Phoenix Development News (3)

[phxSUNSfan]

Originally Posted by combusean

RO2 was definitely slated for Roosevelt St. You can see the Knipe (I think) house in the background of the rendering. Davis owns the lot for it but has not moved on it. Somebody should call them.

The project for Osborn and 4th Ave was called O4.

Oh yeah! That is why they look completely different. This is O4:


Is the Ro2 lot the one next to Monorchid?

[Jjs5056]

Originally Posted by combusean

RO2 was definitely slated for Roosevelt St. You can see the Knipe (I think) house in the background of the rendering. Davis owns the lot for it but has not moved on it. Somebody should call them.

The project for Osborn and 4th Ave was called O4.

Lol, of course. I couldn't picture it outside of Roosevelt, and the name should've rang a bell. As far as the "new" design, Sean, I think you were the one who actually originally posted that image quite a long time ago- the height was reduced a bit from the previous?

This is a perfect project for Roosevelt. Very attractive, urban and while I would like to see a few stepped-back highrises along the way as we heed height for density downtown, this size really is ideal for fronting Roosevelt. Any chance of it happening? I keep execting to see more of these projects and don't understand why not one has officially started aside from the future phases of the 7th St and Moreland colorful town homes. I have no doubt this exact building, designed as shown, would be fully leased within a very short time and expect to charge quite the premium rate given what people will pay for places like 44M; this is in a much better location, or at the very least, is in an ideal location and one that is ripe with young professionals who work and play in the area and just need adequate supply/project that fits their lifestyle to live there, too. I wouldn't be surprised if it could sell successfully as condos, either, and it would certainly be a boost for the market for someone to jump back in with a quality project in a quality location now that the area has evolved and matured since the last boom.

Will be interesting to see what kind of retail fills into Rooosevelt Pointe. With Bliss and the current/future tenants across Roosevelt at the Canvas building, the area is attracting a really great scene... Maybe even a little less artsy/alternative, which I think is fantastic; the more diversity, the better. I would love to see some lounge-type restaurant and perhaps a piano/jazz bar open at RoPo to really complete the area. That would continue bringing this slightly older and more sophisticated demo to town and maybe finally spur some residential investment. It's just crazy how long we have been waiting for any major apartments and condos to be built in the area, which for all intense and purposes, has shown it is booming and only looking up.

It's too bad a development like Roosevelt Pointe didn't take its southern building just a few stories higher; Alta even moreso. Gotta get some 10-12 story residential in there at the least, considering how much land is banked for medical/office/education use in the future the low residential base we are building off of. Yet, at the same time, there are pockets with such great neighborhood vibes that it's hard to imagine the impact of towers would have- I guess I need to be more optimistic and presume innocent until prevent guilty.

I just hate the typical tower street interaction with those damn arcades. A nice, continuous strip of retail built up to the street with clear, unique signage will help give Roosevelt an identity. Start breaking that harmony up with a few poorly-designed towers and we'll have essentially sacrificed what could soon become our main drag, iconic boulevard, city's identity, etc. in return for density, which is equally needed.

What do you guys think? How do you see the heights unfolding in future development on and around Roosevelt? Clearly any current proposals are 10 sorry and under, but I hope that is just the market getting itself back on its feet. We won't ever be the downtown we want if we stay at that height.

Do you think development directly on Roosevelt should be limited to midrise projects? Even RoPo looks daunting at times- is that the square footage, or maybe the lack of development nearby? If we assume the street itself will stay capped near 12 stories, which nearby lots are ideal and/or likely to see towers developed to get the density needed for big box retail, groceries, hardware stores, Home Depots, etc. Remember that many of the lots are banked for a long time by the city for BioMedical Campus (god damn these parking lots they could be putting up soon and making us beg for a garage instead... Go across 7th! Go underground!) and ASU.

Assuming one could obtain private ownership, I see this area as having the most potential in the smallest acreage:

1) Lot between Alta and RoPo; 3rd and 4th/ Garfield and Pierce
I see this being a key lot as it will create continuity from Roosevelt to Jefferson if I am not mistaken and helps dissect two separate clusters of banked land. Alta retail is very service-oriented; I see this lot divided (street running from
Pierce to Garfield with a perpendicular running west to 3rd; one lane in each direction and bike lane with center parkways in the medians for community space; one-sided parking if possible) but among the ground floors, I would like a full-service grocer with cafe, dentist, doctor and then maybe a juice bar/grab and go

West south side usage: mixed-use Residential (condo), retail
Design: Modular, color-blocked with variance in depths; dark wood accents on ground level 3-sided building; south exposed portion of garage wrapped in vines and plants)
Height: 12 stories on north (1 retail), 4 stories on east and west, 4 story garage
Example (add 3 stories http://www.archdaily.com/249739/kaa-design-group-wins-best-adaptive-reuse-for-latitude-33/

