Tempe Development Thread

[Forrester1998]

Forgot to mention, no it doesn't say how tall it will be yet. As far as I know, the PSPR is generally the first public facing record that can be accessed for a potential project (which also means the chances of a project at this stage coming to fruition soon isn't that high, so it's best not to get too excited) which means the public facing info is usually fairly vague. Once the project comes close to a final product w/ city staff, they will post a Planned Area Development (PAD) and Development Plan Review (DPR) which will be more detailed. This is sometimes accompanies by zoning and general plan amendments.

[locolife]

Yes, please, looks like the bad ass optima projects in Scottsdale and biltmore. This corner currently mostly sucks especially on the SW and this NW corner. The Proposed Tempe 7-story apartment complex features plants.

Tempe soon could get a new seven-story apartment complex covered with trees and other green plants, a project that would bring 275 new housing units if city officials give it the go-ahead next week. The project received a unanimous "yes" vote from Tempe’s Development Review Commission, so the only thing remaining is to get final approval from the City Council. It is on the council agenda for May 9.

The complex would be located on a two-acre lot at 1734 E. Apache Blvd. at McClintock Drive near the Valley Metro light rail stop. The property currently houses the shuttered Sun Devil Car wash, a Pride gas station, a smoke shop and a handful of other small stores.

[azsunsurfer]

Originally Posted by locolife

Yes, please, looks like the bad ass optima projects in Scottsdale and biltmore. This corner currently mostly sucks especially on the SW and this NW corner. The Proposed Tempe 7-story apartment complex features plants.

Tempe soon could get a new seven-story apartment complex covered with trees and other green plants, a project that would bring 275 new housing units if city officials give it the go-ahead next week. The project received a unanimous "yes" vote from Tempe’s Development Review Commission, so the only thing remaining is to get final approval from the City Council. It is on the council agenda for May 9.

The complex would be located on a two-acre lot at 1734 E. Apache Blvd. at McClintock Drive near the Valley Metro light rail stop. The property currently houses the shuttered Sun Devil Car wash, a Pride gas station, a smoke shop and a handful of other small stores.

Eh it's the project we covered that is covered in black metal siding...it still looks good but not quite like Optima but I hope it gets approved I know the neighborhood behind it is not thrilled about the setback.

[ASU Diablo]

Originally Posted by azsunsurfer

The Motel 8 on the north side of Apache is being demolished. So it looks like this project along with the one directly across the street next to Pete's Fish and Chips will start around the same time! Good news!

Quick update on this project (old Super 8 - 1020 Apache Blvd). Should start going vertical soon hopefully.

https://azbigmedia.com/real-estate/l...ousing-to-asu/

Site work on Rambler began March 2024 and the property is scheduled to deliver Fall 2026, in time for the 2026-2027 academic year.  

[combusean]

I feel like this was approved last month. The pace of development in Tempe is insane.

[Forrester1998]

When I started at ASU the only big new apartment complexes near Rural/Apache were the District and 922 Place, and RISE was just beginning construction. When I was looking for off campus housing I thought about living in that area but it mostly seemed to be a party/fratty district and pretty expensive, I'm not sure if thats a completely accurate assessment but it wasn't exactly what I was looking for in an apartment. Now that many more units have been delivered or are on the way, it seems like it will be a pretty lively area and should have a broader student audience than just the party/fratty types. The development stuff near ASU seems to be pretty good news all around.

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by Forrester1998

When I started at ASU the only big new apartment complexes near Rural/Apache were the District and 922 Place, and RISE was just beginning construction. When I was looking for off campus housing I thought about living in that area but it mostly seemed to be a party/fratty district and pretty expensive, I'm not sure if thats a completely accurate assessment but it wasn't exactly what I was looking for in an apartment. Now that many more units have been delivered or are on the way, it seems like it will be a pretty lively area and should have a broader student audience than just the party/fratty types. The development stuff near ASU seems to be pretty good news all around.

When I started at ASU Hassayampa and the Honors College were under construction, West 6th was an abandoned skeleton, the tallest building in Tempe otherwise was Manzanita Hall which had not been remodeled in 30 years.

And a lot of people here are older than me! If you grew up here (assuming 1998 is your birth year) the amount of change you'll witness is insane, you live in a fast growing city.

[muertecaza]

Originally Posted by Obadno

When I started at ASU Hassayampa and the Honors College were under construction, West 6th was an abandoned skeleton, the tallest building in Tempe otherwise was Manzanita Hall which had not been remodeled in 30 years.

And a lot of people here are older than me! If you grew up here (assuming 1998 is your birth year) the amount of change you'll witness is insane, you live in a fast growing city.

We were probably there around the same time (mid- to late-2000s?). If I remember right, I think it was the Honors College construction site where I would sneak in and park instead of buying a parking pass haha.

[azsunsurfer]

The Standard (the old Vine and gas station on the corner) looks decent to me...however there is STRONG opposition already from the neighborhood well to the east of the project on the other side of Rural. It will be interesting to see if this gets built.

