Phoenix Development News (3)

[RedFury1881]

Originally Posted by Don B.

^ Welcome.

--don

Thanks man!

On a side note, I believe one of the team's owners, Phoenix developer Tim Thomas, is also a principal in that new Jazz bar "The Nash" (awful timing) which is opening up on the NE corner of Roosevelt and 1st St. I've met Thomas and he seems like a good guy who does his research. But I've heard some mixed reviews of Thomas. Anyone know more about him?

[PHX31]

I saw The Nash the other day and wondered what it was.

Btw, I kind of like the name "Phoenix City FC"... even though we call it soccer in the US. Not sure why they stick with the "traditional" FC monikers on this side of the pond.

[RedFury1881]

Originally Posted by PHX31

I saw The Nash the other day and wondered what it was.

Btw, I kind of like the name "Phoenix City FC"... even though we call it soccer in the US. Not sure why they stick with the "traditional" FC monikers on this side of the pond.

I hear ya. I don't mind "SC" as in "Soccer Club" since that's what we call the sport here and find nothing wrong with that.

If I had the means to help build the team myself, I would have pushed for "Phoenix Valley SC." Seeing how Phoenix is known as "the Valley." And all the cities in the Phoenix metro area are so fragmented, the word "Valley" would be somewhat unifying.

[Vicelord John]

Originally Posted by RedFury1881

If I had the means to help build the team myself, I would have pushed for "Phoenix Valley SC." Seeing how Phoenix is known as "the Valley." And all the cities in the Phoenix metro area are so fragmented, the word "Valley" would be somewhat unifying.

I know you're new, but I'm already not liking your ideas.

[RedFury1881]

Originally Posted by Vicelord John

I know you're new, but I'm already not liking your ideas.

lol, to each his own.

[nickw252]

I mentioned a while ago that the retail at the northwest corner of 15th Ave and McDowell was going to be remodeled. I don't know how extensive the work will be but the construction has started. Here are some pictures.

[Classical in Phoenix]

Originally Posted by RedFury1881

Thanks man!

On a side note, I believe one of the team's owners, Phoenix developer Tim Thomas, is also a principal in that new Jazz bar "The Nash" (awful timing) which is opening up on the NE corner of Roosevelt and 1st St. I've met Thomas and he seems like a good guy who does his research. But I've heard some mixed reviews of Thomas. Anyone know more about him?

The Nash is part of Jazz in AZ, which is a 501-c3 corp. It is an educational facility. They do have a Sunday Night Jam session from 6:oo to 9:00 PM that is great. They have actually had musicians from New York come in and play. Since it is non-profit, there is only a donation of between $2 and $5 to get in. They currently don't sell alcohol, as I understand it, they are working on a license.

The facility is named after Lewis Nash, a Jazz drummer from the Valley.

[RedFury1881]

Originally Posted by Classical in Phoenix

The Nash is part of Jazz in AZ, which is a 501-c3 corp. It is an educational facility. They do have a Sunday Night Jam session from 6:oo to 9:00 PM that is great. They have actually had musicians from New York come in and play. Since it is non-profit, there is only a donation of between $2 and $5 to get in. They currently don't sell alcohol, as I understand it, they are working on a license.

The facility is named after Lewis Nash, a Jazz drummer from the Valley.

Ah, thanks for the knowledge. Exactly why I love this board.

[HooverDam]

This is good news...

Lunch at Luhrs is latest entry into food-court game

by Jennifer McClellan - Jul. 19, 2012 01:33 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com

With the launch of another mobile food court in Phoenix, downtowners have one more reason not to pack a lunch.

During Lunch at Luhrs, on Mondays, six to eight food trucks will gather in an alley behind the 1920s-era Luhrs Tower.

The mobile food court started July 9 and featured Phoenix Street Food Coalition-member trucks such as Shinobu Diego's tacos y burritos, smoothie and salad truck Mojo Bowl and barbecue truck Riteway Catering.


"We anticipate this being the next Food Truck Friday-type place," said Brad Moore, who owns Short Leash Hotdogs with wife, Kat, and created the popular Food Truck Fridays at the Phoenix Public Market in 2010.

"We see as Lunch at Luhrs as similar opportunity -- it's a fun space in the heart of downtown and it has a real urban feel to it," Moore said.

The area also has a lot of foot traffic, Moore said, with its proximity to Citycenter, US Airways Center, Maricopa County Superior Court complex and other business towers.

The Phoenix Street Food Coalition partnered with Dharmesh Patel, who represents the owners of the historical Luhrs Building and Luhrs Tower, for the weekly lunch.

All participating trucks are members of the Phoenix Street Food Coalition, which requires at least 30 percent of a menu be made with locally sourced ingredients.

The coalition also hosts the District Food "Other Side of the Tracks" food court on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Phoenix Seed and Feed warehouse, and Wednesdays at Civic Space Park in Phoenix (but that's currently on summer hiatus).



Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/p...#ixzz216xWGRV6

[RichTempe]

Sorry this was taken in the dark, but it's when I happened to be walking by. It's for the old DeSoto Dealership Building on the SEC of Central and Roosevelt. Not sure what the plan is for the re-zoning.

[pbenjamin]

Originally Posted by RichTempe

Sorry this was taken in the dark, but it's when I happened to be walking by. It's for the old DeSoto Dealership Building on the SEC of Central and Roosevelt. Not sure what the plan is for the re-zoning.

The property was recently acquired by the current owner, Select Credit & Leasing, LLC, which is proposing to repair and stabilize the building’s structure and to substantially rehabilitate the building’s exterior shell. While the end use has yet to be identified, a leased commercial occupancy taking advantage of the nearby light rail station is anticipated.

http://phoenix.gov/webcms/groups/int...nt/z-11-12.pdf

[combusean]

Specifically, the building presently isn't zoned as a historic structure, but to get the incentives they want from bond funds and to make that project pencil out, they have to get that zoning.

