Phoenix Development News (3)

[combusean]

Saw this in the public record...

COUNCIL ACTION
AGENDA FOR FORMAL MEETING
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012, 5:00 P.M.
PAGE 9
ACTION
ITEM 46

DISTRICT 7

ORDINANCE S-38916 - DEMONSTRATION PROJECT GRANT APPLICATION FOR O. S. STAPLEY COMPANY BUILDINGS -
733 GRAND AVENUE

Request to authorize the City Manager to enter into a contract with Abromovitz Grand Avenue Partners, LLC to expend up to $300,000 in Historic Preservation Bond funds for the rehabilitation of the historic O. S. Stapley Company Buildings, located at 733 Grand Avenue (a.k.a. 723-735 Grand Avenue), and to authorize the City Controller to disburse the necessary funds.

Abromovitz Grand Avenue Partners, LLC is the owner of the historic O. S. Stapley Company Buildings and has submitted a Demonstration Project Grant Application requesting funds to rehabilitate the property. The buildings are an excellent example of early 20th Century street-oriented commercial architecture, with individually expressed brick facades, stepped parapets, and large storefront display windows with wood transoms above the main entry doors facing the street. Construction of the main twostory building was completed in 1927 with subsequent additions of three, one-story bays thereafter.The Historic Preservation Bond funds will be used to perform the following primary work items: re-roofing; truss/framing repair; skylight and cupola repair/replacement; new scuppers and roof drains; brick repair and repointing; removal of metal façade and infill; rebuilding of architectural detail, wood transoms, and storefront; new entry doors; window repair/replacement; creation of new 1st and 2nd floor exits for the two-story building; and installation of new glass roll-up doors with exit man-doors, new exterior lighting, and new fabric awnings. While specific tenants have yet to be identified, it is the owner's intent to rehabilitate the buildings for arts and arts-related business and retail uses compatible with the emerging arts culture of the area and the Arts, Culture, and Small Business Overlay District (ACOD) in which the buildings are located.

Employment Impact

The rehabilitation project is expected to employ between 15 and 20 persons.

Financial Impact
This project will use up to $300,000 in available Historic Preservation Bond funds. This will cover a portion of the cost of the grant-eligible work items, including eligible architectural and engineering expenses. It is anticipated that the owner will invest an additional $2.08 million to cover the remainder of the eligible items, as well as the ineligible items, including plumbing, electrical, mechanical, interior, and site work. According to grant program guidelines, the City will receive a 30-year conservation easement on the historic building in exchange for grant funding.

The Historic Preservation Commission recommended approval of this grant request on April 16, 2012. The City Council
Neighborhoods, Planning and Development, Housing, and Homeless Subcommittee recommended approval on May 15, 2012.

This item is also recommended by Mr. Krietor and the Planning and Development Department.

APPROVED

[combusean]

And this:

ITEM 47
DISTRICT 8
ORDINANCE S-38917 - THREATENED BUILDING GRANT APPLICATION FOR C. P. STEPHENS DESOTO SIX DEALERSHIP BUILDING -
915 NORTH CENTRAL AVENUE

Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to enter into a contract with Select Credit & Leasing, LLC to expend up to $250,000 in Historic Preservation Bond funds for the rehabilitation of the historic C. P. Stephens DeSoto Six Dealership Building, located at 915 North Central Avenue (a.k.a. 913 917 North Central Avenue), and to authorize the City Controller to disburse the necessary funds.

Select Credit & Leasing, LLC is the owner of the historic C. P. Stephens DeSoto Six Dealership Building and has submitted a Warehouse/Threatened Building Grant Application requesting funds to rehabilitate the property. Constructed in 1928, the property is significant as one of only two remaining buildings constructed for automobile dealerships prior to World War II. The Spanish Colonial Revival-style structure was designed by architects McDonald & Morrison, utilizing stuccoed brick and a bowstring truss roof. The building is currently in very poor condition with a portion of the roof having collapsed. The Historic Preservation Bond funds will be used to perform the following work items: roof structure repair, re-roofing, architectural/structural assessments, and architectural/structural design. The owner also plans to reopen the large storefront window and to replicate the decorative cast stone elements that have been removed. While specific tenants have yet to be identified, a leased commercial occupancy taking advantage of the nearby light rail station is anticipated.

Employment Impact

The rehabilitation project is expected to employ between 15 and 20 persons.

Financial Impact

This project will use up to $250,000 in available Historic Preservation Bond funds. Under the Warehouse/Threatened Building Grant Program, the City's share of the eligible items is 100 percent, provided the property owner pays an equal or higher amount for ineligible items. In this case, the owner has estimated that expenses for site work, electrical and fire sprinkler infrastructure, exterior work beyond grant funding, non-covered architectural and engineering fees, and other fees and permits will be at least $290,700. According to grant program guidelines, the City will receive a 30-year conservation easement on the historic building in exchange for grant funding.

