Tempe Development Thread

[TAZ4ate0]

^It's on the south side of the freeway. Would it be too nit-picky of me to mention that I think the article should have been posted in the Phoenix development thread? I mean, the location is in Phoenix, not Tempe, after all.

[mwadswor]

Speaking of big developments south of the 202. Does anyone know if anything is going on with the pier 202 (or whatever the final name was) project along Rio Salado between Rural and McClintock? I rode my bike by it over the weekend and it looks pretty much dead, no activity, no equipment, no nothing. Just a couple of fenced off, enormous pits. Are there still plans for further development, or is the whole thing just stalled indefinitely?

[Don B.]

^ My guess is stalled for now.

--don

[mwadswor]

http://asunews.asu.edu/20100315_March_Madness

March Madness comes to Tempe

March Madness comes to Tempe this week as Arizona State University hosts the first and second rounds of the 2010 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena.

Making their way to the Valley of the Sun this week will be Oklahoma State (Big 12 Conference), Chattanooga (Southern Conference), Georgia (Southeastern Conference) and Tulane (Conference USA).

The action kicks off on Saturday at 5 p.m. PT when fourth-seeded Oklahoma State takes on 13th-seeded Chattanooga. Then in the nightcap (approx. 7:30 p.m.), fifth-seeded Georgia faces 12th-seeded Tulane.

On Monday at 6:30 p.m. PT the winners of Saturday's games will square for the right to advance to Sacramento and a berth in the Sweet 16.

Too bad ASU won't be there, but still good to see ASU hosting this event. I don't think the new bed tax has taken effect yet unfortunately, but still a nice little tourism bump I'm sure.

[glynnjamin]

I swear I heard the radio talking about an auction of Centerpoint condos coming up some time soon starting at $85k. Does anyone have anything that confirms or changes this?

[Urban Rising]

The auction is at Northshore Condos @ Rural & 202

[glynnjamin]

^Ahhh, thank you! I was confused when I heard it but there is no DVR for the radio playing in a waiting room.

[AJphx]

http://asunews.asu.edu/20100308_construction

Tempe campus road restrictions to begin for construction project
With the upcoming construction of a new research building on the southeast corner of McAllister Avenue and Terrace Road, road restrictions will be put into place in late March or early April, on the ASU Tempe campus.

The impacted areas will be the narrowing of McAllister between Lemon Street and Terrace, and the closure of Terrace from McAllister east to the visitor gate for the Rural Road parking structure. The sidewalk on the east side of McAllister between Lemon and Terrace will be closed. These restrictions are expected to last about two years.

Both lanes of McAllister will be restriped to accommodate north and south bound traffic. The impacted areas will be fenced off by the general contractor. Faculty and staff will continue to have access to the Rural Road parking structure from Rural and Lemon.

Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 4 (ISTB 4) will contain approximately 300,000 sq. ft. of high technology research laboratory and office space. It will house researchers, faculty and staff for the School of Earth and Space Exploration, Synthetic Chemistry, Environmental Engineering, Energy Research initiatives and Public Outreach.

The project budget is $160 million, with the construction completion scheduled for Spring 2012. The contractor is Sundt Construction.

[ciweiss]

I just rode my bike towards the South Bank project and noticed they extended the bike paths further towards Tempe Marketplace. They planted a bunch of wild flowers and it looks incredible. For any photographers I would check it out for sure. Those flowers won't stay in bloom long once it warms up. It is quite a view.

[combusean]

Does anyone know what's up with the two gynormous tower cranes going up in Tempe near Broadway and I-10?

[Tempe_Duck]

Originally Posted by combusean

Does anyone know what's up with the two gynormous tower cranes going up in Tempe near Broadway and I-10?

They are located in the office park with the pie shaped building, (with a piece taken out). I assume they are for more office buildings. They just added a parking garage to the location a couple years ago and the top floor seems empty at least from the freeway.

I'll try and drive by in a day or so and see what else I can find out.

