Tempe Development Thread

[CB1]

Lol

[CB1]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUoJ4Dej93j/?hl=en

[BurjKhalifa2Builder]

Originally Posted by rockies

One of the reasons I check this forum despite having no relation to Tempe is because of Culdesac. I really hope it's successful and I think it could do a lot to convince people nationally that car-free communities can work. I would seriously consider giving up my car to live somewhere like that where I am. That is kind of hilarious that Car and Driver even gave their opinion on the matter in the first place though lmao

Are there any plans for improved bike lanes between Culdesac and campus? I feel like that would make it even more easy to live there.

Funnily enough, the construction site at Culdesac has temporarily totally removed the sidewalk and bike lane. I used to bike that route for my college courses, and tbh it's pretty underused

[BurjKhalifa2Builder]

Originally Posted by combusean

Culdesac never once gave me the idea it was going to be affordable. It's garden apartment density never looked liked it was going to pencil out by itself in 2021, especially after it will require a small army of landscapers and an unusually dedicated property management staff to keep it attractive to existing and prospective tenants.

But I am old and pessimistic and have been surprised before about this project, like the fact it's even under construction.

Tbh I think the grocery store is probably enough of an amenity on it's own to justify it to tenants

[Obadno]

What is with this outside interest in the Culdesac? It isnt particularly unique or groundbreaking?

Just cause it got big national press?

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by Obadno

What is with this outside interest in the Culdesac? It isnt particularly unique or groundbreaking?

Just cause it got big national press?

It's a hype machine, and the national press has been easy to entice with all the rhetoric about a "car free" community. What most reporters seem to be forgetting (maybe because they're too young to remember or never learned history) is that it was once common to build apartment buildings without dedicated parking, and thousands of those buildings are still standing (although few of them are in Arizona).

I'm completely in favor of what Culdesac is building, and I hope it succeeds. Still, the hype bothers me, not only because it's ahistorical, but also because if the project fails, it creates the possibility of a "told ya so" mentality to be used to justify mandatory parking minimums in the future.

[combusean]

It's a car-free community which has really never been done before anywhere in a historically car-heavy suburb. The semantics of Tempe exploding in growth and urban development with a popular light rail line is lost along the way.

[YourBuddy]

Originally Posted by exit2lef

It's a hype machine, and the national press has been easy to entice with all the rhetoric about a "car free" community. What most reporters seem to be forgetting (maybe because they're too young to remember or never learned history) is that it was once common to build apartment buildings without dedicated parking, and thousands of those buildings are still standing (although few of them are in Arizona).

I'm completely in favor of what Culdesac is building, and I hope it succeeds. Still, the hype bothers me, not only because it's ahistorical, but also because if the project fails, it creates the possibility of a "told ya so" mentality to be used to justify mandatory parking minimums in the future.

It would be nice if more media would address how cities developed before the car and suburbs, but most people weren’t even alive when we started building highways, so it isn’t surprising that people only look at it thru what they know. Just look at all the old nimbys in Scottsdale who hate any mention of density, limited parking, or public transport.

[CB1]

[CB1]

I find it strange that The Watermark by the Tempe Town Lake was finished a while ago and the Oban restaurant hasn’t made much progress.

[Mr.RE]

13 floors to go!

[CrestedSaguaro]

Originally Posted by Mr.RE

13 floors to go!

It's actually starting to be fairly visible over from Papago Park along Curry.

[azsunsurfer]

I went by the Cul de sac site this weekend and they have some storage units with power running to a white picket fenced area. Was that for the "ground breaking ceremony" or are they having some weird temporary use for part of the site?

[BurjKhalifa2Builder]

Originally Posted by azsunsurfer

I went by the Cul de sac site this weekend and they have some storage units with power running to a white picket fenced area. Was that for the "ground breaking ceremony" or are they having some weird temporary use for part of the site?

I saw that and was wondering the same thing. It's been there for over a week

[muertecaza]

Originally Posted by azsunsurfer

I went by the Cul de sac site this weekend and they have some storage units with power running to a white picket fenced area. Was that for the "ground breaking ceremony" or are they having some weird temporary use for part of the site?

Yeah, I assumed it was a ground breaking thing, but I don't know for sure.

[CB1]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.azcentral.com/amp/8531217002

[CB1]

View from the Westin hotel.

[CB1]

we

[muertecaza]

They are starting to install the cross-laminated timber on The Beam:

[ASUSunDevil]

^ Super cool. Thanks for the pics!

https://thebeamtempe.com/design/