Tempe Development Thread

[PHXFlyer11]

Originally Posted by nickw252

Looks like the foundation for a third tower crane is being worked on.

Wow. That will be incredible. I drove by Hanover today. They have dug pretty deep. I expect we will see a tower crane in a month or so.

Question on this project... it has a 9-story garage which I believe is wrapped with 6-story apartments. Does this just mean that the garage goes 3 levels below ground, or is the garage really going to be three stories taller than the apartments? If so, I hope there is some sort of facade.

I think after Hanover, we should see a tower crane for USAplace next. I don't believe USplace has alot of/any underground parking, so the excavation will hopefully not take so long. Any word on if USAplace will be develop in phases or not? Like just the hotel and USA basketball, then apartments? The way it's laid out, I'd think it would have to be all one phase, as USA basketball is almost wrapped with the apartments from what I can tell.

[Spitfiredude]

Originally Posted by PHXFlyer11

Wow. That will be incredible. I drove by Hanover today. They have dug pretty deep. I expect we will see a tower crane in a month or so.

Question on this project... it has a 9-story garage which I believe is wrapped with 6-story apartments. Does this just mean that the garage goes 3 levels below ground, or is the garage really going to be three stories taller than the apartments? If so, I hope there is some sort of facade.

I think after Hanover, we should see a tower crane for USAplace next. I don't believe USplace has alot of/any underground parking, so the excavation will hopefully not take so long. Any word on if USAplace will be develop in phases or not? Like just the hotel and USA basketball, then apartments? The way it's laid out, I'd think it would have to be all one phase, as USA basketball is almost wrapped with the apartments from what I can tell.

If you read the azbex.com press release and the website they state that there will in fact be 3 levels of underground parking on site. So we will have to wait several months for a tower crane. On the bright side this project is going to take 22 months to build which is a RAPID pace project, so it should be put up 3-5 months after initial development. The project will be ALL in one phase. The only section that will be phased is the apartments (probably 2-3 phases over a year). Marina Heights is beginning to go vertical over Rio Salado, I drove by today and saw some concrete columns.

As for Hanover, they still have a lot of underground work to be done. This project is progressing VERY slow, IMO. They still are doing off site utility work and that is not suppose to be finished until the end of the month. Let alone they have hardly done any on-site utility work. I would expect a tower crane no sooner than late February.

AMC Theater is suppose to open by the end of February according to a worker I talked to. They had the theater neon lights on tonight, and did some redesign to them.

I took a stroll by the MU Solar panels and they look pretty good. They covered the pillars with a acrylic facade which makes the LEDs look cool. I will post pictures soon for that.

Also, there is 2 fork lifts on site of HFL 3. At least its something...

[rocksteady]

Random question, but does anyone know if there has ever been talk about burying all the massive, ugly power lines that run along and over the 202 and across the lake? I'm so used to them I don't even notice them anymore, but when I do I can't help but notice how much of the sky they take up in that area. I wondered how projects on the north shore of the lake, like the old Onyx tower, would deal with these so close to their plots of land. A few friends that have come in from out of town have commented on how many there are in one of the more scenic parts of town.

I'm sure it would be an expensive undertaking, but boy would that sure "clear up" the views in that area. Just curious if there has ever been any talk.

[azsunsurfer]

I noticed the other day off the 202 that the Liberty Center is going vertical! Tilt up construction. So cool to see potential jobs (new or relocation) coming to that end of Tempe! Perfect access to the 202!

[PHX31]

Originally Posted by rocksteady

Random question, but does anyone know if there has ever been talk about burying all the massive, ugly power lines that run along and over the 202 and across the lake? I'm so used to them I don't even notice them anymore, but when I do I can't help but notice how much of the sky they take up in that area. I wondered how projects on the north shore of the lake, like the old Onyx tower, would deal with these so close to their plots of land. A few friends that have come in from out of town have commented on how many there are in one of the more scenic parts of town.

