Tempe Development Thread

[asugrad]

Anybody have any renderings? The corner of Apache and Terrace across from D'Lish

[MegaBass]

Also forgot to mention/photograph the progress on Gracie Village when I drove by last Saturday.

[MegaBass]

Originally Posted by asugrad

Anybody have any renderings? The corner of Apache and Terrace across from D'Lish

1010 Lemon aka The Grand

[asugrad]

Originally Posted by MegaBass

1010 Lemon aka The Grand

There is another, The old blue car wash (where the lightrail converges onto Apache) will be demolished and a 19 story sorority tower will be built. Can't think of the PL number, but the hearing sign has been up for a while

[Land Arch Student]

Originally Posted by Jjs5056

Thanks! For a building of such few stories, this does make quite an impact. I wish there were mire details on the plans/timeline for the rest of the development. If a tall, residential piece is not included, that would be a real shame. A private, market rate project would be even better, but having Cllege bookended by The Hub and a 12-14 story dorm at Block 12 would change the dynamics of this part of downtown dramatically and maybe even be a catalyst for some projects, like University Square, to start developing new plans to address the growing nearby population.

I would also have to believe we are only a few more dense residential projects away from a downtown grocery store to be viable. I know Whole Foods has continually been brought up for the University and Ash lot, but neither a 1-story project nor a Whole Foods are ideal for that location (not that the ever-deteriorating dirt is any better...). USA Place would be a great location, but I won't believe it until I hear a name associated with it, and I also think something further north might work better to serve residents near Town Lake, the neighborhoods around Farmer and 5th, and be accessible via light rail. The Loco Patron would've been perfect, or one of the many lots along Ash/Farmer. To serve ASU more, the M7 lot could also work... I've now listed every lot, but oh well.

I just had a tour of College Commons with my construction class. The guy leading the tour said that construction will be completed by May 2014, with move in over the summer. So the building will be functioning by next school year. He also said the college streetscape project (in between 6th and 7th streets) will be completed by May as well. That project is being handled by SmithgrouJJR.

[azsunsurfer]

19 stories is pretty tall for that small of a parcel. I heard the land across the street (behind D'lish) was purchased for a possible parking structure. I would love to see some renderings for this project if its true.

[Arquitect]

Originally Posted by asugrad

There is another, The old blue car wash (where the lightrail converges onto Apache) will be demolished and a 19 story sorority tower will be built. Can't think of the PL number, but the hearing sign has been up for a while

I believe the 19 story building you are talking about was supposed to be north of D'lish, where Terrace meets Apache. It is also a tight triangular lot. I haven't heard or seen anything about it in a long time, but it was supposed to be sorority housing, with each sorority occupying an entire floor. It actually looked like an interesting idea.

[MegaBass]

Originally Posted by Land Arch Student

I just had a tour of College Commons with my construction class. The guy leading the tour said that construction will be completed by May 2014, with move in over the summer. So the building will be functioning by next school year. He also said the college streetscape project (in between 6th and 7th streets) will be completed by May as well. That project is being handled by SmithGroupJJR.

SmithGroupJJR Master Plan Updates for Four Campuses

[Spitfiredude]

So I just received an email from West 6th telling me the Centerpoint lot is going to be closed beginning Sunday to begin development of the Hanover residential project. It says this project will take up to 2 years and after will have a parking garage to accommodate more residential and public parking.

[PHXFlyer11]

Originally Posted by Spitfiredude

So I just received an email from West 6th telling me the Centerpoint lot is going to be closed beginning Sunday to begin development of the Hanover residential project. It says this project will take up to 2 years and after will have a parking garage to accommodate more residential and public parking.

Kinda of hard to be overly excited about this. I hope it looks great, even though it's not a great use of the land. So tower crane will appear here soon and soon at Marina Heights.

I haven't been by USA Place lately. Any work being done to clear the lot? I think that is supposed to break ground in December.

[Jjs5056]

Man, I can't understand why a developer and the city would pass up the chance to build that lot out to its full potential. At the very least, ground floor retail should've been added: most importantly along 5th and 6th, bringing the residential component up to 7 floors so that the parking garage would no longer be taller than the housing part as it will be now. This is becoming a densely populated part of downtown with W6, Hanover, Hayden Condos, The 2 (well I thought a 2nd was underway?) senior projects and all of the dense lofts along Farmer. More service retail is key to making tempe a viable downtown, and I would imagine these spaces would be filled rather quickly. Allowing this project to create a huge pedestrian dead zone on all sides is really unfortunate.

And, there's no doubt it should have been taller. I don't know if the numbers would have worked out for the developer, but had they been able to get a 19-story tower up before Hub 2, connected to a main, 7-story building over retail... They'd have been abe to fill it- no doubt in my mind. Even if not marketed toward students, there is a demand for this kind of housing in the immediate vicinity of ASU and Tempe and it only makes sense to start offering it to upper-grads or post-grads through market rate projects. They didn't even have the foresight to build this with the possibility of a second, taller phase. Really big miss. Someone should draw a map so we can keep track of how few lots are left that can handle a mid or hi rise near downtown... The list is getting smaller and smaller.

[MegaBass]

Originally Posted by PHXFlyer11

I haven't been by USA Place lately. Any work being done to clear the lot? I think that is supposed to break ground in December.

Not really. They've only fenced off a small part of the lot. So far only the ASU Art Museum's Ceramic Research Center has announced their relocation in March 2014 to The Brickyard on Mill. While no word yet on Chili's, Sacks Art of Sandwicherie and other ASU departments and programs located in the Tempe Center.

