I apologize if this has been posted, but for anyone who still had hope that the AZ Center renovation was going to include substantial urbanization of the area, this should help reality sink in:
http://x.lnimg.com/attachments/7E1B2B44-7F4B-4245-AA6D-1B70A3478AE6.pdf
1. Included is the updated site plan for the retail center, which remains unchanged, except for the massive valet dropoff, a standalone retail building on Van Buren shown only in renderings and not being marketed, and POSSIBLY a small break in the fortress walls to the south of Corner Bakery. That space is not shown as being occupied or for rent, which could mean anything, but a small entrance there would be the only real improvement to this part of the Center. Given that the retail spaces occupied and leasable are identical in placement to the current layout, any chance of entrances off 3rd are eliminated as the west side will continue to be used for BOH operations.
The plan shows how each side is fed into by various entities. 3rd street is fed into by both ASU and "Hotel" -- so, the answer to that is a valet entrance? For students and hotel guests, who either don't need a car, or who have parked in the hotel's OWN valet? This building would have been the easiest to demo entirely, and the depth of the curb-to-building area that exists would easily have allowed for double-sided retail in two buildings (with a grand entrance in the center) with restaurant uses mainly along 3rd for hotel guests, and major retailers on the interior to draw in residents, with creative office and lofts above in ~8-10 stories.
---
2. What about the rest of the Center? As we know, VB/5th will become a residential tower. Marriott has seemingly at least unofficially signed on to a 200-key hotel to be included in a tower covering the space between the existing office and garage along 5th Ave. The tower is listed as potentially mixed-use, so they may be waiting to see if additional office or a 2nd hotel can be added before moving forward. However, to the north, the massive garage will become even more opposing as it extends almost all the way to Fillmore. With the large garage, existing office tower, and likelihood of any true retail in the residential tower being oriented inward/toward VB, 5th Ave -- the Center's face to arguably the employment center with the most upward mobility -- is essentially as much of a miss as 3rd Street despite not only the potential for integrating into the PBC, but also the existing urban development of 4th Street that feeds into it, with a fairly well-designed 2-sided road between Roosevelt through to the retail at the bottom of the PBC garage, which will stand no shot at leasing under these plans but will be undoubtedly used as proof that ground level retail does not work downtown.
---
3. The AMC may be here to stay for now, but not so in the long-term plans for the site. At some point, Taylor mall will terminate into a midrise titled only "ASU" which, while it makes sense in the context of the Mall itself, means low density, single-use, and a very small chance at anything public-facing.
The corner of 3rd St/VB is the only piece that fits into what I would have liked to have seen done with the entire property. Planned is a mixed-use residential midrise with ground floor retail and grocery store. With such so many dense developments already in place to the north, the planned residential on-site, and the logical need for student housing in the immediate area, something like an Urban Target with a grocery and pharmacy component would make total sense. It's just too bad it will exist in isolation, rather than feeding into a modernized mall of more amenities.
Probably to quiet any objections, the face of the massive expanded garage along 5th Ave is covered by residential along Fillmore, but even in the rendering, it looks to be 4 stories at most and I could see it staying as a parking lot indefinitely due to 'market demand.'
Prev
Linear Mode
