Phoenix Development News (3)

[CrestedSaguaro]

Originally Posted by biggus diggus

I agree completely, there is a lot of hyperbole and a lot of editorializing in their articles. One must remember that New Times, and most of its writers, are downtown. I doubt the wages New Times pays a writer are sufficient living wages so my guess is most of these people are working multiple jobs and scraping by, they're letting their situation fester into animosity towards developers because they can't afford to live downtown anymore.

Should have bought something.

Or maybe moved upward in their career? Lynn Trimble has been there for years and has historically been more pro-development than anti. But the article with the new X Communities project she wrote is really opposite of her norm.

[biggus diggus]

Moving upward in their career doesn't necessarily help with increasing rents.

[CrestedSaguaro]

Originally Posted by biggus diggus

Moving upward in their career doesn't necessarily help with increasing rents.

True. But I would think it would still be better than what New Times pays

[biggus diggus]

I agree with you. My point is more that if you've made the choice to rent rather than buy then I don't think you have the right to complain about rents. People are just trying to play victim.

The old "you dug your own grave" argument from me.

[mdpx]

Originally Posted by biggus diggus

I agree with you. My point is more that if you've made the choice to rent rather than buy then I don't think you have the right to complain about rents. People are just trying to play victim.

The old "you dug your own grave" argument from me.

Everything with you is black and white. As you age I thought some grey would set in by now, but nope!

[ASU Diablo]

Speaking of the Phoenix New Times, we finally know what's going in the old hardware store on 829 North First Avenue.

Nice arts and culture destination to Roosevelt. I was confused at first since I remember there was a liquor license application posted but there appears to be "food and bar collaboration in the works" according to the article. They are only occupying the ground floor so still some other retail potential for the 2nd level.

https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts...oenix-11443356

[DesertRay]

Originally Posted by biggus diggus

New Times is a stopover for new journalists who are wishing to start a career. I'm not mad at them. The agenda within New Times has always, since the beginning, been a very liberal agenda and has always had an "eat the rich" takeaway for me.

Don't confuse liberalism (free trade, free exchange of ideas, etc--Cheney was a liberal) with populism and anarchic leftism. The New Times like the idea of free trade when it comes to porn and pot (gotta sell ads), but draws a weird line at new development. I still like to read them, but I know what I'm getting, so I generally stick to their discussion about culture and food.

[biggus diggus]

Originally Posted by DesertRay

I generally stick to their discussion about culture and food.

Same here, I have that site bookmarked to read their food blog regularly and to keep up with local events.

@mdphx I'm not sure what to say other than my take is that if you chose to be a renter you have therefore given up the right to complain about how much rent costs. The complaint is the same every time: "my rent keeps going up! I can't afford it!". What would have been the way to avoid that? Just saying...

[combusean]

I suspect that most of the artists and those sorts of types are renting a room at best and probably wouldn’t have the money to buy.

You also need decent credit and money saved up. This is generally outside of the scope of people who live paycheck to paycheck or work multiple jobs.

[CrestedSaguaro]

At the coliseum today and grabbed a shot of downtown from the 2nd level. Not the best shot, but really gives a really good impression of the changes the skyline is going through. You can see the cranes for X, Kenect, ASU and Link. ASU and Aspire will fill the gap between Freeport and Sheraton really well from this angle.

[azsunsurfer]

Originally Posted by RonnieFoos

At the coliseum today and grabbed a shot of downtown from the 2nd level. Not the best shot, but really gives a really good impression of the changes the skyline is going through. You can see the cranes for X, Kenect, ASU and Link. ASU and Aspire will fill the gap between Freeport and Sheraton really well from this angle.

Lucky you went Ronnie! I was too busy with work, thanks for the pic!

[biggus diggus]

How was the rally?

[CrestedSaguaro]

Originally Posted by biggus diggus

How was the rally?

I was there for work setting up computers. I'll just say the crowd was interesting

[ChaseM]

Originally Posted by dtphxguy

I’m sorry, but 250k sq ft of class AA office... with half of it leased This is a no brainer.

I can only think the city council simply wants more hotel rooms online by the time Super Bowl weekend is here. Hines said they’re project wouldn’t be complete in time for the Super Bowl, and Berger said they’ll have theirs done in time (even though central and Adams hasn’t started in two years...?).

Hines seems like the more logical choice in the long term since it's mixed-use. Wasn't there an article a few pages or so back explaining that the biggest thing Downtown Phoenix faces is lack of office space with vacancy rates dropping and almost all the new development being residential, I could've swore I saw that somewhere? The other issue I have with Bergers proposal being an all hotel vs mixed-use is it brings back memories of the fiasco that is the Sheraton, could the city go down this same path again?