(1 retail). 4 story garage in center (pool on top, entrance from south)
West north side usage: mixed-use residential (condo), retail
Design: Predominantly glass, with more traditional style design to breakup the glut of of boxy, value-engineered, minimalist architecture.
Height: 16 stories (1 retail, 1 gym/leasing/storage/amenities), underground and street parking, rooftop pool)
Example (add 2 stories): http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2013/05/08/civic_center_rental_project_looking_for_a_green_light.php

East side usage: mixed-use residential (rental), office, classroom; ASU promised integration into the urban fabric- I've pushed to the portion furthest from a current ASU building and included residential and office space open to all interested in leasing; two towers- one running east to west on southern end, and a skinnier one running the north south on the entire east side
Design: very modern, sleek and reflective; contrasted again to the dull concrete surroundings. Academic portion has opportunities for blocks of colors; sliver building would incorporate cutouts throughout for meeting areas, gardening, etc.)
Heights: Southern residential tower (15; 1 retail, ooftop pool) main learning annex (4; 1 floor retail, 3 floors classroom, track and dog park atop), eastern sliver office tower (17), underground and street parking
Example: http://www.archdaily.com/249739/kaa-design-group-wins-best-adaptive-reuse-for-latitude-33/
http://www.archdaily.com/249739/kaa-design-group-wins-best-adaptive-reuse-for-latitude-33/

Picture an additional sliver tower running perpendicular to the one shown. ^

[PHX31]

Originally Posted by combusean

RO2 was definitely slated for Roosevelt St. You can see the Knipe (I think) house in the background of the rendering. Davis owns the lot for it but has not moved on it. Somebody should call them.

I called them... the receptionist (?) that answered would only direct my contact information to the correct person so they could get back to me. Problem is I gave them my work email address, so I think they might think I'm trying to solicit them for work (since my email sounds like a civil engineering firm) so they may not get back to me, even though I told her I'm just personally interested in the further development of the area. I'll let you know if they respond.

Someone else should call too.

[nickw252]

Phoenix families spend nearly two thirds of their income on transportation and housing. Now, a new housing trend is looking to shake that up.

Urban Living 2 is scheduled to complete construction in spring 2014.

Today, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan toured an apartment complex under construction that will bring people of all income levels together, downtown.

Phoenix is going urban. Those were some of Mayor Greg Stanton’s first words inside the unfinished courtyard at Urban Living 2. The 70-unit building will follow in the footsteps of Devine Legacy, which already offers a mix of low-income and market-rate housing close to downtown’s light rail. Stanton said many people do not want huge houses far from the city.

"People of all ages want to live a more urban lifestyle, close to the action of downtown, close to the symphony, ballet, opera, close to Roosevelt Row and the excitement of first Fridays," Stanton said.

Stanton said these opportunities should not be limited to the rich or middle class.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton talk about making the city more urban with the addition of the new apartment complex.

Donovan agreed. He said UL2, as it is known, will not just bring down housing costs for its low-income residents, it will lower their transportation expenses while giving them a beautiful place to live. In his words, this is not just housing.

"That’s too simple. This is part of a much broader transformation that’s happening in Phoenix, that should be a model for the rest of the country. I congratulate every one of you," Donovan said.

The non-profit Native American Connections is behind UL2. The complex is set to be completed in spring 2014.

http://kjzz.org/content/1305/phoenix-city-officials-tour-new-urban-housing-downtown

[HooverDam]

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/20130529blank-from-eng.html#protected

Article in the Republic today about how the developers of "the Pin" would want to move the artifacts from the shuttered Phoenix History Museum up into the observation area.

Of course some folks who are unreasonably close minded about the whole project think this is some kind of travesty for no clear reason. Personally, it seems like a win to me. Its a shame those artifacts, stories, etc aren't accessible to the public.

Plus before this idea the Pin seemed kind of...shallow, or reason-less I guess. Having a City history museum in it makes a lot of sense to me. People can view the artifacts, then see where these various things happened, etc.

Additionally, I know that James Comisar, the guy behind the Museum of Television badly wanted the Phoenix History Museum space. It was an ideal size for his collection. The City and Science Center rebuffed him, hoping that someday the History museum would re-open in that space. But, if the History museum goes up in the Pin, maybe the TV Museum in the old building makes sense.

Could potentially be a win all around.

[Arquitect]

Originally Posted by HooverDam

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/20130529blank-from-eng.html#protected

Article in the Republic today about how the developers of "the Pin" would want to move the artifacts from the shuttered Phoenix History Museum up into the observation area.

