Phoenix Development News (3)

[ASU Diablo]

Mixed-use development project holds groundbreaking ceremony in Roosevelt neighborhood
Downtown Devil

Downtown residents — and Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton — can finally answer one question that has long been on their minds when going down Roosevelt Street after ground broke for a new set of apartments.

“What the heck’s going to happen to that crazy triangle piece at First and Roosevelt?” Stanton asked the crowd of city officials, local business owners and media at the groundbreaking ceremony for new apartments at a lot on First Avenue and Roosevelt Street on Wednesday morning.

MetroWest Development is set to start construction on “Union @ Roosevelt,” one of the first mixed use projects on the southern side of the Roosevelt neighborhood. Once construction begins, the project will take about 16 to 18 months to complete and should be finished in the fall of 2016.

Before the ceremony, it was a vacant lot on First Avenue and Roosevelt Street, but soon it will have 80 apartments with approximately 9,200 square feet of ground floor retail and restaurant space, Matthew Seaman, a partner at MetroWest Development, said.

“I think this is a representation of how we can take vacant lots and infill areas that are so critical to the neighborhoods and bring them back to a pedestrian focus in a neighborhood scale,” he said.

The project started about three and a half years ago, when the idea was proposed by Seaman and fellow MetroWest partner, Doug Gannett, to organizations like the Sustainable Communities Collaborative and the city council.

Related: Mixed-use development to fill empty lot on Roosevelt after 50 years of vacancy

Funding came from LISC Phoenix — a community development organization — and the Raza Development Fund, which each contributed $10 million to contribute to fostering the idea of the Union @ Roosevelt project.

“On behalf of LISC Phoenix, we look forward to working with all our partners to continue this momentum and create more equitable, transit-oriented developments here in Phoenix,” said Bryce Lloyd, chair of LISC Phoenix’s local advisory council.

District 8 Councilwoman Kate Gallego called Seaman a “pioneer” and further emphasized the need to have close access to transit.

“Matt is a local developer, invested in very small business,” she said. “He’s done a lot of work downtown, lives downtown, so it’s exciting to have a local success story.”

Gallego noted that the construction of Union @ Roosevelt would not be in the suburban style of having parking spaces feet away from the sidewalk, but instead would be built closer to the sidewalk in a way that “makes sense for a downtown.” In addition, the ground-floor restaurants below the housing units will serve to further differentiate the building from its surroundings.

In addition to city officials, the Roosevelt Action Association, Grid Bike Share and Short Leash Hot Dogs were among the organizations present at the event to support the development.

Brad Moore, the owner of Short Leash, said that the development will have a positive effect on everyone involved in downtown Phoenix.

“I think it’s an exciting time to be a part of downtown Phoenix,” Moore said.

[RichTempe]

Originally Posted by airomero83

Mixed-use development project holds groundbreaking ceremony in Roosevelt neighborhood
Downtown Devil

Hopefully we see dirt moving soon. I drove by there this afternoon and it still looks basically the same as it did 6 months ago when I moved out of Roosevelt Square. I know Wednesday was just a ceremony, but I thought there might be some evidence of something. Guess I'm just impatient.

[FitnessPower]

I was driving by downtown yesterday, and couldn't help but think just 1 600ft high rise would make that skyline somewhat respectable. If central station happens they need to really push to add some floors so we can at least get a new tallest!

[gymratmanaz]

Agreed!! Would be a fine addition. We can dream can't we?

[HooverDam]

Originally Posted by FitnessPower

I was driving by downtown yesterday, and couldn't help but think just 1 600ft high rise would make that skyline somewhat respectable. If central station happens they need to really push to add some floors so we can at least get a new tallest!

the fact that we've had the same tallest building since 1975 tells you everything you need to know about our economy over the last 40 years. Depressing!

[ASUSunDevil]

Originally Posted by HooverDam

the fact that we've had the same tallest building since 1975 tells you everything you need to know about our economy over the last 40 years. Depressing!

Not sure that tells you everything you need to know about our economy.

State Farm's Marina Heights project is 2 million square feet. The Devon Tower in Oklahoma City is 850 feet tall and encompasses 1.8 million square feet. Theoretically, State Farm could have built a 1,000 footer Downtown if they didn't prefer Tempe (and the FAA didn't exist).

Until the recruiting of large corporations to Downtown improves, we won't see a new tallest.

Here's another miss for Downtown: http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/n...h-phoenix.html

[combusean]

The more north you go in downtown, the less the FAA cares.

It would have been much more expensive for State Farm to build an 800 footer downtown and come up with a parking solution for it if if they wanted to build there. The Devon tower has about a third the number of parking spaces per square foot than the Tempe project.

If the 8,500 spaces in the State Farm Tempe complex were under one roof, it would rank as one of the 10 world's largest garages as of 2008.

http://www.forbes.com/2008/04/10/par..._slide_10.html

The circulation for that would be an absolute nightmare to handle appropriately and probably be incompatible with any of the street layouts downtown or in the vicinity, if even such a monstrosity could be built in the central city without raising ten thousand eyebrows and complaints.

Given that offices coming online today require far more parking per square foot than they ever did, I actually don't see Phoenix getting a new tallest ever, even if the economy were any good, and similarly I don't see the vacancy rates in all the obsolete Midtown buildings ever significantly improving as well unless there's some major new investment into them.

[Jjs5056]

A Sprouts HQ with flagship grocery on the ground level would have been fantastic. Even better if it were built on Central Station in a mixed use project with the proposed apartment tower.

Honestly, Phoenix's skyline doesn't bother me a bit with regards to its height. I just want to see it grow denser with buildings that are architecturally pleasant - IOW, I'm fine with several more OCPE's and 44 Monroe's. They should also be dense, urban, and meet the street level with active uses. IMO, Central Station is a complete failure aside from looking pretty. It's wasting more than 75% of maybe the most valuable parcel in all of downtown on a freaking parking garage.

Even with downtown's inability to attract major tenants, I'm still somewhat surprised that there haven't been ANY office tower proposals since CityScape. Class A vacancy rates have been low for quite sometime, so with lower construction costs, you would think someone would've jumped on it. It would be great to see the Colliers block developed, though my preference would be to start seeing some towers transforming West Van Buren between 2nd Ave - 7th Ave.

[Freeway]

Originally Posted by HooverDam

the fact that we've had the same tallest building since 1975 tells you everything you need to know about our economy over the last 40 years. Depressing!

It's actually been our tallest since 1973. In any light, I don't think that says anything about our economy. Chicago's has had the same tallest since 1973. If it wasn't for 9/11 New York's tallest would've also been towers from 1973. I guess 1970's was just a good decade for modern skyscrapers.

The fact that Chase is still our tallest says more about our flight path and the fact that many companies have and continue to favor suburban campuses over urban towers. It would be foolish though not to look at all of the highrises that have been built here since Chase.

[Buckeye Native 001]

I'd personally rather see the vacant lots in and around Downtown Phoenix developed before any more high-rises are built.

[soleri]

Originally Posted by Freeway

It's actually been our tallest since 1973. In any light, I don't think that says anything about our economy. Chicago's has had the same tallest since 1973. If it wasn't for 9/11 New York's tallest would've also been towers from 1973. I guess 1970's was just a good decade for modern skyscrapers.

This.

Here is a list of (major) cities with "tallest" constructed in this century:

New York (+ various New Jersey suburbs)
Philadelphia
Los Angeles (u/c + spire)
San Francisco (u/c)
Oklahoma City
Miami/Miami Beach
Austin
Omaha

Notice missing hot real-estate markets like Seattle, Denver, San Diego. Phoenix has serious economic and civic issues. The least of them is a new "tallest".

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by ASUSunDevil

Not sure that tells you everything you need to know about our economy.

State Farm's Marina Heights project is 2 million square feet. The Devon Tower in Oklahoma City is 850 feet tall and encompasses 1.8 million square feet. Theoretically, State Farm could have built a 1,000 footer Downtown if they didn't prefer Tempe (and the FAA didn't exist).

Until the recruiting of large corporations to Downtown improves, we won't see a new tallest.

Here's another miss for Downtown: http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/n...h-phoenix.html

Basically this,

Valley and state wide we are seeing lots of office development, the city of Phoenix is doing a terrible job getting them in the city, let alone downtown. Imagine if even half of these were downtown instead of along the 101.

[IMG] http://media.bizj.us/view/img/401794...4940-0-146.jpg [/IMG]

[Jjs5056]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

I'd personally rather see the vacant lots in and around Downtown Phoenix developed before any more high-rises are built.

Agreed. In many cases, the two don't need to be mutually exclusive. For instance, I hope that the newest Biomedical building will set a new standard for the height/density of all future buildings on that campus. There's no reason to be building 5 story medical buildings in prime locations of downtown.

Many of the lots along Fillmore, 1st Ave, etc. are also fit for high rise development; though I use that term loosely (10 stories+).

[FitnessPower]

Originally Posted by Jjs5056

A Sprouts HQ with flagship grocery on the ground level would have been fantastic. Even better if it were built on Central Station in a mixed use project with the proposed apartment tower.

Honestly, Phoenix's skyline doesn't bother me a bit with regards to its height. I just want to see it grow denser with buildings that are architecturally pleasant - IOW, I'm fine with several more OCPE's and 44 Monroe's. They should also be dense, urban, and meet the street level with active uses. IMO, Central Station is a complete failure aside from looking pretty. It's wasting more than 75% of maybe the most valuable parcel in all of downtown on a freaking parking garage.

Even with downtown's inability to attract major tenants, I'm still somewhat surprised that there haven't been ANY office tower proposals since CityScape. Class A vacancy rates have been low for quite sometime, so with lower construction costs, you would think someone would've jumped on it. It would be great to see the Colliers block developed, though my preference would be to start seeing some towers transforming West Van Buren between 2nd Ave - 7th Ave.

Agree with with the density, but it would still be nice to have that one symbolistic high rise towering above the rest to where even people back east sees a downtown pic and just knows right away they are looking at PHX

[KevininPhx]

Originally Posted by soleri

This.

Here is a list of (major) cities with "tallest" constructed in this century:

New York (+ various New Jersey suburbs)
Philadelphia
Los Angeles (u/c + spire)
San Francisco (u/c)
Oklahoma City
Miami/Miami Beach
Austin
Omaha

Notice missing hot real-estate markets like Seattle, Denver, San Diego. Phoenix has serious economic and civic issues. The least of them is a new "tallest".

Just a couple of comments. Las Vegas has had a few tallest this century if you don't count that monstrous monstrosity at the end of the strip. But, more serious, Seattle has a completely amazing tallest proposal that I really hope happens. Sidenote: That LA tallest spire annoys me to no end - it's a really long stick on a respectably 2nd tallest building in LA.

[Obadno]

[QUOTE=Jjs5056;6944427]

Honestly, Phoenix's skyline doesn't bother me a bit with regards to its height. I just want to see it grow denser with buildings that are architecturally pleasant - IOW, I'm fine with several more OCPE's and 44 Monroe's. They should also be dense, urban, and meet the street level with active uses. IMO, Central Station is a complete failure aside from looking pretty. It's wasting more than 75% of maybe the most valuable parcel in all of downtown on a freaking parking garage.
QUOTE]

Exactly this Vancouver, and Paris have good skylines that aren't "tall" by any means they are just thick with 20-50 story buildings, with the FAA guidelines that's the route we will need to take with maybe a few stand alones up central.

[HX_Guy]

Originally Posted by Obadno

Exactly this Vancouver, and Paris have good skylines that aren't "tall" by any means they are just thick with 20-50 story buildings, with the FAA guidelines that's the route we will need to take with maybe a few stand alones up central.

I'd love to have that "non-tall" Paris skyline.

[soleri]

Originally Posted by KevininPhx

Just a couple of comments. Las Vegas has had a few tallest this century if you don't count that monstrous monstrosity at the end of the strip. But, more serious, Seattle has a completely amazing tallest proposal that I really hope happens. Sidenote: That LA tallest spire annoys me to no end - it's a really long stick on a respectably 2nd tallest building in LA.

Yep, I forgot Las Vegas. I agree about LA's "tallest" - that building comes with a permanent asterisk. Seattle isn't the only city out there with a great proposal. Minneapolis has one and so does Nashville. If I had to make a list of cities simply in terms of their high-rise construction, "tallest" aside, it would look something like this:

New York
San Francisco
Chicago
Miami
Seattle
Los Angeles
Philadelphia


BTW, I suspect Las Vegas is really overbuilt, which is the main reason it's suffering today. The Phoenix market, too, suffers from significant vacancies, particularly in its Central Corridor and sub-markets. While real estate activity can be evidence of an economy's strength, it becomes perilous when it's the primary strength.

[Jjs5056]

[QUOTE=Obadno;6945165]

Originally Posted by Jjs5056

Honestly, Phoenix's skyline doesn't bother me a bit with regards to its height. I just want to see it grow denser with buildings that are architecturally pleasant - IOW, I'm fine with several more OCPE's and 44 Monroe's. They should also be dense, urban, and meet the street level with active uses. IMO, Central Station is a complete failure aside from looking pretty. It's wasting more than 75% of maybe the most valuable parcel in all of downtown on a freaking parking garage.
QUOTE]

Exactly this Vancouver, and Paris have good skylines that aren't "tall" by any means they are just thick with 20-50 story buildings, with the FAA guidelines that's the route we will need to take with maybe a few stand alones up central.

Agreed with the sentiment, but from what I have seen, Vancouver is actually a city I would NOT want Phoenix to emulate. I am sure there are fantastic sections, but a lot of the areas I have seen built-up with skyscrapers look extremely uninviting at the ground level - kind of like Midtown but way nicer and taller, but just as anti-urban.

As far as wanting there to be a new tallest as a way of defining Phoenix - I think that can happen without building a skyscraper. It will take architects being creative and designing buildings that respond to the desert environment they are being built in; but, if the Biomedical Campus gets built out with 10-12 story buildings all with copper cladding and similar design to the ones already completed, I think it will have a very distinctive look.

[CrestedSaguaro]

Originally Posted by soleri

This.

Here is a list of (major) cities with "tallest" constructed in this century:

New York (+ various New Jersey suburbs)
Philadelphia
Los Angeles (u/c + spire)
San Francisco (u/c)
Oklahoma City
Miami/Miami Beach
Austin
Omaha

Notice missing hot real-estate markets like Seattle, Denver, San Diego. Phoenix has serious economic and civic issues. The least of them is a new "tallest".

a few to add, just for comparrsions sake...

Cincinnati - Queen City Square (2011 @ 665').
Raleigh - PNC Plaza (2008 @ 538')
Fort Lauderdale (Las Olas Complex - 2 new tallest towers built since 2004, new tallest U/C by 2017 - although part of the Miami metro, Ft. L. can stand on it's own).

I'm sure I'm missing a couple more, but I can't think of them offhand.

Correct me if I'm wrong since I have only been in Phoenix for 2 years, but wouldn't have Chase possibly been topped by now by a couple of proposals if it weren't for the economic crash? I haven't really had the time to research past proposals, but I seem to remember a few 500+ footers thrown around 5 or 6 years ago or so.