[TAZ4ate0]

Originally Posted by combusean

Does anyone know what's up with the two gynormous tower cranes going up in Tempe near Broadway and I-10?

They are going to be used for the construction of my new home.

..........ok, ok just kidding.

Yeah, don't know what they are for. I have a free day today, and I'm planning on going for a long bike ride. I may do what Duck said he was going to do, by heading over that direction on my ride, and try to see if I can find out what's going on. Hopefully, one of us will get the scoop.


edit: Oh yeah, there was something else I saw, or heard, a few days ago, something up and coming for Tempe that is really cool, is related to development, and was going to mention here. But, for the life of me, I can't remember what it was now.

Oh well, it's still early, and I haven't had my coffee yet. I'll probably think of it later.

[TAZ4ate0]

Someone said 'tower cranes', so I got all white and nerdy, and was like; "oh, oh where? Let me see!, Let me see!"

So yeah, I checked out where the cranes are today. From what I could tell, it looks like an office building, and maybe a second one, is going up. Looks like it will be a low to mid-rise building(s), in the 4-7 story range. It's going blend in with all the other offices in the area. Pretty nondescript.

[Cardsfan]

First time poster but long time follower so I hope this works right.

The tower cranes are building two towers for Apollo Group. I believe one will be 10 stories and one 6 stories (similar to the 32nd St site). I work for Apollo and they just made an announcement of the ground breaking for our Fountainhead Campus. They used to have a rendering on a Phoenix Business Journal article but this is all I could find...

http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2009/09/07/daily20.html

[Vicelord John]

That corridor along I-10 is becoming like south Denver along the 25.

[Urban Rising]

The new buildings going up will be a ten story and a six story. They are also building a new parking garage. The buildings will look fairly similar to those at Hayden Ferry Lakeside. Davis is the architect and Sundt is the GC. Apollo is going to be the tenant.

[TAZ4ate0]

Link


Downtown Tempe's southern end in limbo as economy stalls
by Georgann Yara - Apr. 6, 2010 11:34 AM
Special for The Republic

What was once a hot corner at downtown Tempe's southern end now serves as a reminder of the lagging economy.

Just north of University Drive on Mill Avenue, the intersection that was once a destination point is now quiet on most nights, with the exception of pedestrians walking to other destinations.

Two restaurants, a fast-food place and two mobile-communication shops greet visitors at University, but vacant storefronts and a vacant dirt lot make the half-block walk north to the next eateries seem longer. The MADCAP Theatre and weekly public market are draws, but a consistent pedestrian presence on Mill remains lacking.

Large windows reveal bare showrooms and display shelves where a two-story bookstore and trendy retail shops used to be. A vacant lot is all that is left of the spot where the iconic bar Long Wong's used to stand on the southeastern corner of Mill and Seventh Street.

"It's kind of sad," said Tim Henderson, a Scottsdale resident who called Mill Avenue one of his old stomping grounds. "I hope they can get some businesses in here to bring it back to the Mill I remember."

Tempe resident Tara Wong was disappointed when she noticed shops closing, with nothing replacing them.

"It's the economy, but you'd think these would be easy to fill. There used to be a lot more here," she said.

A few years ago, a lot of tenants' leases in that area were terminated to make way for new developments. When the economy tanked, Scottsdale-based DMB Development opted to keep the space and attempted to find new uses and tenants, said Jimmy Cerracchio, director of business development for Downtown Tempe Community, which assists with that task.

A deal that would bring wine and sushi bar Seasoned Cork to the space formerly occupied by Pizzeria Uno was already struck before the longtime pizza joint closed last year, Cerracchio said. Seasoned Cork is slated to open by late summer or early fall.

A hotel was supposed to go in the Long Wong's space, but the economy has delayed plans for a few years. In the meantime, Cerracchio said, the challenge is finding a tenant willing to make a temporary move to that area.

Location also is a factor. Most of the retail and restaurant space north of Seventh is full, so that makes the rent on these vacant properties higher, although prices have been "more affordable lately," Cerracchio said. Restaurants have expressed interest, but many of the spots they want are zoned for retail.