I'm sure it would be an expensive undertaking, but boy would that sure "clear up" the views in that area. Just curious if there has ever been any talk.

I think it was talked about years ago on this forum, and something to the effect that no they won't ever be buried.

[PHXFlyer11]

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/tempe-orlando-in-the-running-for.html

It says "Suburban office space" so I am taking this as renting out an existing space in a typical office park like ASU Research Park. Or maybe the complex on Broadway and the I10.

It would be awesome thought if they could building something in downtown Tempe. Could this be a tenant for HFL 3?

Disappointed still that GoDaddy has never opted to build a property in downtown Tempe.

[CrestedSaguaro]

Base for the 3rd tower crane at State Farm is in place. Probably see the crane up before then end of the weekend or early next week.

[nickw252]

Originally Posted by PHXFlyer11

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/tempe-orlando-in-the-running-for.html

It says "Suburban office space" so I am taking this as renting out an existing space in a typical office park like ASU Research Park. Or maybe the complex on Broadway and the I10.

It would be awesome thought if they could building something in downtown Tempe. Could this be a tenant for HFL 3?

Disappointed still that GoDaddy has never opted to build a property in downtown Tempe.

IT operations are not likely to be in a high-rent area like a downtown tower. Suburaban Tempe would still be good. They would be high paying positions, and Suburban Tempe is still somewhat centrally located.

[nickw252]

Originally Posted by RonnieFoos

Base for the 3rd tower crane at State Farm is in place. Probably see the crane up before then end of the weekend or early next week.

crane is being assembled right now

http://oxblue.com/open/ryancompanies/marinaheights

[Leo the Dog]

Originally Posted by PHXFlyer11

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/tempe-orlando-in-the-running-for.html

It says "Suburban office space" so I am taking this as renting out an existing space in a typical office park like ASU Research Park. Or maybe the complex on Broadway and the I10.

It would be awesome thought if they could building something in downtown Tempe. Could this be a tenant for HFL 3?

Disappointed still that GoDaddy has never opted to build a property in downtown Tempe.

Maybe Warner and the 10?

[Jjs5056]

9 stories proposed at the site of a formerly planned healthcare office project. The property is located on the north side of Town Lake, at the very east of the Playa del Norte development, in back of Griogio.

Currently looking for tenants and could be ready as early as mid-2015; if HFL3 hasn't found tenants, I'm skeptical, but Fountainhead seems to be moving froward, so who knows? Yet, SouthBank still can't seem to land a deal? Don't get it.

http://azremagazine.com/news/cushwake-handle-leasing-playa-del-norte-office-tempe

[combusean]

There are two things about that project I find curious:

1.) How they manage to build a tower crane around those power lines?

2.) That there's four or five floors of parking compared to four office, and has surface parking. What's going on with all that parking? The last time we saw a building like this, Freeport McMoran Center, it was two floors of office for every floor of parking garage give or take.

[Spitfiredude]

The design is definitely peculiar, but I find the potential for tenants in this building. I say this, because its not an over sized project, such as HFL 3. Two, location is perfect.

I'm not too flattered with 4 or 5 stories of the building being dedicated to parking, but the height (assuming 100-120') is perfect for that area. IMO

[Jjs5056]

Well, it does boast about its abundance of parking... But, yes, dedicating half of the building to a garage given the ample surface parking available is definitely strange. I like that it adds height, however.

My theories:
1) I known the healthcare building was much shorter - 2 or 4 stories - so it may have had a larger footprint and, thus, the landowner may be wanting to build a second structure on the lot in the future. The garage guarantees spots for tenants regardlessm ofmfuture development.
2) Arizonans are lazy; perhaps they think this amenity will differentiate the project from the competition?
3) Maybe the surface lot parking really isn't much larger than being able to hold guests/ visitors, and the garage is necessary for employees? The parking lot might be an illusion Vince there's so much surface parking for the retail, Aloft and Grigio. NorthShore was the only quality product.

