http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/ind...dest=STY-73588
30-story Tempe building gets OK
By Garin Groff, Tribune
September 8, 2006
Federal aviation officials have decided that a proposed 30-story building in Tempe — which would become one of the East Valley’s tallest structures — isn’t a hazard to airliners and their passengers.
Yet Phoenix officials and one airline still have concerns about the 300-foot University Square project.
The building won’t rise to the original proposed height of 370 feet, however, because the developer’s plan exceeded the height limit for that area of downtown.
Even with 70 fewer feet, Alaska Airlines has objections to what the building could mean to its operations at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Tall buildings can pose a safety and operational hazard, the airline said.
“I’d have to think the issue still exists,” Alaska spokeswoman Caroline Boren said Thursday.
The high-rise condo is the second one proposed in downtown Tempe that has triggered a skirmish between Phoenix and Tempe. Should an engine fail when an eastbound airliner departs Sky Harbor, two air- lines would have to make a turn over downtown and use airspace above the buildings. Alaska Airlines was the only airline to object to the Federal Aviation Administration about the University Square project.
Tall buildings in the area mean planes will have to fly with less weight in some cases to ensure planes are high enough in case an engine goes out. That would mean fewer passengers — and less profit.
“It’s definitely a capacitylimiting issue,” said Jane Morris, a deputy aviation director at Sky Harbor.
Phoenix would not have allowed the building in its downtown under similar circumstances, Morris said. The FAA noted the building was too tall for Alaska’s flight procedure, but it wasn’t a big enough concern to the overall operations at the airport to warrant an objection. Morris said Phoenix has a stricter building-height standard in order to prevent airlines from having to reduce their passenger loads.
Morris said she didn’t know if Phoenix would object to the FAA’s findings. Alaska could formally object to the FAA decision, but Boren said she did not know what the airline might do. The airline is concerned the building could hurt its service on its 8 to 10 daily departures from Sky Harbor.
When temperatures are higher, a plane rises slower and has lower weight capacities. Flying over a tall building would prompt a reduction in a plane’s weight limit and could force Alaska to have fewer passengers.
“We’d have to leave people behind, and we don’t want to do that,” Boren said. “The reliability of service is a huge concern.”
The developer of University Square was comfortable with the FAA determination.
“We feel like we’ve satisfied the FAA’s requirement,” Shea Commercial president Jim Riggs said. “What else can we do besides that?”
Riggs expects to break ground on the $500 million project in the first half of 2007. It includes retail space and three high-rises that include offices, a hotel and condos.
Meanwhile, Avenue Communities is planning its Centerpoint Condominium project, which includes three 30-story buildings of up to 343 feet. Avenue has already started building a 22-story structure that the FAA has said is not a hazard.
Margie D’Andrea, Avenue spokeswoman, said the firm hasn’t gone to the FAA yet for a review on the taller buildings.
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More Good News!.... also, Screw Alaska Airlines!
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