"Rent is higher because of the desirability to be on Mill. The economy has affected us but not as much as the rest of the Valley," Cerracchio said.

The vacancies have moved crowds toward the northern end of the district, said Eddie Goitia, managing partner at Monti's La Casa Vieja, which stands on the northern edge of Mill at Rio Salado Parkway. He said light rail and new buildings on the lake have brought more attention to the area.

"Oddly enough, it's pushed more people to come and enjoy the park. They used to think Mill ended at Third Street. Well, not anymore," Goitia said.

Goitia said he expects more businesses to open at the southern end of Mill, restoring the active buzz of years past.

"Eventually, the market rates are going to change. It's still an attractive area," he said.

Cerracchio is optimistic that spaces will be occupied this year. Unique restaurants and shops are desired over mainstream chains that do not fit the identity of downtown.

"We want cool, funky boutiques that will run on their own and create a destination where people want to go check it out," he said. "We want to give everyone a one-of-a-kind experience when they come here."

It's true that the economy has hurt Mill Ave. to a degree. However, I feel that it is the Tempe Marketplace that has been the real culprit in hurting retail occupancy along Mill. Marketplace is now drawing most of the college and hipster crowds.

Despite what they say about the economy, I'm sure that most all of the storefronts, even the new ones, along Mill would be leased today if the Marketplace didn't exist.

[mwadswor]

Originally Posted by TAZ4ate0

It is true that the economy has hurt Mill Ave. to a degree. However, I feel that it is the Tempe Marketplace that has been the real culprit in hurting retail occupancy along Mill. Marketplace is now drawing most of the college and hipster crowds.

Despite what they say about the economy, I'm sure that most all of the storefronts, even the new ones, along Mill would be leased today, if the Marketplace didn't exist.

At the southern end of Mill, the real killer has been centerpoint and other planned developments, IMO. It's convenient to blame Tempe Marketplace, but there are probably more than 10,000 people (including all the residents at ASU) in walking distance of Mill, there are almost none in walking distance of Tempe marketplace (the lake + 202 on the north side, the power plant on the west side, the 101 on the east side... the only people really in walking distance are the houses directly to the south). Combine that with the light rail and most of the orbit routes congerving on Mill and many bus routes converging on College, and that's plenty of advantage to Mill over Tempe Marketplace. The problem is that the whole south end was shut down and razed in preparation for planned developments that just never happened. The street life is less than it used to be, but still decent as you walk south from the lake until you get to where Unos and Borders used to be, then it's just completely dead the rest of the way to University. Centerpoint owns a lot of vacant shops along the southwest side of Mill, and I suspect the fact that they're bankrupt makes signing new leases for those shops difficult if not impossible. Combine that with the planned hotel/vacant lot and the suburban style Jack in the box that's always been a dead zone on the other side of Mill, and that area is just dead.

The good news is, if Cerracchio is right and the hotel is still planned, just in a holding pattern, and the Centerpoint property will emerge from bankruptcy at some point. That end of Mill will come back, it's just in a holding pattern right now. The north end of Mill is still pretty lively, it just seems very disconnected from ASU for right now.

[Don B.]

Regards the vacant Long Wong's lot, why doesn't the city waive permitting fees and permit a temporary structure there for some type of place, such as a small grocery, an artist's collective, etc?

--don

[SethAZ]

The south end of Mill isn't quite as dead as it's been made to sound. Centerpoint did screw things up, but we got MADCAP (which I love), there is a Jimmy John's, 5 Guys Burgers, Robbie Fox's on 6th, Sucker Punch Sally's on Mill and University which serves breakfast on Mill 24/7, and I was talking to some construction guys working in the old Unos who said it was going to be a sushi place. (The article says otherwise and I'm going to trust that.)
True that across the street is a big empty building where Borders used to be and a sad looking dirt lot where Long Wong's was. But I think all things considered, there is a lot going at the south end of Mill.