Tempe Development Thread

[Jjs5056]

Tempe has built far fewer projects than Phoenix and its list of dead projects is more extensive.

7S, Omni Hotel, and the very pieinthesky possibility of towers on the HaydenCondo parking lot would be a huge deal.

If at least the first two get built, downtown will have highend hotel options and its first market rate apartment towers. Nice that 707 Forest is higher, but would feel better about the Vue v2 if the St Newmans project was built but with market rate housing. Bringing nonstudents onto College will really integrate it into downtown.

The Omni is a great surprise and a huge brand to have. Too bad the suburban design model was allowed so close to downtown south of University so it will be on the literal edge. Still think the senior housing is a better fit downtown than here. But, the Omni does not contain enough space for competitive convention proposals. So, ASU and Tempe are likely looping that into the Stadium District.

[muertecaza]

More Stadium news: as some may or may not know, Phoenix has a 3rd-tier professional soccer team--Arizona United SC (formerly Phoenix FC). The team announced today a second rebrand in as many years, and will now be known as Phoenix Rising FC. They also announced that they plan to build a soccer-specific stadium on the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community land at McClintock/202 formerly rumored to be a site for the Coyotes' stadium. Their press release says they want to be playing at the stadium by next year.



http://www.uslsoccer.com/news_articl...4-news-archive

TAMPA, Fla. – Arizona United SC unveiled its rebranding Monday with the announcement of a name change, Phoenix Rising FC...

Phoenix Rising FC, in collaboration with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC) and the Solanna Group, also introduced its plans to develop a 15.8-acre soccer-specific training and stadium facility at McClintock and the 202 Freeway bordering the cities of Tempe and Scottsdale. The club plans to kick off the 2017 soccer season at the new Phoenix Rising FC soccer complex.

“We are thrilled to announce this new era for professional soccer in Arizona,” said Phoenix Rising FC Governor Berke Bakay. “These planned investments should serve as proof that we are serious about creating a successful soccer franchise in our state. We seek to prove that the Valley of the Sun can deliver a successful United Soccer League team and eventually compete at the highest levels of soccer.”

“We’re quite impressed by Phoenix Rising FC’s grasp of the goal we are trying to achieve at Akimel 7 for a quality sports and entertainment environment,” said David Fordon, CEO and General Manager of the Solanna Group LLC. “We also appreciate the club’s commitment to bring a state-of-the-art, FIFA stadium designed for Arizona’s climate to Salt River as a significant contribution to the economic growth of the Community. We’re happy for the Valley and thrilled by the zeal and excitement that professional soccer will bring to all the passionate fans for the sport that are eager for top fight competition and international exhibitions. We very much welcome the addition of Phoenix Rising FC to our community...”

They seem to be signaling that the eventual goal is MLS expansion. My understanding is that one of the big things MLS looks for in expansion franchises is a soccer-specific stadium, so this could be a big step toward that. No information that I've seen re: financing, but it seems possible that between the Indian Community, Solanna, and the fact that this is likely to be a less expensive undertaking than the Coyotes' proposal, they may not face the financing hurdles faced by the Coyotes.

EDIT: Apparently, the stadium will be a 5,000-seater "pop-up" stadium (not sure exactly how that works, but that's about all Phoenix soccer draws right now anyway), but will have capacity for expansion. https://twitter.com/brahmresnik/stat...24828107214848

[ASU Diablo]

Wow pretty great news. As for the site, I'm guessing the old Scottsdale Drive-In? Hopefully this one happens as well without public financing. So N of the 202 will be this stadium and S of it will be the Yotes/ASU arena if it moves forward? Sounds pretty awesome if both come to fruition.

[exit2lef]

^It's refreshing to see a professional sports franchise change its name from "Arizona" to "Phoenix." With the Coyotes and the Cardinals, the trend was in the opposite direction. It's a little surprising when paired with a stadium location outside Phoenix city limits, but it's still progress.

[dtnphx]

It makes sense also for the fact that a "rising Phoenix from the ashes" lore makes Phoenix Rising more apt than Arizona Rising.

[PHXFlyer11]

Includes the first two buildings of Watermark (high not specified) as well as a project called Skyview which would be 24-stories located at 903 South Terrace Road.

[muertecaza]

Originally Posted by PHXFlyer11

Includes the first two buildings of Watermark (high not specified) as well as a project called Skyview which would be 24-stories located at 903 South Terrace Road.

Nice. The red sign for Skyview has been up a long time. Hopefully they've been addressing concerns before bringing it to the DRC. I see that there is also another 200 unit, 5-story apartment building proposed along Apache at the 101. At this rate, that whole light rail corridor could soon be 4-5 story apartment buildings, which I think would be pretty great.

[Phxguy]

Originally Posted by muertecaza

Nice. The red sign for Skyview has been up a long time. Hopefully they've been addressing concerns before bringing it to the DRC. I see that there is also another 200 unit, 5-story apartment building proposed along Apache at the 101. At this rate, that whole light rail corridor could soon be 4-5 story apartment buildings, which I think would be pretty great.

That specific lot at 903 S Terrace is dirt and is surrounded by chain link fence, used to be where a Midfirst Bank was. Wonder when construction will commence. That intersection is all construction, right now, it's actually quite amazing. And 24 stories is distinct! The Rise on Apache will be the tallest thing built in Tempe since Univerity House phase 2. Not the ideal location in my opinion but I'm can't complain about the increasing urbanity of our state's most densely populated city.

