Phoenix CityScape Thread

[scottkag]

Didn't one of the fluff pieces about Jackson Street Entertainment District (I'm thinking Contact Magazine) mention an Art House Theater? The Jackson St. project still seems to be shrouded in mystery - when is the promised big announcement going to be?

[FortyAcres]

apparently y'all skipped over this part of my post re: movie theatres worthy of cityscape. http://www.drafthouse.com/

This the kind of coup that would bring people from ALL OVER the valley downtown. If you've never enjoyed a movie experience like this, i promise you would never go back to traditional format afterwards.

[Vicelord John]

western themed beer movies? IN

[FortyAcres]

Originally Posted by John_Vandercook

western themed beer movies? IN

They show feature length, first run movies too. They have a ricockulously superb menu and beer list, check it out.

[Locofresh55]

When I was stationed in San Antonio I went to the Alamo Drafthouse there and I must say they had some killer food there and it was kinda cool that you just wrote down what you wanted and they would bring it in without really disturbing you and you pay at the end of the movie. The Alamo Drafthouse in San Antonio was great and pretty good prices. The theater that was there before was ghetto as hell so definitely an upgrade.

[kevininlb]

Think I agree with this, from today's Republic:

CityScape needs to provide the public with grand entrance
Oct. 25, 2007 12:00 AM

There's a huge flaw in the design for CityScape in downtown Phoenix that demands a correction. It doesn't matter that ground was broken this week. There's plenty of time. The unconscionable flaw is public access. There should be a grand entrance at the northwest corner - one that welcomes the public and conveys this message: The interior open space is public and not a private, limited-access amenity for office and retail. If that requires redesigning a building, so be it.

- Joel Nilsson, editorial writer

[Don B.]

Why don't we band together and franchise a Alamo Drafthouse for downtown Phoenix?

Imagine how cool that would be.

http://www.drafthouse.com/franchise/index.html

HOW TO GET STARTED

Currently we are franchising in select areas pursuant to multi-unit development agreements.

Qualifications

* A minimum of 5-7 years theater or restaurant experience in a leadership role

* A minimum net worth of $750,000 (exclusive of personal residence and property) and liquid assets of $360,000.

* Prior theater experience or multi-unit franchise experience as owner/operator

* The resources and capability to open, own and operate 6-12 locations in 3-5 years

* Highly motivated to operate within the demands of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas® concept

* Prior real estate development experience in the territory you are interested in developing

* The applicant group may consist of up to five individuals and may not be a publicly traded company.

* The designated operator must have at least a 10% ownership stake in the applicant group.

--don

[combusean]

^ I got $50 on it.

[Vicelord John]

those are some pretty steep requirements.

[somethingfast]

I got about $20k from a defunct mortgage company left over! I would LOVE to be involved in this

[Archdevil]

Think I agree with this, from today's Republic:

CityScape needs to provide the public with grand entrance
Oct. 25, 2007 12:00 AM

There's a huge flaw in the design for CityScape in downtown Phoenix that demands a correction. It doesn't matter that ground was broken this week. There's plenty of time. The unconscionable flaw is public access. There should be a grand entrance at the northwest corner - one that welcomes the public and conveys this message: The interior open space is public and not a private, limited-access amenity for office and retail. If that requires redesigning a building, so be it.

- Joel Nilsson, editorial writer

I disagree! Really who would this apply to? Bums? Protestors? Is anyone going to shy away from entering a park that is surrounded by retail? I don't think they need to put some grand entrance that says "Public", seems obvious to me. This Joel Nilsson sounds like one of the people that were originaly against this project to begin with, just trying to stir up trouble again.

[kevininlb]

Originally Posted by Archdevil

I disagree! Really who would this apply to? Bums? Protestors? Is anyone going to shy away from entering a park that is surrounded by retail? I don't think they need to put some grand entrance that says "Public", seems obvious to me. This Joel Nilsson sounds like one of the people that were originaly against this project to begin with, just trying to stir up trouble again.