The Historic Preservation Commission recommended approval of this grant request on April 16, 2012. The City Council Neighborhoods, Planning and Development, Housing, and Homeless Subcommittee recommended approval on May 15, 2012.

This item is also recommended by Mr. Krietor and the Planning and Development Department

APPROVED

Good news for two historic structures in Phoenix.

[PHX31]

/\Thanks for finding and posting that... that is really really good news to hear. It's a good start, for sure, now hopefully on to many others.

[HooverDam]

I was briefly talking with Deb Jarson (of Jarson and Jarson Realty) recently and she mentioned that the OS Stapley building was purchased "by the people who did Cooperstown." Not sure entirely what that meant in detail, but hopefully its a good thing.

That building/series of buildings is really the gateway to Grand Ave and it needs to become a solid anchor for Lower Grand. I'm kind of hoping for more than just a bar/restaurant. I'd love to see for instance a revival house cinema, like the New Beverly in LA (which I dont think would really be a direct competition w/ FilmBar). Or maybe a retro arcade/bar like Ground Kontrol in Portland. Heck if they also bought up all the adjacent lowrise warehouses maybe they could do something like St Louis' amazing City Museum. It needs to really be a destination I feel, which would hopefully help more bars, eateries, etc fill in around it.

[plinko]

^Hopefully it's not Brian Weymouth. He was Alice Cooper's partner in the Cooperstown deal (my old firm did the design work).

[nickw252]

Originally Posted by plinko

^Hopefully it's not Brian Weymouth. He was Alice Cooper's partner in the Cooperstown deal (my old firm did the design work).

What dont you like anout Cooperstown? I've only been there a few times before games and generally liked it but don't really have a strong opinion of the place.

[plinko]

I never said I didn't like Cooperstown.

[nickw252]

The Roosevelt Row Arts District has been awarded $150,000 for revitalization.

The money is coming from ArtPlace, a collaboration of 11 national and regional foundations, six banks and eight federal agencies, including the National Endowment for the Arts.

ArtPlace pooled nearly $50 million for “strategic investments in the arts” in communities nationwide. Of 2,100 applications, 47 were selected to receive grants.

“Phoenix deserves a great cultural community art district,” said Cindy Dach, executive director of the Roosevelt Row Community Development Corp.
The money will be used for three projects, all of which were specified in the application for the grant, Dach said. Roosevelt Row will put on a Feast on the Street event, do streetscape planning, and turn shipping containers into art studios.

The Feast on the Street is being put together by Phoenix artist Matt Moore and Clare Patey, who is responsible for the Feast on the Bridge in London. The local arts and culinary event, scheduled for April 2013, will span from Taylor Place on the downtown campus of Arizona State University    to Margaret T. Hance Park at Interstate 10, Dach said.

The funding will also go toward streetscape planning beyond the stretch from Central Avenue to Fourth Street that the city is already working on. Dach conceded that the group does not have enough money for actual construction, but she said she hopes the grant will help promote growth in the area.

“Our vision is to connect 16th Street to Grand Avenue,” Dach said. “This will help fund the dialogue to help make that happen.”

The grant also will fund the Adaptive Reuse of Temporary Space project, creating the ARTS Village. Shipping containers are being repurposed in unique ways all over the country, Dach said, and “this will be our version.”

She said Roosevelt Row will be looking into additional fundraising.

“We’re successful as a destination, but there’s just so much more it can be,” she said.

The Phoenix Mayor’s Office was “extremely pleased” to hear about the grant, said Brendan Mahoney, senior policy adviser to Mayor Greg Stanton.

“To get that kind of national recognition ... really says something about the quality of people that are there,” he said.

He said Stanton sees a strong downtown area as important not just to the city and the state, but to the Southwest.

“It’s a really prestigious award,” Mahoney said, and it offers a “good opportunity to showcase all parts of Phoenix.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/n....html?page=all

More good news for Roosevelt Row. That area is going to be completely transformed in a few years.

[nickw252]

The Sun Corridor, a potential megapolitan area running from Prescott through Phoenix and Tucson to the Mexico border, is getting some attention.

In Friday's paper, the Phoenix Business Journal will look at some of its impacts and who is gearing up for a region that, in the next 30 years, will have a population of about 9 million people.

That means a lot more impact on infrastructure and services, and the need for a lot more jobs in the coming years.

