Quote:
Originally Posted by PHXFlyer11
I am still having trouble getting my head around the Pier 202 development. The press release makes it sounds massive, but one 20-story and one 18-story building doesn't sound so massive to me, like a game changer. Don't get me wrong, it'd be wonderful, but I don't know if it's World Class or along the lines of the other financial hubs that were referenced in the article.
I think Rio has struggled with retail because of A Mountain on the other side of the street. It really creates a dead zone and quite a walk from Mill. I think most people avoid walking that way, and development can really only occur on the North Side of Rio. I would like to see in the future some sort of development in lot 59 across from Marina Heights. I'm not sure if ASU is willing to trade the tailgating spaces though.
Good point on the north side development, that would be a great project as well that puts some pressure on the holdouts with the horse property, which could be developed into something taller, although I believe it'd be severely limited by the flight path in that location, so I'm not sure it could go above 8 stories or so.
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I believe the 18 and 20-story buildings are just phase I of the project (a HQ and residential, correct?); there would eventually be more trade buildings, residential, hotel, etc. I don't understand the whole thing, either, but it sounds like a much larger project and by World Class, I mean... making more it more than a college town. Phoenix has completely flatlined in terms of bringing in new investment downtown when it comes to jobs. It put all its eggs in the biomedical bucket that has generated far less economically than originally imagined.
I think A mountain is
kind of a cop-out for excusing the lack of activity along Rio Salado. HFL should've served as a Gateway between Mill and the waterfront and right now, it's more of a wall. Again, I have never walked to the waterfront - that shouldn't be the case. I should be lured to the edge of downtown to experience the city's focal point through retail and restaurant uses. Lining the street is probably not feasible, but the corner could have certainly been designed as a much more inviting entrance. If the Mill gets developed eventually, there will be little space between the Mill Ave activity and the current south lot 59 lots - in other words, the mountain isn't as large of a deterrent when you think of the Mill and Lot 59 South being built out. They're also investing in a streetcar along this corridor... if all development is inward-facing, it isn't going to be very sucessful.
For the hotel, even something as simple as a lobby that stretched from N-S with the main entrance/dropoff being inside HFL and a nice pedestrian entrance on Rio would've been just fine. But, purely throwing back-of-house elements is a shame, especially adjacent to that heinous garage.
On the north side, I believe the lot I am talking about
is the horseback riding property. Here is a link to the image:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J8ipIaZtwj...cinity+map.png
The property that has long been stalled is the one that actually fronts Rural. That parcel could handle large towers, but has seen little movement.
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