Freeport-McMoRan Center (One Central Park East) - Phoenix, AZ

[flyer84]

Originally Posted by Vicelord John

no I mean times square.

There is some building there that has the same "crown" as ocpe. I don't know whos building it is or why it is there, but it looks the same.

What LAFINDOG was trying to point out is that the New York Times Building in "Times Square" IS the building you are referring to with the similar crown as OCPE. It is much taller but the crown is quite similar and hopefully OCPE will get some illumination at the top. That would be really awesome! Just the one night rendering shows the crown illuminated slightly but its not all that impressive. Still not too shaby though.

[gymratmanaz]

Where is that night rendering?

[nickkoto]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

The article I read said that there are electronic monitors at every door that count how many people get in/out. It'll be a good way to see how many people board and how many people are actually paying as well.

There is a window about shin-high at every door with a sensor, so that should be indicative of ridership. However, those of us with passes don't need to swipe each time before we board (I just show my U-Pass to the fare inspector), so there's no true way of knowing how many of those shins are paid.

[PhxPavilion]

Tis an impressive looking building, too bad it's stubby.

[glynnjamin]

Originally Posted by nickkoto

There is a window about shin-high at every door with a sensor, so that should be indicative of ridership. However, those of us with passes don't need to swipe each time before we board (I just show my U-Pass to the fare inspector), so there's no true way of knowing how many of those shins are paid.

No, those of you with passes are supposed to swipe on the yellow pad before you board. I read that companies/asu/etc use those numbers to determine if people are using the program & if they should keep it around. So, based on that, if you want to keep your U-pass, you should start swiping it.

[flyer84]

Originally Posted by gymratmanaz

Where is that night rendering?

Here is a link to the rendering gallery: http://www.1cpe.com/gallery.html

The night rendering is actually more like a "dusk" rendering if anything but it still looks good.

On another note, I'm really sad this building couldn't be taller. I know I shouldn't be complaining, with the economy down the tubes and all, but the design of the building is very appealing and IMO it would look so much better if it were 15-20 stories taller. Ah well, we can't get everything we want. Who knows though, maybe in 10 years there will be a huge demand for office space downtown and the owners will decide to add floors on to the building similar to what they are doing to the Blue Cross building in Chicago! Then again, I think we would all be happier just to get a 500+ building that is iconic and unique rather than add on to OCPE. It will be a great addition to the skyline.

[reguyphx]

One of the main reasons 1CPE couldn't be taller is parking. The building already has 10 levels of parking above grade and if the building was bigger where would they park the employees??? Until mass transit is more heavily utilized and parking requirements for buildings fall dramatically you won't see taller buildings.

[HX_Guy]

They are planning to build a parking garage on the NE corner of the same lot, so I don't think parking would have been an issue. I think the height probably has more to do with the demand...they may have figured they wouldn't be able to fill a taller building. Hell, they can't even fill this one right now.

I agree though on the design, it's pretty awesome and has this "big city" feel to it...you can tell the developers are from Chicago and unlike RED, aren't building just a boring box at Cityscape.

[HX_Guy]

I just realized that they haven't even installed the "purple thing" on the front of the building yet either and that is what those little things are for. That should look pretty cool once that is done.

[plinko]

Originally Posted by flyer84

Who knows though, maybe in 10 years there will be a huge demand for office space downtown and the owners will decide to add floors on to the building similar to what they are doing to the Blue Cross building in Chicago! Then again, I think we would all be happier just to get a 500+ building that is iconic and unique rather than add on to OCPE. It will be a great addition to the skyline.

Can't do that. The Blue Cross Building in Chicago was designed as a two stage building. They built the structure and elevator cores to accomodate the future expansion. FYI...

I actually don't mind the height (or lack thereof) of this building. I saw it about two weeks ago and like the massing and the facade treatment (despite my continued objections about the north facade). It's a great filler building that definitely holds its own in the skyline.

[LAFINDOG]

They are planning to build a parking garage on the NE corner of the same lot, so I don't think parking would have been an issue.

