ASU/UofA Downtown Phoenix construction thread

[Vicelord John]

Site work happening at nec 7/Fillmore.

[HX_Guy]

Looks like decision to move the Law School is official...

b]ASU eyes 2016 Phoenix move for law school[/b]

Arizona State University has decided to relocate the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law from the Tempe campus to downtown Phoenix, with plans to potentially build a six-story, $120 million facility.

University officials hope to open the Arizona Center for Law and Society in 2016, but they need to overcome a few more hurdles before they finalize the deal.

Phoenix would initially provide the land, a block near Polk and First streets, for free for the first 10 years and contribute $12 million to the project, but the city must still approve the deal.

“Downtown Phoenix is the right location for this law school,” Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said. “Not only is it the legal center of Phoenix, it’s the center of the courts, and it’s the corporate center of Arizona.”

The City Council’s Downtown, Aviation, Economy and Education Subcommittee on Wednesday recommended that the council authorize the city manager to negotiate contracts and agreements with ASU to develop the center.

Wednesday’s meeting was the first time ASU officials had made public their decision to relocate the college. Before this week, university officials would say only that they were considering a move.

“It was an important step, but it’s not a full-scale approval,” said Richard Stanley,ASU’s senior vice president and university planner. “We still have to work our way through the other steps. But we are very excited about the possibility and enthusiastic about this moving forward.”

The Arizona Board of Regents also still has to approve the move. Board members are scheduled to vote on it in December.

The center would include the law school and other public and private research centers benefiting the legal community.

The law school’s presence downtown will expand its influence throughout the Valley, said Douglas Sylvester, dean of the law school.

“The vision for the law school is to be a much more engaged law school in the community,” he said. “We’ve been that way for a while. Law and legal scholars and law students have a much broader impact than people think.”

The move will allow the university to launch new programs that could increase the school’s academic reputation, Sylvester said. The school already attracts the top 10percent of all law-school graduates, he said.

“We’re already quite confident that we’ll move up in the rankings again,” he said. “We think we’ll be solidly in the top 25 and certainly in to the top seven or eight of all publics. But moving downtown isn’t about rankings. It’s about the mission of this law school.”

The project will cost ASU $100 million to $120 million. Stanley said the school will launch a fundraising campaign.

Officials expect enrollment at the law school to increase by 20 to 40 percent. Enrollment for the juris doctorate program, the flagship program that prepares students to be attorneys, will remain constant at about 200 students per class, Sylvester said.

But enrollment will increase in other graduate and online programs.

The center plans to offer continuing education programs for attorneys and to launch more joint-degree programs with other ASU colleges.

This larger student body will generate more tuition to help cover the costs of the project.

“As we grow the university and increase enrollment, revenue from tuition and rate increases, that’s our primary source these days of generating additional resources to do new work,” Stanley said.

But Sylvester said existing students should not fear an increase.

“I’ve been very hopeful that we will not need to seek any tuition increase next year, and any more after that will be very small and related to costs of living more than anything else,” Sylvester said.

Phoenix will contribute the $12 million to the project after the center breaks ground.

“It’s an investment in our future,” Stanton said. “Those are our future leaders. We can not achieve our goals as a city unless we have more people with degrees and more people with advanced degrees. This is not something we can wait for the Legislature to do. We have got to create our own action.”

After the first 10 years, ASU will pay Phoenix $125,000 a year for the next decade for the land not purchased with ASU-related 2006 bond funds.

The university will build the center between Polk, Taylor, First and Second streets. The academic building will occupy three-quarters of the block with the rest of the land reserved for future development, possibly student housing, Stanley said.

Officials have not chosen architects, but preliminary designs suggest a 250,000- to 300,000-square-foot building. The center will include about 200 to 250 parking spaces.

If approved, construction will begin by May 2014.

City officials said the project is expected to create about 1,000 construction-related jobs and generate $1 million in construction sales-tax revenue.

O’Connor will be the second law school in downtown Phoenix. The Phoenix School of Law opened in the Tower at One North Central last year.

ASU's law school will join the Walter Cronkite School of Mass Communication, College of Health Solutions, School of Letters and Sciences, College of Nursing and Health Innovation, College of Public Programs and Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at the Downtown Phoenix campus.

The Phoenix Biomedical Campus is home to the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix, UA College of Pharmacy, UA College of Public Health, Northern Arizona University physical-therapy program and NAU physician-assistant program.

Stanton said downtown Phoenix will continue to transform into a hub for higher education.

“We are not stopping one bit,” he said. “We know our future is tied to higher education.”

Steve Weiss, a founding member of Downtown Voices Coalition, a group focused on growth and development in downtown Phoenix, said he hopes nearby businesses adjust their schedules and products for an influx of students who are often up late at night.

