ASU/UofA Downtown Phoenix construction thread

[PhxDowntowner]

Originally Posted by gymratmanaz

what time next Sat? I will come!!!!!!

8-10am @ the Growhouse 564 E. Garfield St.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=260740747280550

Originally Posted by combusean

I have a question: Did Mayor Gordon or Councilman Johnson help at all in this endeavor?

I'm not totally sure who was involved from the city beyond Rick Naimark (City Deputy Mgr for the UofA campus) and Jeremy Legg (staffer in CED). I stayed out of the City Hall negotiations portion of the project. Not everyone there likes me.

But Gordon & Johnson are going to be at our "formal groundbreaking" on Friday:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=117605028339261

[PhxDowntowner]

Why the hell aren't they building this on 7th Street, which is a de facto highway and already in no way pedestrian friendly? Why would they build this on 5th Street which could have been, before this monolithic 60,000 sqft parking garage, a pedestrian-rich area? This will contribute to creating a wall between the PBC and the community. Idiots Idiots Idiots.

Downtown, Aviation and Economy Subcommittee, September 7, 2011, Item 7.
CITY COUNCIL REPORT

TO:
Rick Naimark
Deputy City Manager

FROM:
Paul Blue
Community and Economic Development Director

SUBJECT:
AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS WITH THE BOYER COMPANY FOR THE PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT OF A PARKING STRUCTURE ON THE PHOENIX BIOMEDICAL CAMPUS


Staff requests the Downtown, Aviation and Economy Subcommittee recommend City Council authorization to enter into Agreements with The Boyer Company (Boyer) for the private development and financing of a parking structure to serve the Phoenix Biomedical Campus (PBC).

THE ISSUE

Since the original development of PBC, the surface parking has been sufficient for the campus. The City’s approved PBC Master Plan has always anticipated the need for parking structures to serve the campus. Developing a parking structure will be critical to the operation and success of the recently developed Health Sciences Education Building and the pending development of the Arizona Cancer Center and the Phoenix Biomedical Research Center. In January 2010, City Council authorized staff to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) and to negotiate business terms for the private development of a parking structure to serve the PBC.

In February 2011, staff issued the RFP for a parking structure to be located on an approximately 60,000 square foot City-owned site located at the southeast corner of Fillmore and 5th streets on the PBC. Staff received six proposals in response to the RFP. The review panel, which included urban parking experts, TGen, IGC, University of Arizona and City staff, unanimously recommended The Boyer Company.

In August 2011, a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Boyer was executed for the private development, financing, leasing and management of an approximately 1,250 space parking garage. This project will result in the private investment of approximately $10 million to $20 million in Phoenix, creating hundreds of construction-related jobs. It will also serve as key infrastructure to accommodate the growth of the campus.

OTHER INFORMATION

Terms of the LOI include the City leasing its property as described above for 50 years with a 10-year renewal option. Rent will be abated the first eight years, then begin at $65,000 annually, growing 10 percent every fifth year. During the initial term, City revenues will total approximately $4 million, and $5.5 million if the renewal option is exercised. In addition, the City would retain fee title ownership of the land, and the improvements would revert to the City at no cost upon expiration of the lease.

Boyer must provide the City with construction documents, evidence of financing and pre-leasing commitments by June 1, 2012 and construction is to commence by November 1, 2012. The facility must be open by February 1, 2014. If these milestones are not met, the City may terminate the lease and reclaim the property, subject to one three-month extension to finalize sufficient pre-leasing commitments.

This project represents another significant private capital investment on the PBC and allows for continued campus growth. The facility will be privately funded with no cost to the City’s General Fund. Additionally, this development will be compatible with the campus as a whole, add value to existing and future developments, and is consistent with the City’s approved campus master plan.

RECOMMENDATION

Staff requests the Downtown, Aviation and Economy Subcommittee recommend City Council authorization to enter into Agreements with The Boyer Company for the private development and financing of a parking structure to serve the Phoenix Biomedical Campus.

Can we get some goddamn urban planners in CED or even just in City Hall? And I don't mean someone that has an ASU-style "urban planning" degree who uses the word 'urban' to describe suburban tract-home subdivisions and any built environment more populated than a Wyoming goat farm, but rather someone that truly studied and understands dense, walkable, complex, multi-modal environments.

*rant over*

[phxSUNSfan]

^They need to learn that parking can be placed underground if it must be built at all. Yes it would cost more but it would help keep downtown pedestrian friendly more than an ugly above ground structure...huge mistake if it is built above grade.

[combusean]

If this is the garage I'm thinking about, they were supposed to have it ringed with ground floor retail, so there's that.

[bwonger06]

Originally Posted by PhxDowntowner

8-10am @ the Growhouse 564 E. Garfield St.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=260740747280550



I'm not totally sure who was involved from the city beyond Rick Naimark (City Deputy Mgr for the UofA campus) and Jeremy Legg (staffer in CED). I stayed out of the City Hall negotiations portion of the project. Not everyone there likes me.

But Gordon & Johnson are going to be at our "formal groundbreaking" on Friday:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=117605028339261

Will try to help out on Saturday!

[Leo the Dog]

Originally Posted by combusean

If this is the garage I'm thinking about, they were supposed to have it ringed with ground floor retail, so there's that.

Oh that's great. Another small cluster that will probably sit empty. Maybe a Subway and/or Starbuck's will open.

[combusean]

^ Wtf kind of myopia is that? As other lots develop up, those retail spaces in the garage will be more in demand. If the spaces aren't built now, the opportunity is lost basically forever.

