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Originally Posted by Jjs5056
I don't see why ASU continues to get a pass on its many broken promises re: its role in downtown Phoenix. Their original mission was to integrate classes and students into the existing city fabric and build vibrancy by activating buildings throughout the entire downtown area, with little new construction and certainly nothing resembling a 'campus' atmosphere. Flash-forward, and everything they have built has been within a distinct boundary, with low-rise, single-use cheap buildings that keep the students segregated from downtown totally. I mean, they built the Student Rec Center ADJACENT to the city YMCA, where the original forced integration was one of the few immediate benefits. Now, two buildings with redundant uses take up 1st Ave frontage along the park, with 1 sterilized for student use only, just like the historic buildings at Civic Space.
They keep expanding outward, and the Wexford project is a horrible addition to downtown. That is the prime district right now in downtown, and a full block is being wasted on generic medical space with 1 space for a cafe fronting Roosevelt Row. Also on the agenda is a parking structure akin to the one built at Fillmore/5th St. Why have they not integrated 3 stories of underground parking AT LEAST into every building so far? A standalone garage is totally out of place in 2019.
Allowing them to buy the land on 1st Ave north of the YMCA when they own so much vacant land already was a huge mistake. That a student housing project is being built on such a long assemblage is already crappy, but we have NO details on the design. I'd bet there is little to no retail space, leaving both sides of the park pretty much deadzones.
ASU and the PBC are outdated ideas that are blights to downtown's revitlization. ASU should focus on redesigning 411 Central to resemble a word-class university's main tower, with tenants like Barnes & Noble, Apple, Amazon, and local restaurants like Oreganos, PF Changs, etc., fronting the park. They should focus on redesigning its 1st Ave and Taylor Street frontages to incorporate more retail and bring in the downtown community rather than push them out.
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Critics of ASU's downtown presence have unrealistic views of how university campuses operate. Even some of the most urban campuses have distinct spaces that are their own. Building that way allows for a sense of campus identity, a greater feeling of security, and efficiencies in maintenance and operations. Very few universities anywhere in the country operate with a building here and a building there with blocks of non-university property in between. When they do, it's typically out of necessity and not by choice.
Your grand plans for retail in the buildings sound great, but only if there is sufficient demand for that retail and only if you somehow have fiat power to make those desirable retail tenants come downtown. The city forced Boyer to put ground floor retail in the PBC garage. Nearly five years later, not a single square foot has been leased. If Apple or Barnes and Noble see a market downtown, they'll find a location. In the absence of demonstrable demand, I'd say your plan would produce more blight than anything ASU has done.