I definitely trust the architecture firm to do something cool with the space. Should be a good destination-type space in the end.

[RedFury1881]

Originally Posted by combusean

Specifically, the building presently isn't zoned as a historic structure, but to get the incentives they want from bond funds and to make that project pencil out, they have to get that zoning.

I definitely trust the architecture firm to do something cool with the space. Should be a good destination-type space in the end.

I've toured the inside of that building earlier this year. There are bones there. But not much of it. It does need a lot of work, covering the oil pit, replace the arching roof (which is almost beyond repair, they can take off the roof and do some cool things with it and put it back), and put in some windows. But on the south wall, there is a buttress that is off and just held by a steel column. Yikes.

So they'll definitely need the zoning to get the bond funds to help revamp the building. I'm hearing it could be two spaces, one being a restaurant, of course. It could look very cool. But it needs a lot of work.

[ASUSunDevil]

I'm a 26 year old Phoenix Native and I'm pretty sure that people have been saying Downtown Phoenix will be great "in like 10 years" for quite some time. This time it's for real. My only question is that how can our tallest skyscraper (Chase Tower) be 40 years old? Can we really not top that? My hope is that Colliers can see the opportunity they have with the lot south of U.S. Airways. Maybe even hit 50 stories for once?

[nickw252]

Originally Posted by ASUSunDevil

My hope is that Colliers can see the opportunity they have with the lot south of U.S. Airways. Maybe even hit 50 stories for once?

I think you mean the lot north of US Airways. Not only is Chase 40 years old, it's also Unattractive and architecturally insignificant. Unfortunately I don't see a new tallest in the near future. Businesses and banks are cautious right now. They're not going to build something huge until the deman and financing is there.

[HX_Guy]

Matt's Big Breakfast moving to larger location in Phoenix
23 comments by Howard Seftel - Jul. 21, 2012 09:48 AM
Republic restaurant critic

Since 2004, Matt's Big Breakfast has been shoehorning hungry breakfast and lunch crowds into its cramped downtown Phoenix space. Now the restaurant is on the move to larger quarters.
But it's not moving far, just a few doors north, into the spot last occupied by short-lived Verde. Renovations are almost complete; the transition is scheduled for the end of August.
Chef/owner Matt Pool says the new digs will seat 50 people, about twice as many as the old spot could handle. Another plus: customers in need of a restroom will no longer be directed to the next-door Coronado Hotel, a place that no one has ever confused with the Ritz. The new Matt's has its own facilities.

Pool is not going to fiddle with success. Except for the addition of staff, everything about the new Matt's Big Breakfast should remain the same, including the menu, phone number and hours.
Pool is also hanging on to his old location. Once the new place is running smoothly - Pool anticipates three or four months -- he plans to convert the original Matt's into a take-out shop, where folks in a hurry can grab a breakfast sandwich or burger from a limited menu.
Details: (New) Matt's Big Breakfast, 825 N. First St., Phoenix, 602-254-1074. Hours: Breakfast and lunch, 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., daily. mattsbigbreakfast.com


Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/...#ixzz21IsIyDOq

[combusean]

Buildings in downtown Phoenix are safe investments that are/were built to be sold later. The only reason we even have Chase Tower is that Valley National Bank was committed to the area and the neighborhood--probably a really cutting-edge concept back in the early 1970s when downtown was a crime-ridden wasteland ripe for urban renewal (for better or worse).

Given the lack of companies that are going to headquarter downtown, I don't see any reason companies are going to build significant new-tallest structures.

[HooverDam]

Originally Posted by combusean

Buildings in downtown Phoenix are safe investments that are/were built to be sold later. The only reason we even have Chase Tower is that Valley National Bank was committed to the area and the neighborhood--probably a really cutting-edge concept back in the early 1970s when downtown was a crime-ridden wasteland ripe for urban renewal (for better or worse).

The area being crime ridden in the 70s explains the buildings awful urban design. Sunk in a moat, behind a block wall. Its literally a fortress.

Originally Posted by combusean

Given the lack of companies that are going to headquarter downtown, I don't see any reason companies are going to build significant new-tallest structures.

You may have seen, but I Tweeted Mayor Stanton about this. Specifically about all the big companies in the PHX area (Cold Stone, Taser, PetSmart, Waste Management, Go Daddy, etc etc) that are HQ'd in the PHX area, but with zero downtown presence. He said he's in the process of meeting with CEOs of all/most of the major AZ corporations and trying to sell them on center city locations and letting them know the city will do what they can to help them come Downtown if they ever decide to.....so thats good.

[phxSUNSfan]

Arizona Diamondbacks Push Stadium Deal

If Phoenix takes over ownership of the stadium I wouldn't mind the team becoming the Phoenix Diamondbacks!

The Arizona Diamondbacks are proposing a deal that would give them more control of Chase Field and significantly increase their bottom line by transferring stadium ownership from Maricopa County to Phoenix.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepu...#ixzz21KCpcyVc

[HooverDam]

Wow this is the first I've ever heard of the D'backs wanting to reduce capacity, that would be great. They over built BOB/Chase by about 10K seats for this market and it always feels empty. Reducing capacity would raise ticket prices, but the D'backs prices are so insanely low that even if prices went up a bit, it would be OK.

I've often wondered if there's any way they could reduce the upper level and make the seats sort of curve downward to a point. Like Kauffman Stadium in KC's upper deck:



Then punch some bid holes in the walls behind where you took out seats and add a lot of glass. I think that would open the stadium up more, which would be nice when the roof is open. It may help more light come in, thus helping the grass, and you'd potentially have more city/mountain views.