“What will the local businesses do to create services and business that the incoming student population will use?” Weiss asked.

[nickw252]

^^^ http://www.azcentral.com/community/p...aw-school.html

That's great news. It will bring hundreds more young (and often affluent) to downtown. It will also allow the students to be by the state and city government, federal courts, and many of the big multi-national law firms.

[HooverDam]

200-250 parking spaces? Damn, ASU really doesn't "get it."

[PHX31]

I'd assume the parking spaces are in the 1/4 area of the lot that they mentioned would be reserved for future development, possibly student housing. I'm OK with that. I'd rather have their current needs be met on 3/4 of the lot and reserve the rest for later - bringing along more density, than spread their current needs over the entire lot.

[Arquitect]

Originally Posted by PHX31

I'd assume the parking spaces are in the 1/4 area of the lot that they mentioned would be reserved for future development, possibly student housing. I'm OK with that. I'd rather have their current needs be met on 3/4 of the lot and reserve the rest for later - bringing along more density, than spread their current needs over the entire lot.

Its a big lot, but 1/4 of it isn't big enough for that many cars. My guess is that the design will include a parking structure. Which could be a good thing if it means that becomes downtown ASU's parking structure. And all the small and large lots they have can potentialy be developed.

[PHX31]

/\True. And if they did build a large parking structure it would have to be huge to serve downtown ASU (and a semi-tall building possibly, unless they go underground). But having one main garage would be a good idea as far as future land use around the rest of DT ASU goes.

[nickw252]

From the AZ Capitol Times:

Arizona State University has decided to relocate the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law from the Tempe campus to downtown Phoenix.

The Arizona Republic reports that university officials made public its plans this week at a Phoenix city council subcommittee meeting.

School officials also announced plans to build a six-story, $120 million facility.

University officials say they hope to open the Arizona Center for Law and Society in 2016, but they need to overcome a few more hurdles before they finalize the deal. Phoenix would initially provide the land, a block near Polk and First streets, for free for the first 10 years and contribute $12 million to the project, but the city must still approve the plan.

The project will cost ASU $100 million to $120 million.

http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2012/...ve-to-phoenix/

[Vicelord John]

Maybe I should repost this -

There is site work happening on the NWC of 7th and Fillmore.

That's the thing they're building at the place jackasses.

[HX_Guy]

What are they building at 7th and Fillmore?

[Vicelord John]

That's where cancer is going, no?

[AJphx]

It will be on the southwest corner. Construction on the NW or NE corners (you said both) would have to be something else.

Also everyone between your posts was talking about the ASU law school, not this.

[combusean]

Cancer is definitely going in on NWC of 7th and Fillmore. source

[nickw252]

Originally Posted by combusean

Cancer is definitely going in on NWC of 7th and Fillmore. source

That article is a tad old.

Mayor Phil Gordon said he is optimistic that construction could start before the end of this year. The deal the council will vote on today requires the Arizona Cancer Center to complete design of the outpatient clinic by June 2012 and start construction by the end of 2012.

[Vicelord John]

Originally Posted by AJphx

It will be on the southwest corner. Construction on the NW or NE corners (you said both) would have to be something else.

Also everyone between your posts was talking about the ASU law school, not this.

To your first paragraph, I meant the NWC. And you're wrong.

To your second paragraph, no shit? I can't read so I had no clue law school meant law school.

[Jjs5056]

I mentioned in the RoPo () thread that the sign on the staging lot (4th and McKinley, east of the apartments) says "Arizona Cancer Center." Can anyone confirm whether anything is being built there? Is this the parking garage, or just double as a staging area for the NWC of 7th/McKinley?

Really hope it isn't the garage. Somehow, some way, that garage needs to be scrapped or at least moved east toward 7th. So much great stuff going on around Roosevelt, it would be devastating to throw a gigantic parking structure to splinter off that growth from Alta, Arizona Center, ASU, etc.

I do recall the structure having to be mixed use; however, wasn't it determined that by throwing some solar panels atop, that it met the city's requirement of "mixed use?"

[Classical in Phoenix]

In the November/December issue of AZRE, which is the commercial real estate magazine that is combined with Arizona Business magazine, there is an article called Cancer Battleground that states the U of A Cancer Center is currently on hold. There is no information other than that. Not saying the article is right, just passing on what I read.

[Arquitect]

Originally Posted by Classical in Phoenix

In the November/December issue of AZRE, which is the commercial real estate magazine that is combined with Arizona Business magazine, there is an article called Cancer Battleground that states the U of A Cancer Center is currently on hold. There is no information other than that. Not saying the article is right, just passing on what I read.