Anyone who hasn't taken a drive along Apache recently should do so, it is remarkable the difference a few years can make.

[RichTempe]

Originally Posted by PHXFlyer11

Includes the first two buildings of Watermark (high not specified) as well as a project called Skyview which would be 24-stories located at 903 South Terrace Road.

This City of Tempe Development Projects document from this month shows max height for Aura Watermark to be 281'. Last section under "in review for planning entitlements".

https://www.tempe.gov/home/showdocument?id=38886

Is that correct? Seems taller than what the renderings would suggest. Thought it was supposed to be 10 - 12 stories. Or is that the maximum height the site would allow, not what the developer is seeking?

[muertecaza]

Originally Posted by RichTempe

This City of Tempe Development Projects document from this month shows max height for Aura Watermark to be 281'. Last section under "in review for planning entitlements".

https://www.tempe.gov/home/showdocument?id=38886

Is that correct? Seems taller than what the renderings would suggest. Thought it was supposed to be 10 - 12 stories. Or is that the maximum height the site would allow, not what the developer is seeking?

The 281' should be the maximum height for actual proposed buildings. I think the renderings show the 1st phase, which has a shorter office component. I believe the 2nd phase is supposed to have a 12ish story office building on top of 7 stories of parking podium. I could see that set up reaching 281'.

Also, they are tearing up trees and parking lot on the 7S site--will be exciting to watch that one progress.

[TempeSilverFox]

Hey there! This article is back from September - but I don't recall seeing anything about it on here? Maybe I just missed it? Anyways- Tempe is (was?) in negotiations to develop an 18 acre biomedical campus - just west of Tempe Center for the Arts! A mix of 5 - 8 story buildings, space for artists and a possible incubator and accelerator space as well!
At build out it would employ up to 4,000 people! WOW!

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/b...t-team-on.html

The pictures look pretty cool!

[RichTempe]

Originally Posted by TempeSilverFox

Hey there! This article is back from September - but I don't recall seeing anything about it on here? Maybe I just missed it? Anyways- Tempe is (was?) in negotiations to develop an 18 acre biomedical campus - just west of Tempe Center for the Arts! A mix of 5 - 8 story buildings, space for artists and a possible incubator and accelerator space as well!
At build out it would employ up to 4,000 people! WOW!

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/b...t-team-on.html

The pictures look pretty cool!

There are a few postings in this thread starting back in August. The one below from muertecaza is the 1st I believe.

Originally Posted by muertecaza

Tempe Biomedical and Technology Campus gets City Council nod to proceed

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by TempeSilverFox

Hey there! This article is back from September - but I don't recall seeing anything about it on here? Maybe I just missed it? Anyways- Tempe is (was?) in negotiations to develop an 18 acre biomedical campus - just west of Tempe Center for the Arts! A mix of 5 - 8 story buildings, space for artists and a possible incubator and accelerator space as well!
At build out it would employ up to 4,000 people! WOW!

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/b...t-team-on.html

The pictures look pretty cool!

Definitely much better than the surface parking and vacant land currently at that site. Currently, some of that space is used for overflow parking during major events at Tempe Center for the Arts and Tempe Beach Park. I hope whatever parking garage is built for the campus will be available for event use nights and weekends. Even better, I'd love to see the Tempe Streetcar rerouted to run east-west along Rio Salado from Priest to Dobson instead of looping around Mill Avenue and ASU.

[muertecaza]

They've got a crane set up at the mill, and it looks like they're getting ready to remove the tubing that connects the two buildings. I believe the plan is to demo the wooden structures on the backside of the smaller building as well.

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by muertecaza

They've got a crane set up at the mill, and it looks like they're getting ready to remove the tubing that connects the two buildings. I believe the plan is to demo the wooden structures on the backside of the smaller building as well.

Is the Mill renovation going forward? that would be awesome!

[PHXFlyer11]

Originally Posted by Obadno

Is the Mill renovation going forward? that would be awesome!

This would be so huge with 7th St Mixed starting and the two tower projects on this month's DRC! If 100 Mill would ever move we'd have another nice boom!

[muertecaza]

Originally Posted by Obadno

Is the Mill renovation going forward? that would be awesome!

Here is a POS picture through a window.



I believe at this point the city has approved and signed a development agreement with Baum Development. The City removed power lines on site this summer, and I believe it was part of the agreement that the City would pay for removing the wooden structure. Then at least things will be set up for Baum to start the redevelopment. Doesn't necessarily mean it will happen I guess, but at least it gives them every opportunity.

Also, in looking for information, I saw this site, which lets you take some cool 3D tours inside the structure.

http://www.haydenflourmilldevelopment.com/

[muertecaza]

Here are the renderings for the next 4 story apartment box proposed along Apache, "Metro 101."







Gotta say, this seems like a step down from some of the other proposals we've seen along Apache. Ugly brown, surface parking, etc. I would have hoped for something better that close to the light rail station. But I guess it beats the swath of blighted empty lots that currently surround the light rail stop. And it's one of the few lately that's not trying to call itself "luxury," so perhaps they can fill a different market.

[dtnphx]

Ugh. 9 out of 10 apartment projects look like this one. Where is their f'ing imagination?!

[ASUSunDevil]

Originally Posted by dtnphx

Ugh. 9 out of 10 apartment projects look like this one. Where is their f'ing imagination?!

Here is a 1 out of 10 - the Aura at Watermark apartments (Rural & the 202)

http://orbarch.com/index.php/mies_po...on-the-boards/