Quote:
Originally Posted by PHXFlyer11
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/n...art-early.html
I do not take this as a positive. It doesn't say that financing has been secured, it just continues to say it's "progressing" however the Dec ground-breaking has been moved back once again. I am growing more and more skeptical.
Also, strange we've heard nothing else on the Pier 202 development. It was very secretive from the beginning.
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It may not be a positive, but with the city's incentives and Colangelo as head of USA Basketball, I can't imagine a scenario where at the very least, the infrastructure to move the HQ isn't built. The problem seems to be that they moved from a phased build-out to an all-at-once approach because they had reached a deal with a deep-pocketed investor; if that's looking shaky now, it just means we won't see the residential+retail lined streets during the first phase, if ever. I think the hotel would also be at risk, especially with the amount of hotels coming to market in the nearby area. But, how could a corporation not get financing to build their HQ when the land is owned by the City/ASU who wants them to move there and is willing to offer incentives?
Losing the hotel would be disappointing, because it's a premium brand and would make a decent end-cap to the skyline at 14 stories. However, the major piece of this development is, and will be, USA Basketball. Another major HQ locating in Tempe bringing jobs, events, and tourism. That portion of Mill is essentially dead, so it's one of the only places where a superblock-forming event venue would work without killing the pedestrian scale of downtown, and USA Basketball will further boost Tempe's reputation as an amateur sports hub as it figures out the details and plans for the stadium district.
As long as that comes to town, it's a win. The residential over retail blocks sounded great, but maybe it's better for the market to determine whether and when those units are needed, rather than cramming them all into a blowout mega-development where they sit empty?