Coincidentally, the Maricopa Association of Governments is putting on an event Wednesday to discuss what will need to be done from an economic development viewpoint to make sure the jobs are there to support a region that will be one of a dozen major economic corridors in the U.S.

With MAG there I hope they discuss regional and commuter rail.

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/b...ention-as.html

[HooverDam]

More news on the Canvas building....

The vacant building on the northeast corner of Third and Roosevelt streets has long been on our wish list for any kind of development, and this afternoon, we received some good (and tasty) news.
According to Dr. Richard Gordan, who owns the building and lot at 1011 North Third Street, four leases were signed in the past two weeks for an ice cream parlor, a Vietnamese restaurant, an Italian restaurant, and French restaurant.

He says most of the details are still in the works, but that the French spot will be operated by Duc and Noelle Liao, chef-owners of Scratch Pastries.

The building's been around since 1965. Since then, it's been a music venue, a gallery space, headquarters for the "Rock the Vote" campaign, and most recently, a sweet spot for local graffiti artists.
In 2008, the building's previous programmers had plans for a nightclub, a 24-hour newsstand, a grocery, an art gallery, and a miniature skate park. When plans fell through and the building was foreclosed and put up for sale, Gordan bit.

He says he's owned land for two and a half years and has been waiting for the right opportunity and lineup of tenants. According to Gordan, construction will begin in July or August, and the place will hopefully be open for business by by October or November.

"The building has good bones to it," says Gordan. "We're going to do a complete remake on it, put a fence around made from recycled and painted bicycles, and have plenty of space for people to meet, sit, and hang out downtown."

Stay tuned for more info ...

This is excellent news all around. I'm glad to hear about the variety and Scratch is excellent quality, so thats doubly good news.

[bwaynoh]

An update on the planned Circle K for the Southeast corner of 7th St and Roosevelt:

A New Seventh Street and Roosevelt Looms: Part 1 of 2
June 15, 2012 by Connor Descheemaker


Back at the end of April, I first addressed the new development proposals for the Seventh Street corridor, reaching from Garfield to Portland Streets along the East side of the street.

Just this week, after several months of talks with the City of Phoenix and Garfield neighborhood residents, representatives from Circle K and Vintage Partners (the two groups behind the two development proposals) attended and presented at the monthly Evans Churchill Neighborhood meeting.

http://vanishingphx.downtowndevil.co...of-2/#comments

[PHX31]

Well, sounds very disappointing. It's frustrating how Phoenix has extremely few historic buildings left and even fewer historic streetscapes that create a cool "urban" environment. Not that this corner was one of these streetscapes, but it does have an old building. At this point I think the fact that this corner is going to be a giant gas station is disappointing, but a moot point. However, I think they could easily save that old brick building and incorporate it into their design. Even if it's nothing more than the street-fronting, historic brick facade being saved, it's better than just letting more wonton destruction happen. Nothing they will design will ever have the character and zero setback that the existing building has. They could demolish the entire rest of the building, but at least save just a piece of it that fronts 7th street.

Will never happen at this point, because it would cost a little more money, but it would be nice.

At the very very least I wish they would take off the corrugated metal facade so we could see what the ol' girl looks like and take some pictures of it before they tear it down.

[nickw252]

Habit Burger at 7th and McDowell is open. Today they were giving out free food while their staff trains. Tomorrow and Monday they are charging for the food but the proceeds go to charity.

[nickw252]

I just noticed this a few days ago and since we've been talking about restoration of historic buildings I thought I'd post it. This is Lolo's Chicken and Waffles at Central and Buckeye. It's in a great old brick building with zero setback and they are completely redoing it. It looks better in person. I was taking these pics from the car window into the sun.

[PHX31]

I'll have to check that out... It's great! Is that an old "ghost" (painted) sign that says "furniture"? Pretty cool and glad to see some great work being done under the radar.

[nickw252]

Just got an email from my neighborhood association - the NW corner of 15th andMcDowell apparently is under new ownership and will be redeveloped. This is awesome news, the corner is dilapidated and tends to have shady people lingering around the area. It could probably help property values of the homes west of 15th if the right type of business/building goes in there. I'll get more details up as soon as i hear them.

[nickw252]

Here is what it looks like now.

[nickw252]

Making progress on Portland 2 (See page 152 & 154 for old pics).

[Phxguy]

Originally Posted by nickw252

Making progress on Portland 2 (See page 152 & 154 for old pics).

Is this the only building of the town homes or will there be another just like by its side?

[nickw252]

Originally Posted by Phxguy

Is this the only building of the town homes or will there be another just like by its side?

I believe there are supposed to be three more buildings like it. I haven't been in the area lately so I can't tell you if a new building is being started.