and cheap food, are notably few and far between downtown and would be great for students, help give them more of a Mill-like feel and add a variety to the bar scene.

Of course, future retail development shouldn't be paint-by-number, but these maturing demographics can certainly assist and make it easier for developers in planinng the type of spaces to offer in their projects.

[Jjs5056]

Last rant for today, but on the topic of anti-urban buildings I wish were demolished downtown... I wish somebody would burn The Met down (while nobody was home...). The strip containing The Breadfruit is wonderful and feels like such a cozy neighborhood... And, then you look across the street at that fortress. Can't believe that was allowed to be built, but then again, I would say the same about the Arizona Center with its north/northwest side completely walled off.

Sigh.

[phxSUNSfan]

Originally Posted by Jjs5056

Thanks, guys. Any ideas on how to at least improve the building if it's here to stay?

Probably not much since it is a warehouse, an expensive one at that, full of high tech communications equipment and data servers. But, since it did have some character before, if anything were to happen they could try to uncover those windows and arches from beneath the fake new facade. But my guess, given what has happened to other "blank" walls in downtown, is that if Van Buren starts to get back some more pedestrian traffic and shops only adds and digital billboards would be used to "improve" the building.

I'm not sure what you mean by Taylor Mall being turned into office as it is the main walkway between Taylor Place (downtown dorms) and the YMCA/ASU Student Rec Center.

[PHX31]

What did the building look like before? Pics?

Was it the old AZ Republic building? I remember going on a field trip there as a kid but I don't remember what it looks like nor how old it is.

[phxSUNSfan]

Originally Posted by PHX31

What did the building look like before? Pics?

Was it the old AZ Republic building? I remember going on a field trip there as a kid but I don't remember what it looks like nor how old it is.

I only found this one from the 80's...or 90's:

[phxSUNSfan]

I am not sure if it has been brought back up, but that almost brutalist style building on the SW corner of Thomas and Central is being turned into a space that will be looking to attract more creative workers and entrepreneurs. They are adding a larger entry way that faces Central...and of course they painted that colorful mural on the side of the garage that faces Thomas.

[plinko]

Originally Posted by phxSUNSfan

I only found this one from the 80's...or 90's:

I might have some somewhere in the archives.

When the Republic moved out, there was some discussion (and some marketing renderings) about splitting the existing building in 2 north to south with some sort of covered paseo. I believe that originally this was two buildings (there are floor level changes all over inside).

I did some work for Sterling once they bought it and we had a few plans to pretty up the entries but that's about it. Mostly the work done was inside, which has become basically the network hub for the entire central area of Phoenix. The amount of networking infrastructure inside this building (even 10 years ago) was staggering.

In short, I doubt that it's going anywhere anytime soon.

I be willing to be that the Republic has some great pictures of it in their archives.

That's what I know about it...

[PHX31]

Originally Posted by plinko

I might have some somewhere in the archives.

When the Republic moved out, there was some discussion (and some marketing renderings) about splitting the existing building in 2 north to south with some sort of covered paseo. I believe that originally this was two buildings (there are floor level changes all over inside).

I did some work for Sterling once they bought it and we had a few plans to pretty up the entries but that's about it. Mostly the work done was inside, which has become basically the network hub for the entire central area of Phoenix. The amount of networking infrastructure inside this building (even 10 years ago) was staggering.

In short, I doubt that it's going anywhere anytime soon.

I be willing to be that the Republic has some great pictures of it in their archives.

That's what I know about it...

Interesting. Do you know the approximate age?

[plinko]

^I honestly don't recall, but I think it was originally built in the 1920s?

[soleri]

Originally Posted by plinko

^I honestly don't recall, but I think it was originally built in the 1920s?

Telling my age here, but I'm pretty sure it was 1949.

[nickw252]

The commercial real estate site loopnet says it was built in 1961


http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/17375698/...nkCode=10850&SourceCode=1lww2t006a00001&

[PHX31]

Originally Posted by nickw252

The commercial real estate site loopnet says it was built in 1961


http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/17375698/...nkCode=10850&SourceCode=1lww2t006a00001&

That could be the "effective year" it was built, but maybe there are older portions incorporated into the "new" structure.

Here is an aerial timeline:

1930 (some kind of mansion with a couple small buildings):


1949 (possibly part of the east half of the current building):


1959 (bigger (expanded?) building on the east half, similarly sized building on west half):


1969 (same as 1959):


1979 (two old buildings merged as one?):


Today:

[phxSUNSfan]

Originally Posted by PHX31

Is the whole retail strip gone now? Last I saw it looked like they were gutting it and rehabbing it to look more "MCM". They hadn't just knocked it down.

I am not sure if the developer will be knocking down the whole strip, but they did take out a large section along 7th Ave. Here is the conceptual elevation for the new "Melrose Marketplace" now under construction:
http://de-az.com/davis_wp/wp-content/uploads/Conceptual-elevations-04212011.pdf

From:
http://de-az.com/davis_wp/projects/melrose-marketplace

[plinko]

Originally Posted by soleri

Telling my age here, but I'm pretty sure it was 1949.

Fair enough, it's been about 10 years since I even thought about that project.

PHX31, as I recall now, the 'new' western portion was indeed merged with the older eastern portion. Portions of the interior floors don't align and there are ramps and lifts inside in a few places.