[PHXFlyer11]

Very weird having more parking stories than office stories, but I am pleased with the height for that location. What are the current heights? 6-7 stories on the north shore condos and ALoft?

This is is the site right between Grigio and the 202, correct? Not the Onyx site? It would be great to get another 9-10 story building where Onyx was supposed to go up. That would really be a nice dense little corner.

Downtown Tempe is really starting to snowball. I hope that we see some high-rise condos soon. That is definitely a big gap. Perhaps once HFL3, this new project and Marina Heights are well underway. There will definitely be demand at that time. So who has the foresight to invest now and get the first mover advantage once these large offices open?

[Jjs5056]

Flyer- I completely agree; I am glad to see that the Oliver McMillan apartments between HFL and Marina Heights re moving forward. Seems like a no-brainer to get some market rate/luxury rental inventory as it's been mainly student housing and senior/low income apartments built in the residential sector, but was called a Debbie Downer for saying it'd be smarter for the developers of proposed student housing to wait it out given the impending office boom.

Logical next step would be condos- there's been no movement since the crash.

As far as the site, there are 2 vacant lots left in Playa del Norte: 2 and 6 (Onyx); apparently, this office tower is nothing new and has been in the planning stages since 2007. I swore there used to be a giant trailer on the lot with a photo of a 3-story medical office?

Anyway, this should help in terms of location and briefy discusses the power line issue at one point:

http://ww2.tempe.gov/publicbodies/Docs/Council/SupportingDocuments/20080605dskko02.pdf

[PHXFlyer11]

Originally Posted by Jjs5056

Flyer- I completely agree; I am glad to see that the Oliver McMillan apartments between HFL and Marina Heights re moving forward. Seems like a no-brainer to get some market rate/luxury rental inventory as it's been mainly student housing and senior/low income apartments built in the residential sector, but was called a Debbie Downer for saying it'd be smarter for the developers of proposed student housing to wait it out given the impending office boom.

Logical next step would be condos- there's been no movement since the crash.

As far as the site, there are 2 vacant lots left in Playa del Norte: 2 and 6 (Onyx); apparently, this office tower is nothing new and has been in the planning stages since 2007. I swore there used to be a giant trailer on the lot with a photo of a 3-story medical office?

Anyway, this should help in terms of location and briefy discusses the power line issue at one point:

http://ww2.tempe.gov/publicbodies/Docs/Council/SupportingDocuments/20080605dskko02.pdf

Oh wow. I must not have been paying attention. There were indeed plans for this a long time ago.

I can confirm, after driving by the site on the 202 this morning. There is STILL a now graffitied trailer on the lot advertising lakeside medical offices.

The .pdf you linked raises an interesting question... The lot that is triangle shaped to the east most bank is currently covered in grass. It looks like a plot on the .pdf, but I can't image someone building here as the powerlines are indeed straight overhead. Is it planned for future sale and development, or will it always be a grass park?

[Jjs5056]

I believe what the site you are referring to was eventually converted into an official City of Tempe park. I don't expect it to be developed into anything else.

[rocksteady]

Originally Posted by Jjs5056

I believe what the site you are referring to was eventually converted into an official City of Tempe park. I don't expect it to be developed into anything else.

So glad to see that backside of Grigio getting worked on. It's such an eyesore. And speaking of Grigio, does anyone know why they no longer have the neon accent lights turned on at night like when they first opened? There used to be yellow, red, blue and for the past couple of years they are never on, except maybe the blue color. Same with some of the buildings over on HFL.

[azsunsurfer]

Actually I have a friend who works for that developer...they are bullish about the Tempe office market in the coming years. They are also looking tech companies as well. The power lines were always an issue which is why they were reluctant the first time to go that tall. They have had some success with their other recent projects so I see this as being a chance of really happening...