There are plenty of failed ideas around town where open areas for the public are blocked from view or aren't clearly open areas. I think this guy is making a very valid point. Why not tweak the design, while there's still time, to ensure the space is clearly open to all? I've mentioned this a while back, but I lived in NYC for a long time and there are a bunch of plazas (especially along 3rd avenue) that, in the 1970s, were designed to be open spaces where people would walk around, sit and eat lunch. Most of these spaces, while nice, sit empty because the spaces are blocked by walls that people just walk past.

I love CityScape and I'm totally excited by it. I do think some tweaks to the design would ensure it lives up to its promise, though.

[Phxbyrd211]

They can certainly improve the entrances devil, there's plenty of room for that. Why wouldn't you want them to try?

[andrewkfromaz]

Originally Posted by Archdevil

I disagree! Really who would this apply to? Bums? Protestors? Is anyone going to shy away from entering a park that is surrounded by retail? I don't think they need to put some grand entrance that says "Public", seems obvious to me. This Joel Nilsson sounds like one of the people that were originaly against this project to begin with, just trying to stir up trouble again.

Look at the AZ Center! The open space is incredibly underused, except for lunch hours at Snell & Wilmer. Cityscape not only needs better access to "Patriot's Square Park" but it also could use some better amenities on the human scale. Forget concerts and other events.
A - when is that ever going to happen, the Parks Dept. never held anything at the old park
B - Margaret T Hance has a lot more space for events, why don't they add amenities for events there, or even better, at Indian School Steele park?
C - spaces that are too big and go underused are toxic. That is the problem at every other park/open space in downtown. AZ Center, old Patriot's Square, Hance Park, they all are havens for bums to the exclusion of everyone else. Downtown just does not have the number of people to keep open spaces full enough to make them enjoyable.

If RED and the parks department revisit the design for Patriot's Square, (which they very much should consider doing) they need to come up with ways to increase the intensity of activity around the open space, even if they have to add outdoor dining space, open roadways through the site, or otherwise decrease the plaza space. I'd rather have a smaller space that is busier than a large barren wasteland, a la the AZ Center.

[tempedude]

What if we invite artists to design large works of art for some of the open spaces in the new Patriots Square Park? More specifically, what if Native American artists from our region were invited to create artwork for Cityscape ... art celebrating life in the Southwest and the Sonoran Desert? Something like what soleri suggested in another thread.

soleri said,
"...we are the only major city that's located in the Sonoran ecosystem.... Now, most of us are of two minds here about the desert. We love it up to a point. My idea here is that this ecosystem - the very thing we've done our best to tame and keep at bay - is also the most salient and potentially valuable thing about life in Arizona.
The Sonoran desert is, for some of us at least, one of the world's most glorious topographies. The variety of plant life, the geological formations, the fauna, the lushness and texture of all that are truly remarkable. We don't need to be embarrassed by it at all. Rather, we should capitalize on it.

Plinko's point that Papago Park already fulfills that function is valid but doesn't disqualify the idea that the forlorn environs of downtown could use some of that magic. I'm not exactly sure how it could be implemented or if it could be combined in some way with existing structures and landscaping. Maybe not. Again, I'm just thinking "out loud". My main point is that downtown is not going to succeed merely by filling up the vacant lots with tall buildings. We need to see downtown as a place so good that it shows our best side to tourists. It needs to be a place of unique and wonderful qualities. We're not going to do it like other downtowns with riverfront parks, harbors, gorgeous deco towers, or glorious public squares. We need to think of something else but equally valuable.

Think of downtown Phoenix as something you want to show off to visitors. What would rock their boats? What would make them say "this is so cool". It doesn't have to be the "desert". But it needs to be something"

Apologies in advance if I didn't handle this quote properly.

I just like the idea of having some art showcasing our heritage tastefully done on public display.