The parking at the NE corner is dead for the time being as the costs were too high to make it work with current demand and rates. They may come back in a few years and add it but not in this current downturn

[HX_Guy]

Originally Posted by LAFINDOG

The parking at the NE corner is dead for the time being as the costs were too high to make it work with current demand and rates. They may come back in a few years and add it but not in this current downturn

Oh, well shit, that's actually great news. I was dreading another parking garage going in, especially since we had heard it was not going to have any ground floor retail.

Hopefully they will hold off long enough to possibly catch the next wave (years and years down the road) and instead of just doing a garage, they will do something better with it.

[Classical in Phoenix]

They expanded the Financial Center at Osborn and Central. It was originally built in 1967 as a 10 story building. Then, around 1972, they added the additional 8 floors.

[plinko]

^That building was planned to be expanded as well.

You can't just add floors on top of a building without accounting for the structural loads. Doesn't work that way.

+1 for the thought that the rest of the lot won't get taken up just by a parking structure. I'd love to see something 5-8 stories and 'urban'. That stretch of Central deserves it.

[Tempe_Duck]

Originally Posted by flyer84

Here is a link to the rendering gallery: http://www.1cpe.com/gallery.html

The night rendering is actually more like a "dusk" rendering if anything but it still looks good.

On another note, I'm really sad this building couldn't be taller. I know I shouldn't be complaining, with the economy down the tubes and all, but the design of the building is very appealing and IMO it would look so much better if it were 15-20 stories taller. Ah well, we can't get everything we want. Who knows though, maybe in 10 years there will be a huge demand for office space downtown and the owners will decide to add floors on to the building similar to what they are doing to the Blue Cross building in Chicago! Then again, I think we would all be happier just to get a 500+ building that is iconic and unique rather than add on to OCPE. It will be a great addition to the skyline.

The building was orginally going to be the tallest in the state when ASU was on board with it. ASU decided that it would be cheaper to do it on their own. I believe it was going to included the Cronkite School, the Nursing School, and I believe some dorms. Not 100% sure on the dorms part.

[Classical in Phoenix]

Originally Posted by plinko

^That building was planned to be expanded as well.

You can't just add floors on top of a building without accounting for the structural loads. Doesn't work that way.

+1 for the thought that the rest of the lot won't get taken up just by a parking structure. I'd love to see something 5-8 stories and 'urban'. That stretch of Central deserves it.

No doubt on the structure loads. There was also a mirror building to the Financial Center planned at that site. It was to sit on the North portion of the property.

[Don B.]

I wish OCPE was just a hair taller. Even 400' would be better than 341', but that seems to be our lot in life - short and stumpy skyscrapers.

--don

[nickkoto]

Originally Posted by glynnjamin

No, those of you with passes are supposed to swipe on the yellow pad before you board. I read that companies/asu/etc use those numbers to determine if people are using the program & if they should keep it around. So, based on that, if you want to keep your U-pass, you should start swiping it.

I think I've heard something like that long ago that they'd require any cardholders to swipe and get a receipt for the fare collectors, but I've also been told by a few platform attendants that it isn't necessary to swipe my U-Pass and no validation receipt will print out if I swipe it.

Also, ASU's Parking and Transit Services website makes no mention of swiping the card at the kiosk before boarding, and they're usually pretty thorough about that stuff:

How do I use the U-Pass on light rail?

Please ensure that you always have your U-Pass and Sun Card with you when traveling on the METRO. Light rail trains operate on a barrier-free system, meaning you do not have to present your fare before boarding the train. To ensure passengers paid for their trip, whether by a ticket purchased at a METRO kiosk or by transit pass, fare inspectors will ask passengers at random to present proof of a valid transit fare. Your U-Pass along with a valid Sun Card will serve as confirmation.

I actually know some people through my campus job that can clarify it for me, so I'll ask.

[Sonoran_Dweller]

I always tap my card to the reader. That is what the orange readers are for. All it does is ring a little bell and the screen says when the card was activated and when it will expire. But I'm sure you have to use the card reader.

[HooverDam]

Construction updates on OCPE from tonight: