biggus and PHX31 - THANK YOU for posting those images! Somebody (it may have been you PHX) brought the idea of restoring a few generic downtown buildings back into their original facades 2 or so years ago, and this building was one of them. But, I could never find a photo to corroborate whether the existing structure was still indeed the original. WTF is wrong with the landlord and City? It really isn't up to Subway or the smoke shop to do such extensive remodeling that would likely just increase the property's value for the landlord and allow him to drive up their rent (right?). Roosevelt Row has gone from nearly 0% occupancy south of Roosevelt to nearly 100% and it has all been through adaptive reuse projects. Any smart landlord with a potential hidden gem would be foolish not to give restoration a thought, and the City should be facilitating this through a facade restoration program.
There are so many awesome aspects to this that it's both exciting and enraging (maybe not enraging but I can't think of a less dramatic word). It's exciting:
1) to see a Valley staple opening what is essentially a flagship space in downtown that is larger and offers more services than its burb locales
2) that they understand what makes downtown a draw (its history) and is leveraging it through an incredible design
3) that the block with the best bones left in place is morphing into the center of unique dining and nightlife: between Van Buren and Adams, 1st to 1st, there is: Hanny's, Melinda's Alley, Valley Bar, Icon Lounge, Seamus, Rice Paper (is that the name?), the cluster of small restaurants on Adams/Central, and Cornish Pasty (and both 111 Monroe and Orpheum Lofts on 1st Ave deserve mention), with Nook, The Union-ish market at US Bank, and the new retail at The Renaissance all definitely in the pipeline.
4) that maybe this renovation + The Heard might motivate some remodeling of the hideously altered buildings in between/adjacent (Valley Bar's building and the fast food strip on the corner)
5) that I think there still is room for one more tenant in this building just west of Cornish
6) that there is reasonable chances of the Stein-whatever Lodge adjacent to the HGI being renovated per the developers' word that they were planning something special for it
It's frustrating that a building with this potential has been a lame duck for so long and that a Subway and smoke shop occupy what could be two more multi-story businesses that draw people to this area (there are several nearby generic retail spaces for them though I am not advocating for their failure- it isn't their fault the landlord is dumb). It's frustrating that there are several retail spaces still vacant that are clearly not being aggressively marketed or priced appropriately: the two restaurants in the VB/1st Ave garage and 44 Monroe's retail space, for example. It's enraging that the most beautiful (IMO) historic building sits on this very block but has been wall off from the public by the County who occupy it (the Security Building). It's enraging that the City has failed so terribly activating their properties to the east along Adams. It's enraging that the Chase Plaza exists and that there either isn't a will or a way for the City to incentivize the owner into renovations. It's
to think of what might have been with the St. James and Madison Hotels and the Luhrs Building had they stood.
This and the Renaissance's remodel are the most significant projects downtown, IMO. They aren't just cheap boxes of "luxury" rentals to fill a market that will eventually bust; they are commitments from long-time local businesses in making downtown Phoenix great. Considering that our last perceived "champion" of downtown is the one who knocked down the hotels on Madison, it's a huge deal.
Prev
Linear Mode