[alexico]

the lot next to west 6th is all boarded up now. 6-7 apartments but any pics or timeline?

I know several people who are moving out of West 6th since they dont want to deal with the construction etc

[Jjs5056]

Here is an article with a rendering. Very disappointing project for this piece of land, but now that there's officially no turning back, it is nice to see market rate, higher end rentals that will hopefully bring in more of the young professional demographic since the recent residential developments have been catering toward seniors and students.

http://azbex.com/hanover-plans-decem...pe-apartments/

Timeline is 21 months, which seems pretty ridiculous, IMO given now quickly projects like Hub were completed.

[nickw252]

Originally Posted by Jjs5056

Here is an article with a rendering. Very disappointing project for this piece of land, but now that there's officially no turning back, it is nice to see market rate, higher end rentals that will hopefully bring in more of the young professional demographic since the recent residential developments have been catering toward seniors and students.

http://azbex.com/hanover-plans-decem...pe-apartments/

Timeline is 21 months, which seems pretty ridiculous, IMO given now quickly projects like Hub were completed.

I know you wanted something taller but I think the building looks great.

[Jjs5056]

It isn't just the height. At first, I thought the rendering was attractive, as well - it will be a nice contrast to the more modern structures that keep going up in Tempe. It's also a high-end developer, so I'm confident that the materials will look very nice, unlike the cheap stucco on projects like Hub and the Marriott. The two-story lobby (at least that's what it looks to be) is beautiful.

However, once I went to the Hanover site, I realized that this is a developer who doesn't care about the neighborhood they are building in. This looks exactly like every other apartment they have developed in other cities.

That kind of templated approach to their projects is obvious in the fact that this apartment creates absolutely no synergies with the surrounding environment. 5th St has a large and active retail presence from Ash up through the Hub (University Towers' first floor is being converted, as well) and will eventually connect to the Streetcar, and 6th St continues to become more and more energized... It's an absolute shame that this project won't have any retail fronting those streets. Maple (I believe that's the street to the east of the project) I can excuse as more of a service street, but not the other two.

That, in combination with the fact that they are building a garage that is taller than the residential component, is just too much for me to be satisfied with. I won't rehash this again - sorry to keep ranting about it. For all of the things it does right, downtown Tempe just has way too many holes when you get past Mill. 5th and 6th were great opportunities to have active streets that connected to Ash and what will one day be a streetcar line. That opportunity has been wasted on a project that wasn't very well thought out.

Again, there are definitely positives- the quality, for one. And, bringing in more residential will only make additional retail (especially the non-restaurant/bar type that is desperately needed) and mixed use projects a possibility. I just wish this was going up on Farmer or in one of the dirt lots just west of College.

[Jjs5056]

Someone mentioned that SouthBank's annual "throw out a proposal and see if it sticks" strategy for 2013 was for 4-story apartments. Below is a link to more details, including renderings.

Two 4-story apartment buildings, no commercial or retail, with fake stone veneer and brown stucco. This entire development has clearly turned into a complete joke, and I really wish they'd just sell it off at this point so there would at least be a chance at someone building a decent project. There is a whole bunch of BS about these two lots being fit for smaller scale buildings with the surrounding lots still being planned with tower-style structures in mind, but there's no way they are thinking of how these fit into a long-term buildout of the site. These would look best next to Chandler Mall, not next to eventual 300' towers.

I also love how the City quite literally says that they hate the materials and suburban design, that they recommend commercial or retail use being incorporated, and that 4-story structures would render the site underdeveloped... Yet, they've approved the request, on the condition that they throw in some public art and look at using more modern materials.

Stupid.

http://www.tempe.gov/Modules/ShowDoc...cumentid=20527

[azsunsurfer]

Although Tempe wants to envision itself as more of the progressive cities in the valley, they respect private property rights and the owner's right to develop as the market sees fit. I kind of appreciate that about Tempe. Yes they want to encourage more pedestrian oriented developed, cutting edge design, etc- they still want to maintain an image that they are not overbearing as to how private land owners utilize their property. A balance of being business friendly.

[alexico]

Originally Posted by azsunsurfer

Although Tempe wants to envision itself as more of the progressive cities in the valley, they respect private property rights and the owner's right to develop as the market sees fit. I kind of appreciate that about Tempe. Yes they want to encourage more pedestrian oriented developed, cutting edge design, etc- they still want to maintain an image that they are not overbearing as to how private land owners utilize their property. A balance of being business friendly.

I live at at West 6th and a few things they are missing out but making it a high rise (my 2 cents but again the builder is all about $ and nothing else)

1. no views. if the built something 15 stories etc they could have some great views similar to W6

2. total number of units - huge demand for housing in the next few years (all those new office jobs in tempe) asu is going strong year to years.

3. high rises are popular in a city like phx/tempe since they arent the norm. there countless nice townhomes in this city but not many high rises. its nice to live in a high rise when they arent a dime a dozen

I can see it all from room so i will take pics as it goes.

any idea on pricing? curious how the rents will be compared to millstone west 6th and other condos/appts

[Jjs5056]

Looks like a Culinary Dropout/Yard concept (as on 7th and Bethany Home) will be taking over that awful warehouse structure at 149 Farmer. Hope it follows through, so that strip can become a nice mix of retail and mixed-income residential instead of the row of senior housing it had started to trend toward.

On that note, any word on the second senior project? The Residences on Farmer? Given that it was planning on having a retail component, I was actually hoping to see it pull through.

http://www.tempe.gov/Modules/ShowDoc...cumentid=21347

http://www.tempe.gov/modules/showdoc...cumentid=21643