[dtphxguy]

Originally Posted by ChaseM

Hines seems like the more logical choice in the long term since it's mixed-use. Wasn't there an article a few pages or so back explaining that the biggest thing Downtown Phoenix faces is lack of office space with vacancy rates dropping and almost all the new development being residential, I could've swore I saw that somewhere? The other issue I have with Bergers proposal being an all hotel vs mixed-use is it brings back memories of the fiasco that is the Sheraton, could the city go down this same path again?

Yeah, Christine Mackay has stated in at least a few interviews that attracting office development is the main priority for downtown now. I don’t know how much influence the economic director has in the RFP process though... I would hope at least some.

And I’m not sure in what ways you think we’d be going down the same path... the city isn’t building and owning the Berger hotel like they did with the Sheraton. The development team would be taking on all the risk here, not Phoenix. But if you mean how it would be another entire city block devoted to one use like the Sheraton block, then yeah that is kind of unfortunate.

[azliam]

Originally Posted by dtphxguy

Yeah, Christine Mackay has stated in at least a few interviews that attracting office development is the main priority for downtown now. I don’t know how much influence the economic director has in the RFP process though... I would hope at least some.

And I’m not sure in what ways you think we’d be going down the same path... the city isn’t building and owning the Berger hotel like they did with the Sheraton. The development team would be taking on all the risk here, not Phoenix. But if you mean how it would be another entire city block devoted to one use like the Sheraton block, then yeah that is kind of unfortunate.

I actually sent the following email back to the procurement officer earlier yesterday thanking her for responding to my initial email:

Thank you for your response. Both proposals seem appealing. I hope you don't mind me asking a general question. It appears that the recommended proposer is Berger; however, I was under the assumption that the Hines proposal already had a potential primary office tenant lined up. It would seem that the city would be somewhat interested in that proposal since Christine Mckay recently (back in December) told the city’s Workforce and Economic Development Subcommittee that her team is working on ways to encourage developers to build new office space. If the Berger proposal remains the recommended one, would they be willing to go back to the table to possibly incorporate some office space (increasing height) and revise their current proposal?

For what it's worth, she replied that she would share my input with the team. So, at least she knows that other people are keeping an eye on both of these proposals.

[CrestedSaguaro]

Originally Posted by azliam

I actually sent the following email back to the procurement officer earlier yesterday thanking her for responding to my initial email:

Thank you for your response. Both proposals seem appealing. I hope you don't mind me asking a general question. It appears that the recommended proposer is Berger; however, I was under the assumption that the Hines proposal already had a potential primary office tenant lined up. It would seem that the city would be somewhat interested in that proposal since Christine Mckay recently (back in December) told the city’s Workforce and Economic Development Subcommittee that her team is working on ways to encourage developers to build new office space. If the Berger proposal remains the recommended one, would they be willing to go back to the table to possibly incorporate some office space (increasing height) and revise their current proposal?

For what it's worth, she replied that she would share my input with the team. So, at least she knows that other people are keeping an eye on both of these proposals.

If Phoenix goes with Berger on this, I am going to lose total faith in the RFP process. It's already been sketchy over the last few years (the original Smith Group Central Station proposal, the Trammell Crow/Nowakowski/Fillmore fiasco, etc.). The Hines proposal is the overall better choice. They have a tenant lined up, it includes more parking and is mixed-use which Berger is not. Not too mention it's also "big city" architecturally speaking and will finally give Phoenix something other than a big box.

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by RonnieFoos

If Phoenix goes with Berger on this, I am going to lose total faith in the RFP process. It's already been sketchy over the last few years (the original Smith Group Central Station proposal, the Trammell Crow/Nowakowski/Fillmore fiasco, etc.). The Hines proposal is the overall better choice. They have a tenant lined up, it includes more parking and is mixed-use which Berger is not. Not too mention it's also "big city" architecturally speaking and will finally give Phoenix something other than a big box.

Until Berger and Central station break ground I still have no faith in the RFP process.

I have a little faith since Gilmore came through but I wasn't holding out hope there either.

[Classical in Phoenix]

I think the problem with RFP's is that the process takes so long. So many things can change while negotiations are going on with the city. If I recall correctly, one of the principles of Smith Group died during this phase, and the company changed directions.

[ChaseM]

Originally Posted by Classical in Phoenix

I think the problem with RFP's is that the process takes so long. So many things can change while negotiations are going on with the city. If I recall correctly, one of the principles of Smith Group died during this phase, and the company changed directions.

I just hope when and if the city council decides to have a formal meeting on the project people will be able to get down there and voice their concerns with proposals. The city needs to think long-term and not be so short cited, like many have stated in the long run Hines is the better option, they went outside the box. Not only are they bringing another hotel but creating more jobs downtown with Barings willing to lease half the space but they still have room left over for more companies to grow or expand their presence downtown.