The issue is that St. Joeseph's Hospital is no longer partnered with the U of A. The deal had been done while St. Joe's and the U of A were still working together (having U of A medical students do their learning at St. Joe's), but now St. Joe's has partnered with Creighton University in Omaha. A lot of the hold up is trying to figure out what will be the dynamic between the two institutions will be. With funding coming from both, it is a bit of a legal mess at the moment. I really hope it gets resolved soon, since it is going to be a great addition to downtown.

[nickw252]

Perfect day for a bike ride so I took some pics:

[MegaBass]

Opinion: ASU, build the law school – but only if you reach for the sky

Roosevelt Row Community Development Corp., Downtown Voices Coalition, Evans Churchill Community Association, and the Thunderdome Neighborhood Association all explicitly state the desire to make downtown a more walkable place. Thousands of downtowners want the same. Thousands of Phoenicians beyond downtown also share that vision. Even City Hall supports this goal (though its execution to it is an entirely different topic).

It’s accurate to say that the downtown community’s mission is to create a vibrant, walkable place for people to live, work, and visit.

But it’s critical to be intellectually honest with ourselves that, in providing a quality urban environment, Phoenix is far behind nearly every other city we can name. And for economic (both global and local), environmental, and demographic reasons, we don’t have the luxury of time to catch up. Phoenix has to step up its game quickly, and we can’t afford any more screwups, because other cities have it figured out. At this point in Phoenix’s development, we must be aggressive, decisive, and smart in what we do next.

Two unconditional necessities

At the highest level, achieving walkability requires two fundamental ingredients which enable everything else that needs to happen:

1. Multi-modal infrastructure driven by pedestrian design.
2. High density (employment, residential, and ground-floor commercial).

Without those two things, a truly walkable environment simply isn’t possible. And for all the perception that Phoenix is awash in land — and for all the vacant lots scarring downtown — the truth of the matter is that we have sufficient but limited opportunities (in terms of land) on which to build this needed density. The largest single landowner in downtown is the city of Phoenix – land mostly earmarked for the Phoenix Biomedical Campus. Coming in a close second is ASU. So while downtowners are striving to convey our area’s needs to individual developers as they come to the table, there are two 800-pound gorillas that have to ‘get it’ lest it all be for naught.

ASU’s role

Taylor Place is wonderfully dense. Its 13 stories have more than 1,000 beds per acre, which far outperforms its otherwise modest Floor Area Ratio of just below 7. (FAR is a measure of how well a building utilizes the land it’s on, gross square feet/developable land. Think of it as the number of “effective stories” a development has once you factor out all the undeveloped space.) While obviously not matching the FAR of 44 Monroe, the tallest residential building in Arizona, Taylor Place actually does match it in density because of its smaller apartments. Densities like these are bright spots in our quest for a walkable downtown.

Buildings of classroom space are harder to measure in terms of density, so here we rely more on FAR. The Cronkite building has a FAR just over 5, which is as low as we can accept — if it’s not actually too low — to achieve walkable densities. Then there is ASU’s squat 4-story student recreation center by the YMCA currently under construction. That is entirely too low for precious downtown land, and should have had another 4 or more stories of student housing or classroom space planned above it.

But building low in our downtown is okay if a structure is made of wood-frame (because it’s easier to replace with a taller structure when the area’s development economics improve) or if its foundation is engineered to support more height that can be added in the future.

Build the law school, but…

Sorry Tempe, but I want ASU’s law school to come downtown. Adding a significant number of graduate students to our downtown mix will be a big positive for downtown. I’m also excited to hear that the parking for the new structure will be underground. (The only two places that we should be adding any more parking are underground and on the street.) But I’m also hoping against all hope that the building will be given a foundation that can support more height than ASU plans to build, because I guarantee it won’t be built in wood-frame and its currently-proposed design delivers a measly 3.5 FAR.

To be clear, 3.5 isn’t enough. To build what is currently being proposed would be a detriment to downtown because it would be $120 million dumped into a missed opportunity and a permanent ‘low spot’ in our density profile. There are two possible solutions:

1. Build the foundation strong enough to support more than double the height so ASU can add more on top in the future when they need it (because they will).
2. Cut the footprint in half and double the height, which will achieve a solid FAR of 7 and also preserve land for future opportunities.

Take the long view, and do it right

Either option adds a little more to the immediate cost, but long-term economic and financial benefits for both ASU and the city of Phoenix outweigh it. City Hall can insist that ASU make these changes on their own since Phoenix taxpayers already gave ASU all its land for free, or the two could split this marginal cost to the project. Either way, Phoenix taxpayers, downtowners, and Sun Devils all deserve a smarter structure that won’t ultimately hamstring us in our already-challenging efforts to create a competitive, walkable downtown. Instead, let’s make this new structure a part of the solution.