[PhxDowntowner]

We have to start thinking about ground-floor development of streets, not of blocks. Would that block really need ground floor retail on all four sides?

[Leo the Dog]

Originally Posted by PhxDowntowner

We have to start thinking about ground-floor development of streets, not of blocks. Would that block really need ground floor retail on all four sides?

Exactly. Phx doesn't need anymore more small clusters scattered about. What Phx needs is a corridor of ground floor retail.

[combusean]

It is ridiculous to think the antidote to all the deadzones in downtown with anti-urban facades is to continue building them to force people where you want them to be. That's not even remotely possible or a good idea because a corridor of ground-floor retail worth a hill of beans in downtown Phoenix isn't going to be built in the lifetime of anybody here. Central Ave or any other street has far too many holes in it to be remotely cohesive.

Even if such a corridor were built out, such a unitary focus on that corridor's retail there would significantly hamper the chance for off-the-beaten path type places to thrive, not that Fillmore and 5th is off the beaten path anyway.

Part of making downtown walkable and usable for people is to create permeable entrances wherever possible. We have enough shitty blocks that do nothing for people downtown. The last thing we want to do is continue building more, or worse, have a preference for them. I for one am tired of downtown being a collection of uses that have no purpose for pedestrians.

Seems pretty weird that I would be running into opposition to such a basic tenet of urban design and such a fundamental component of any city's downtown on a board like this.

[PhxDowntowner]

The Downtown Devil article about the parking garage: http://downtowndevil.com/2011/09/08/...rage-approved/

[combusean]

^ Hoover's suggestion of getting them to build the garage on 7th st is a good one. If they haven't approved the development agreement yet there's still room for compromise on the matter.

If you get enough Alta residents in there complaining about the existing noise from the Arizona Center parking garage that *might* be enough to effect change.

[Leo the Dog]

Unfortunately, it'll get built. Alta is full of transient renters, so I'm sure the city doesn't really care about their opinion.

[HooverDam]

Originally Posted by combusean

^ Hoover's suggestion of getting them to build the garage on 7th st is a good one. If they haven't approved the development agreement yet there's still room for compromise on the matter.

Where does one start with something like that?

Also, wasn't the Urban Form supposed to stop all of this crap?

[combusean]

If the RFP weren't already issued and the development agreement not already signed, it might be possible. The fact is this has been brewing a lot too long and it never occurred to me that the construction of the garage might be a bad idea, especially in terms of placing it off 7th as opposed to 5th St. I did what far too many Phoenix honchos do--see one thing they like about the project (ground floor retail) and turn off the rest of my critical thinking.

[nickw252]

“They’re already at capacity,” said Matt Jensen, senior project manager with Boyer. “If (the University of Arizona’s) medical school starts to grow, there’s no place to park. They would have to start busing.”

Ohh the horror!

On a positive note - a parking garage is slightly better than having more surface parking.

[HooverDam]

ASU's help will double downtown Phoenix YMCA's size

by Emily Gersema - Sept. 12, 2011 11:13 AM
The Arizona Republic

The downtown Phoenix YMCA will be bigger within the next two years because of a partnership between the YMCA and the Arizona State University Downtown Phoenix campus.

Last month, the Arizona Board of Regents agreed to let ASU spend $1.37 million to buy from the YMCA about 27,700 square feet of property north and south of the Lincoln Family Downtown YMCA at 350 N. First Ave. The purchase enables the expansion of the YMCA fitness center to support the growing number of downtown ASU students, faculty and staff who are its members.

The Y owns three vacant parcels on the south side of its downtown building, and one parcel on the north. "For ASU to add on some additional square footage, they have to own the lots," said George Scobas, president and CEO of the Valley of the Sun YMCA.


ASU has bolstered membership at the downtown Y. During the school year, its membership of around 2,000 to 2,200 members increases by another 2,000 because of ASU.

"As the campus grows and grows, the need for additional facility is critical," Scobas said.

The Lincoln Family Downtown YMCA was constructed in 1955. The last time it was renovated was in 2006.

Scobas said the expansion means all the members who use the downtown Y will have new and bigger facilities, including an outdoor pool, expanded gym area and a jogging track.

"It will be seamless for students and members," Scobas said. "They may have some classrooms and some student locker rooms, but all of the health and fitness areas are pretty much there for members to use."

The expansion will double the size of the facility to around 95,000 square feet. YMCA officials said they believe the expansion could be finished by fall 2013.

The Valley of the Sun YMCA is one of Arizona's largest non-profit groups. It has 17 locations across the state.



Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/p...#ixzz1Xmzc5900

This is good. I was worried when we first heard about this that ASU was just going to have a separate facility and that ASU was going to be pulling its students further and further away from the City. It now sounds more like ASU & the Y are working hand in hand and this will be a good deal for all involved.

[Phxguy]

http://downtowndevil.com/2011/09/20/...eation-center/
Finally some more news about the Rec Center south of YMCA. Unfortunately there still has yet to be any designs shown.

[dtnphx]

From the Rec Center article, "In addition, much of the seating on the roof is expected to face south, making sunbathing easier for students."
We know how difficult it is to move lounge chairs and stuff...LMAO!

[HX_Guy]

I'm pleasantly surprised that the building will be 5 stories (well...sounds like technically 4 stories and the 5th is a pool area, so no actual ceiling to the 5th floor). For some reason i thought it was going to be a 2 story building.

It'll be nice when the day comes that the parking lot north of the YMCA and south of the new SRC are also built on along with the lot north of the Cronkite building and the Civic Park is surrounded on all sides by buildings, will really give it an urban feel I think.