Tempe Development Thread

[Mr.RE]

Originally Posted by azsunsurfer

Novus should be topped out this week? One more floor to go. Hyatt should be topped out soon too! Not sure if there's been any leasing activity. Also I am wondering if the new developer for the Aspen Heights project is going to build it as is or if they are going to propose a new development? As for the ASU project, I think there have been some SRP crews on site I assume doing some water relocation work for the canal.

Aspen Heights project will be meeting with the Tempe JRC later this month to discuss a revision to their plans. Not sure if its with Aspen Heights or a new developer that may have purchased their plans from them. If approved, all details will be released when they go to DRC after in September.

[Mr.RE]

3 more floors to go at Mirabella and 5 more at the Collective. Anyone have an update on the Westin? Has it started to go vertical?

[muertecaza]

Originally Posted by Mr.RE

3 more floors to go at Mirabella and 5 more at the Collective. Anyone have an update on the Westin? Has it started to go vertical?

Yes, there is rebar for columns. Don't think they are out of the pit yet but they are building.

[azsunsurfer]

Originally Posted by Mr.RE

3 more floors to go at Mirabella and 5 more at the Collective. Anyone have an update on the Westin? Has it started to go vertical?

I thought the taller tower at Mirabella had at least another 5-6 to go if you include the mechanical equipment on the roof?

[ciweiss]

As someone else mentioned they are digging into the parking lot for this.

https://100milltempe.com/project

[muertecaza]

Originally Posted by ciweiss

As someone else mentioned they are digging into the parking lot for this.

https://100milltempe.com/project

Didn't realize they had this updated website, thanks for posting. Hopefully they'll be building in earnest soon.

Also of note, there is signage up for a Tocaya Organica (https://www.tocayaorganica.com/) that is going into the retail space in the Union on the corner of Forest/7th St. The Sauce restaurant at the corner of Myrtle/7th is also under construction. I think that leaves just one unfilled retail space along Forest just south of Tocaya. Really impressed how they've filled it out so quickly. I hope the Nekter juice place and the Insomnia cookie place do well--I never see anyone really in there, but maybe it will pick up now that ASU students are back.

[Mr.RE]

Originally Posted by muertecaza

Didn't realize they had this updated website, thanks for posting. Hopefully they'll be building in earnest soon.

Also of note, there is signage up for a Tocaya Organica (https://www.tocayaorganica.com/) that is going into the retail space in the Union on the corner of Forest/7th St. The Sauce restaurant at the corner of Myrtle/7th is also under construction. I think that leaves just one unfilled retail space along Forest just south of Tocaya. Really impressed how they've filled it out so quickly. I hope the Nekter juice place and the Insomnia cookie place do well--I never see anyone really in there, but maybe it will pick up now that ASU students are back.

Wow. Tocaya is amazing food. The one at Fashion Square in Scottsdale has some great menu offerings. This will be a huge hit I'm sure.

Also, looks like they are still planning for a hotel on that 100 mill site based on their renderings.

[azsunsurfer]

Originally Posted by Mr.RE

Wow. Tocaya is amazing food. The one at Fashion Square in Scottsdale has some great menu offerings. This will be a huge hit I'm sure.

Also, looks like they are still planning for a hotel on that 100 mill site based on their renderings.

Tocaya is good however I think it's pricey for the neighborhood...not sure how it will fair with the student ramen crowd but again their paying for it on borrowed interest lol. I still welcome bringing these establishments Downtown, Tempe really needs to step up their food game downtown.

[muertecaza]

Some notes from around DT Tempe/Light Rail corridor:

• Tempe Crossroads is being demoed--when I went by it looked like they had about half the buildings demoed for where the new student-oriented housing is supposed to go
  
• Park Place at Terrace/Apache is finally peeking above ground. It took a while to do the subterranean work but hopefully this one should rise now
  
• There still seems to be work going on at Watermark, so it looks like the statement was true that the fire wouldn't delay construction
  
• Also, from the freeway it looked like they were clearing dirt for another phase of Watermark behind the apartments. Can't remember off the top of my head but I think that area was planned for either a hotel or more apartments.
  
• Metro at McLintock/Apache is seeking approval to permit them to reduce the street-fronting retail space. Can't say I blame them--the retail there has been vacant since they built the complex, and the retail next store at Tempo and elsewhere along Apache hasn't been much better. That said, can't help feeling that they could be more successful at filling it if they really wanted to.
  
• There also appears to be some work going on to tear up the golf course. Not sure if for anything in particular, or just for future Novus developments?

[muertecaza]

Treasure trove of DRC packets were posted today:

• First and Farmer - the office building proposed to take the place of the self-storage across from Culinary Dropout
• Hilo - the 11-story residential proposed for the last dirt lot between Mill and Myrtle--next to the Hilton
• 999 Playa - office building proposed on dirt near the In 'n Out, Jefferson, and other buildings on the north shore of the lake

[Phxguy]

Originally Posted by muertecaza

Treasure trove of DRC packets were posted today:

• First and Farmer - the office building proposed to take the place of the self-storage across from Culinary Dropout
• Hilo - the 11-story residential proposed for the last dirt lot between Mill and Myrtle--next to the Hilton
• 999 Playa - office building proposed on dirt near the In 'n Out, Jefferson, and other buildings on the north shore of the lake

The Hilo just might be my favorite building in Tempe if it gets built

We've been saying it now for a few years now but Tempe is absolutely on fire and its not just the Watermark. Phoenix doesn't need to look to Denver or San Diego or any other city of comparable population, it only need look so far as its neighbor to realize what it's missing out on.

