Glendale's downtown residential project faces months of delays
Scott Wong
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 11, 2007 08:16 AM
Anxiety within the national lending market and scrutiny from city planners have led to months of delays for the first major downtown Glendale residential project in decades, its developer says.
But Michael Trailor of Vanguard CityHome shot down any suggestion that recent setbacks for the Catlin Court Town Homes project could be traced to the Valley housing slump.
Work on underground utilities will begin in the next 50 days, and completion should come about eight months later, said Trailor, who's based in Scottsdale. City planners have issued permits for drainage and grading for model homes, city Planning Director Jon Froke said.
Trailor, who is teaming with Odyssey Homes of Scottsdale on the 18-unit townhouse project, said lenders are being more vigilant in the wake of the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis.
"In a good market, everyone wants to lend you money. In a bad market, nobody wants to lend you money," Trailor said. "Things are taking a lot longer these days than they normally do."
The project, at the corner of 58th and Myrtle avenues, also is taking longer because of its importance: It represents the first downtown residential development for the city in 50 years.
The infill project will rise to three stories and include the renovation of the First Southern Baptist Church.
And planners are paying close attention to technical details, Trailor said.
"It is an urban development that is a little more dense that what they're used to," he said, "so there has been some give and take along the way."
For example, city planners typically prefer ground-mounted air-conditioning units, Trailor said. But the project provided for little ground space given its density. Trailor and the city agreed to mount the units on the second level and screen them from public view.
Depending on the market, Vanguard also is planning to build the Art House, a 52-unit townhouse project at 57th and Palmaire avenues. Groundbreaking on that project originally was slated last January.
Some, like Councilman Phil Lieberman, are questioning whether the weak housing market may be causing developers to rethink such projects.
The 51 Palms condominium project, at the northeastern corner of 51st and Northern avenues, has sat idle for months. So have others in town.
And the city has seen an influx of new housing units in the past year, including the Quarter, a 171-unit luxury townhouse community that Trammell Crow Residential is building near Jobing.com Arena.
"We're just plain overbuilt," Lieberman said.
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