Of course some folks who are unreasonably close minded about the whole project think this is some kind of travesty for no clear reason. Personally, it seems like a win to me. Its a shame those artifacts, stories, etc aren't accessible to the public.

Plus before this idea the Pin seemed kind of...shallow, or reason-less I guess. Having a City history museum in it makes a lot of sense to me. People can view the artifacts, then see where these various things happened, etc.

Additionally, I know that James Comisar, the guy behind the Museum of Television badly wanted the Phoenix History Museum space. It was an ideal size for his collection. The City and Science Center rebuffed him, hoping that someday the History museum would re-open in that space. But, if the History museum goes up in the Pin, maybe the TV Museum in the old building makes sense.

Could potentially be a win all around.

I completely agree, such a move would bring two more attractions to that area. One of the problems for tourists when they come to the valley is that everything is so spread apart, and it requires a lot of driving. Having more centralized options would be great to keep the tourist downtown.

[HooverDam]

Originally Posted by Arquitect

I completely agree, such a move would bring two more attractions to that area. One of the problems for tourists when they come to the valley is that everything is so spread apart, and it requires a lot of driving. Having more centralized options would be great to keep the tourist downtown.

I've had that same discussion. Some crazy people have told me that tourists can "take a bus" to places like Tovrea Castle or South Mountain if they "want a view".

Its amazing to me that grown adults, who otherwise seem pretty smart, think tourists are going to get on a City bus, in a city thats foreign to them, ride through rough areas to get to Tovrea & S. Mountain.

[nickw252]

Having the Lofts on Thomas building finished really improves the look and feel of that corner. I wish the building had windows on the east and west sides though.

[phxSUNSfan]

Originally Posted by nickw252

Having the Lofts on Thomas building finished really improves the look and feel of that corner. I wish the building had windows on the east and west sides though.

That would add to their inefficiency, especially on the west side of the building. I like the way they look. And if they ever build more next to it (they would have to demolish the strip next to it) not having windows on the ends would make sense.

[Arquitect]

Originally Posted by phxSUNSfan

That would add to their inefficiency, especially on the west side of the building. I like the way they look. And if they ever build more next to it (they would have to demolish the strip next to it) not having windows on the ends would make sense.

I have actually noticed that a few new projects have been developed thinking about future projects being built next to them. (The south side of the ASU/YMCA expansion for instance). It is great that we are finally thinking urbanisticaly, instead of developing projects in a vacuum.

[Classical in Phoenix]

[QUOTE=J I would love to see some lounge-type restaurant and perhaps a piano/jazz bar open ^[/QUOTE]

Check out thenash.org While not a traditional lounge, we do have BYOB and lots of jazz.

[Jjs5056]

Originally Posted by Arquitect

I have actually noticed that a few new projects have been developed thinking about future projects being built next to them. (The south side of the ASU/YMCA expansion for instance). It is great that we are finally thinking urbanisticaly, instead of developing projects in a vacuum.

Agreed. That was one of the reasons I was so excited about The Grove project on Apache- I was interested to see how it being built adjacent to The Vue would be handled. So much development in Phoenix is focused on superblocks; I can't think many projects that were recently completed that weren't standalone structures. Such a contrast to the older clusters on Central near Adams and Monroe- so much more urban and to human scale than monsters like Chase.

The Lofts look great! I know we have enough on our plates trying to get development and energy downtown, but I do wish something could be done with midtown. As it is right now, it really is just a poor man's downtown. But, with just a few gaps closed in the urban fabric, it could at least gain an identity. Camelback and Central is one (and I think that corner with the LRT stop is desperately asking for an iconic structure), but I think McDowell from 3rd St to 7th Ave is an easier task. The redevelopment of McDowell and 7th, regardless of the lame tenants, was obviously a huge success. 2-4 story apartments over retail heading west would be perfect, developed with some additional parking in the rear, since I doubt we'll get street parking anytime soon.

Then, filling in the lots surrounding PAM and we've got the community/heart of a really great central city neighborhood, instead of a major arterial severing some of our best historic districts. The Central/McDowell lot is obviously key- I think office or hotel would be the best use, as I'd like to see a highrise and think midtown is better suited to low rise residential that keeps people closer to, and engaged with the street. Most important is having a tenant on the ground level that complements the "museum district." Even a restaurant themed on Phoenix's fine arts history (native American culture, architecture like Beadle and FLW, and so on) would be great. Meanwhile, the lots on the other side of Central surrounding CVS could be 4-6 story residential; not even sure retail would be necessary, but I guess it couldn't hurt.

Then, one day, this area would connect with the area near 16th that has fantastic bones and potential. But, that's likely not in my lifetime.