[combusean]

I started at asu in 2000, but my dad worked there so I go back much before that.In the early 1990s, it was the IGA era and a few of those stores, then Sack's premium sandwiches being begrudgingly described to me by my dad as "adult food" that was cutting edge at the time but would be very old hat now anywhere. The lake wasn't even built yet with the riverbed being known for its homeless encampments, the discovery of fresh-ish skeletal remains was big news I remember but it was out of sight, out of mind. My dad stayed off of Mill when I was a kid even tho I was always drawn to it because the streetsigns looked more old timey. It was the place to be in high school for me and my friends in the late 1990s/early 2000s. I think it peaked then, it had everything from Anthropologie to Trails and a movie at the Harkins was my friends and my preferred night on the town compared to the Ahwatukee AMC 24. Of course we would steal parking from the Gentle Strength that was there and of all the places I miss Coffee Plantation the most (it and the Biltmore location).

The Brickyard had just started construction and really seemed to be what kicked the urban thing off in Tempe and myself, I had never seen anything go up on that scale in that setting before.

[azsunsurfer]

Yikes...in another black eye to Tempe's Office Market..Viasat will put it's entire new building under construction at the ASU research park for sublease when it's completed. Originally there were plans to hire an additional 1,500 employees at this location.

https://azbigmedia.com/real-estate/s...office-market/

[YourBuddy]

Hopefully we can get a company with better products and service than viasat.

[exit2lef]

I stopped by Culdesac last night for dinner at Cocina Chiwas. The original grocery there has gone out of business and been replaced by a Korean convenience store known as Busan Market. It's nice shop, and we picked up a few Asian cooking ingredients and a Korean skin care product. Nevertheless, it seems like less of a market for everyday needs and more of a specialty store that would be found a mile-and-a-half to the east in the Mesa Asian District. Since there is no supermarket within walking distance of Culdesac, part of the tenant mix should be a basic grocery with at least some fresh food.

I also noticed a change in parking policy: It used to be that anyone arriving by car, whether a retail customer or guest of a tenant, had to scan a QR code for a parking app. The first two hours were free, but at first glance, it looked like all parking was paid parking. That has been replaced with a new system where parking is free and use of the app is not required between 8 AM and 11 PM. Overnight parking does require payment. My guess is that either Chiwas was getting complaints from customers who didn't bother to read the fine print or that enforcement was too burdensome for Culdesac.

[Forrester1998]

Documents for the DRC meeting this upcoming Tuesday have been uploaded, including the renderings for the Standard at the SW corner of Apache/Rural. If this comes to fruition and looks like the pictures, that's a great outcome imo. It's significantly taller/denser than the new General Plan calls for but it's sort of hard to see this city council denying a student housing project especially after being emboldened by recent election wins. We will see though! (I would post renderings but I haven't figured out how to post pictures here yet, but the link is below).

https://www.tempe.gov/government/cit...iew-commission

This DRC meeting will also include plans for Tempe Gateway (which is a proposed demolition of the current 2-story apartments at the NW corner of Scottsdale Rd and McKellips in favor of building a newer/denser complex) and Sterling Tempe (proposed demolition of the current 4-story University Valley apartments on the SE corner of Lemon and Terrace). The documents seem to show that the Gateway development is 4-5 years away from construction, no word on the timing of the Sterling one. Somebody mentioned earlier that it's sort of surprising that the University Valley apartments seem to be on the cutting clock considering that there's quite a few smaller complexes still around, however it is nice that the Sterling development includes the vacant dirt lot to the east of University Valley as well.

[Forrester1998]

Also, lots of commentary about how quickly the student housing developments on Apache have begun moving forward with construction (The Marshall and the 1020 Apache developments) and rightly so, but it also looks like the developers for the Verve Tempe project (replacing the 2 story Parj Terrace Apartments) have applied for a building permit to demo the existing buildings there. Unlike the other two developments it's already residential so they probably have to wait until leases end, but since it's pretty much all students the leases probably all end in the next couple months anyways. Could see a huge boon of student housing construction there over the next year or so even.

[combusean]

DRC reports:

Tempe Gateway: https://www.tempe.gov/home/showdocument?id=107896

Sterling: https://www.tempe.gov/home/showdocument?id=107876

Standard: https://www.tempe.gov/home/showdocument?id=107906

[KEVINphx]

Originally Posted by combusean

DRC reports:

Tempe Gateway: https://www.tempe.gov/home/showdocument?id=107896

Sterling: https://www.tempe.gov/home/showdocument?id=107876

Standard: https://www.tempe.gov/home/showdocument?id=107906

WOW the scale of the Tempe Gateway, although not tall, is nuts. Do we have any other complexes in town this large? ? Even the old school garden variety? I know one over at Greenway and 7th Street that is fairly large . . .

[combusean]

Camden North end was supposed to be one developer but split up into two, the three phases total around 1,100 units. I believe the largest still is 7th St and Greenway.

[BurjKhalifa2Builder]

Does anyone have a current tally of proposed units/approved units?

I tried to tally them up on the city website but I'm not sure if I got everything

[azsunsurfer]

How does everyone feel about the Gateway having surface parking fronting Scottsdale Rd? At least they are planning for big retail units to help regenerate that portion of Scottsdale Rd.