[combusean]

^ Phoenix needs to not be sagged with the West Valley. The center of geography has shifted east when it comes to being located near quality employees.

Phoenix isn't the issue, it's her stagnant western suburbs and cities like Glendale.

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by combusean

^ Phoenix needs to not be sagged with the West Valley. The center of geography has shifted east when it comes to being located near quality employees.

Phoenix isn't the issue, it's her stagnant western suburbs and cities like Glendale.

Calm down Tempe, central phx is still the highest density of employment and it’s denser and vastly larger than Tempe (thinking from the train tracks north to camelback.

West valley will always be working class but it’s far out populated by the east valley. Now with the 303 down, the 202 open by Christmas and the i-11 coming someday you’ll see a population explosion out west.

And don’t take this the wrong way I’m and east valley boy through and through

[xymox]

Originally Posted by Obadno

Calm down Tempe, central phx is still the highest density of employment and it’s denser and vastly larger than Tempe (thinking from the train tracks north to camelback.

West valley will always be working class but it’s far out populated by the east valley. Now with the 303 down, the 202 open by Christmas and the i-11 coming someday you’ll see a population explosion out west.

And don’t take this the wrong way I’m and east valley boy through and through

The explosion is already going on out west - have you seen Buckeye lately? Not that I would recommend living there - but its pushing 100k people now. When I moved here there were barely 2000 people living there....

The problem with the west valley is its leadership. Glendale has more or less completely botched the whole West Gate development plan. Remember when developers were talking about 500ft towers near the stadiums? Now they'll be lucky to keep the hockey team in place. In the meantime, Goodyear out maneuvers them in terms of attracting major employers - especially data center jobs. (which are small, but add up and setup a 'core' to build off of) Peoria has been fumbling around with what to do along L303 in its northern section - trying to cling to some dream that an office park will magically rise there and that they can compete with Phoenix for bio-tech jobs (which Phoenix has a hard time attracting). The leadership in these cities still acts like these cities are small towns with a few thousand people. They are not behaving or planning for what they are - major cities with 200k+ people. Glendale/Peoria have nearly the same population as Chandler/Tempe. Yet they clearly follow vastly different development strategies. Its the same problem this state has in general - the status quo leadership which doesn't know how to deal with/plan for growth appropriately with their 'small town' ideals...

[Obadno]

I really don’t think at this point you’ll break the trend if the west valley being more working class and the east valley being more upper class

Even as the west valley grows it will still generally be in working class industries, warehouse, logistics, manufacturing

And actually that’s good as right now Phoenix is underrepresented in this middle income jobs, we have lots of low skill poorly paid jobs and an over representation of wealthy people but not enough of that solid blue collar bedrock that makes a local economy stable and durable

[ASU Diablo]

Well this is a bummer. From the original 22-story proposal to now down to 12. This was for the parcel containing the old Paradise Hawaiin BBQ spot

https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/...-near-asu.html

The project had previously been planned as a mixed-use condo and hotel development.

After buying out former partners’ portions of what was proposed as a hotel and condo tower in Tempe near Arizona State University’s campus, Okland Capital and PEG Development now plan to drastically reduce the building's proposed height and eliminate the condo portion.

Okland Capital, a part of Salt Lake City-based Okland Construction, and Provo, Utah-based PEG Development are planning a 180-key, 12-story hotel on a 0.4-acre parcel at 580 S. College Ave. The partnership is looking for a new brand flag for the hotel, said Blake Bunker, managing director at Okland Capital.

When the companies were still working with the partners planning the condo portion, the group received city council approval for a 22-story tower. Now, the two companies are going back through the design review process after the major modification. The project is scheduled to go before the city’s development review commission next month, Bunker said. Groundbreaking for the building will be near the end of first quarter 2020.

The hotel will feature a mechanical parking stacker system that will be a first in Arizona, Bunker said. “We are really excited about it,” Bunker said. “This will be a unique project for Tempe. We are excited to bring something like this to the city.”

[PHXFlyer11]

Originally Posted by ASU Diablo

Well this is a bummer. From the original 22-story proposal to now down to 12. This was for the parcel containing the old Paradise Hawaiin BBQ spot

https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/...-near-asu.html

This sucks. I think the city should dictate a housing element and greater density in that area. Apartments seems to be cash cows around there. Just throw on 10-stories of apartments and call it a day.

[combusean]

Originally Posted by Obadno

I really don’t think at this point you’ll break the trend if the west valley being more working class and the east valley being more upper class

Even as the west valley grows it will still generally be in working class industries, warehouse, logistics, manufacturing

Yes. What's getting built by the 303? Warehouses and distribution centers.

What's getting built by the 202/101 in Gilbert and Chandler? Major office parks.

This isn't a fact of leadership one way or another, this is what the market wants to do. Certainly the freeways helped however.

[CB1]

[*]Also, from the freeway it looked like they were clearing dirt for another phase of Watermark behind the apartments. Can't remember off the top of my head but I think that area was planned for either a hotel or more apartments.

Good stuff, thanks for the updates. From what I last read....after the first phase at Watermark is completed the parcel behind the apartment was going to be sold in order for a hotel to be built. Hopefully it gets built sooner than later.

[CBar]

August 22, 2019: "$87M Construction Loan Closed on Westin Tempe"

https://www.connect.media/87m-constr...-westin-tempe/

This should further speed up the construction.