[Jjs5056]

Over in the Biltmore/Arcadia area, the apartments on Camelback and 26th are essentially completed. There are plenty of pros and cons. Its built right up to the street, is attractive, has a nice mix of useful (shady) and superficial (palms) landscaping; but, it's gated, pretty stumpy and its entrance off Camelback is gated with one door- looks more like an emergency exit than an entrance to an apartment in the middle of what is supposed to be our luxury urban district.

Over at 24th and Camelback, they're finally moving along with the construction of Whole Foods (right?). Seems like that took forever to get started, but maybe I'm just impatient.

Anchor Centre on 22nd and Camelback is complete: low rise commercial building. This design is really quite terrible. It's oriented north to south and runs right into the Residences at 2211 building. Also, we all know this area is completely faux-urban, but most of the newer developments at last gave it a try. Not this one. Camelback frontage is a sea of parking.

The apartments on Campbell and... 36th (ish) are coming right along. Does anyone have a rendering? A coworker mentioned ground floor retail, but I can't imagine that doing well there. A development of townhomes along Campbell is also nearing completion, but there is a zoning sign on the lot, so maybe I've missed something there? On a final sad note, the wonderful Cascades across the street was painted. It used to be blue and white, and is now a rather gross mix purple and green.

[HooverDam]

The City has put out an RFP for the Leighton G Knipe house and surrounding lots to be developed. The City is looking to sell the house, and the lots south of it. These are the lots that back up to monOrchid but NOT the lot that has the grass and the wooden blue art thing on it, thats privately owned. As part of this RFP the City is trying to unload the lot across 2nd St as well thats bounded by Portland, 2nd St and the alley.

The good:

Hopefully this means the land gets developed. The RFP requires that any development must have the Knipe house incorporated/adaptively re-used and the re-use of the Knipe house must be done first before further work is done (that is, so if its a phase project, Knipe house is in Phase 1).

The somewhat bad:
The City RFP mentions they'd be A-OK, and even excited about "off street public parking". Meaning if you bid the highest and just want to build surface lots, thats OK! Bleck.

The RFP disallows certain uses. Some make sense, but others don't. You can't have a place where alcohol sales are the primary business (a bar/tavern), you can't have a dance hall, or billiards hall. Cause why would we want kids dancing to that sinful rock and roll music in our downtown???!!

I heard recently (within the past 6 months) that the guy who owns the lot adjacent to monOrchid (where the grass is) has wanted to develop, but feels his land is too small and it would be difficult to get a good ROI. Perhaps if he can buy these lots he'd be able to develop something at a reasonable density and height.

[PHX31]

Originally Posted by HooverDam

I heard recently (within the past 6 months) that the guy who owns the lot adjacent to monOrchid (where the grass is) has wanted to develop, but feels his land is too small and it would be difficult to get a good ROI. Perhaps if he can buy these lots he'd be able to develop something at a reasonable density and height.

That's the Ro2 lot we were talking about recently (Davis). I wonder if they have enough financial wherewithal to buy the adjacent city lots and make a"super-Ro2".

[HooverDam]

Originally Posted by PHX31

That's the Ro2 lot we were talking about recently (Davis). I wonder if they have enough financial wherewithal to buy the adjacent city lots and make a"super-Ro2".

Hopefully! Looks like the City had all the land assessed recently at about $1.5M total. So thats just the minimum to buy it - unless the City would accept bids for less than the assessed value, which I doubt.

I'd love to see the Knipe house turned into a restaurant with 4 story+ residential on the remaining lots.

[phxSUNSfan]

Phoenix made one of the lists for 10 Best Cities for young adults. It was ranked #7 for better-than-average pay and ample activities for 20-somethings.

http://money.msn.com/gen-x/10-best-us-cities-for-young-adults

[combusean]

^ Salt Lake was #1. That list is retarded.

[ASUSunDevil]

Originally Posted by combusean

^ Salt Lake was #1. That list is retarded.

That was evident when they listed Phoenix's public swimming pools as one of the top reasons young adults should move here.

[phxSUNSfan]

Originally Posted by combusean

^ Salt Lake was #1. That list is retarded.

SLC is not a city I would have listed; however, it is a fairly progressive city (despite its Mormon roots) with more urban amenities than other favorites like Austin. The city has more transit options and the winter sports are amazing. The authors of this list also considered pay and affordability (like rent) as a measure of "best cities"..."Cool factors", such as nightlife, probably weren't heavily weighed in this measure. I laughed at the city pools comment as well. You'll find more 20-somethings like me at hotel pool parties and poolside bars/clubs in the summer...which is what they should have listed rather than city pools.