[HX_Guy]

Everyone keeps saying "while there is still time". Why do you assume there still is time? Construction is supposed to begin in 3 weeks, and the only reason that it delayed until then is because they are still waiting on variances and permits...permits and variances for designs already submitted. It would take quite a long time to redesign and start the permitting process all over again I'm sure.

[tempedude]

My thoughts were not redesign. More like I was just contemplating artistic touches and final polish for the design. I want the buildings and and overall appearance to be sleek and modern for sure.

[Archdevil]

Everyone keeps saying "while there is still time". Why do you assume there still is time? Construction is supposed to begin in 3 weeks, and the only reason that it delayed until then is because they are still waiting on variances and permits...permits and variances for designs already submitted. It would take quite a long time to redesign and start the permitting process all over again I'm sure.

My thoughts exactly, plus you have to take in to account the amount of time the architects will need to redesign the entrances and make all of those changes to the drawings. A change order like that on a project of this scale could take months. Like I said, there is no reason for it, this reporter is just trying to stir up trouble. To be honest they really havn't even given us a real clear view of the entrances to begin with. I didn't even think there was a situated entrace, looks more like a plaza that opens in many areas and onto multiple streets.

[Kroney]

For those of you who were hoping to build a miniature replica of Patriots Square Park in your backyard using brick from the original park, I have some disappointing news: The city parks dept. confirmed that they plan on salvaging the brick for some future use. There goes my plans of showing up on demolition day with a flatbed truck.

[HX_Guy]

CityScape backers' persistence pays off

Oct. 26, 2007 09:45 AM
It is both ironic and interesting that the original town site of Phoenix, the parcel surrounding Central Avenue and Washington Street, home to the first commercial buildings in the city, is now the focus of a commercial rebirth downtown.

For most of the past 50 years, those core blocks have been an eyesore, a microcosm of the Phoenix downtown itself: abandoned, lifeless, underutilized, home only to transients. Scores of city officials tried to breathe new energy and purpose into the area. Over the years, countless developers and businesses considered the site where George Luhrs, John Y.T. Smith and Edward Irvine put down roots more than a century ago. And decided not to risk it.

The area deteriorated, then stayed dormant since the 1960s.
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Until now.

CityScape's developers and financial backers are putting up to $900 million on this project, the largest of its kind in Phoenix history. They are betting on a future for the downtown no one else - other than the city's elected officials - has been willing to invest.

Nor was CityScape easy to put together. It involved several owners, multiple partners, painstaking, laborious negotiations to acquire the land and the careful recruitment of solid, serious tenants.

The development is a commercial one, with office space, retail, hotels and upscale (not luxury) residential. It is neither a shopping mall nor a central park.

Nor should it be.

What it is, however, is no less than the most comprehensive commitment to the Phoenix downtown by a private developer. Not world class - we overuse that word anyway - but an exciting, signature project that will infuse new life, new jobs, new activity and new people into an area that has been in desperate need of all of that.

In the past five years, one by one, a new downtown has been forming. Residential condos, apartments and student dormitories are under construction. All have lamented the lack of a downtown grocery. AJ's Fine Foods will be the most welcome downtown arrival since . . . well . . . the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Diamondbacks.

For decades, city fathers longed for a third large downtown hotel to attract larger national conventions. Alas, in their long frustration, they decided to build one themselves. CityScape holds the promise of two specialized, "boutique" hotels in the next five years, adding 400 rooms.

The core office tenant is Wachovia, the nation's fourth-largest bank and a giant in securities and investment brokerage, having recently acquired A.G. Edwards. Wachovia will be the signature tenant in a 600,000-square-foot office building on Washington Street between Central and First Street.

Some folks were hoping for a "destination place," unique, distinctive and "world class," a development that would define the Phoenix skyline.

This is not that. In a sense, it probably is something more. It is an affirmation in the city's future, that the recent energy, growth and investment in the downtown make it ripe for a project of this scope and expense. Not Tempe. Not Scottsdale. Not Desert Ridge. Not the Camelback Corridor. But Downtown.

That in itself is a development worth recognizing and cheering.