A few weeks ago, I posted a link to a very rough site plan I had put together for a renovated Arizona Center; since then, I re-read this thread and also took a look at the build-out plan for the Biomedical Campus and realized that if Arizona Center isn't re-designed, the entire center of downtown will be over-run by inward facing, cold educational buildings as the ASU and Biomedical Campus have claim to nearly all the land between Garfield and Van Buren, Central to 7th Street, and the Convention Center and Hotels cover the next couple of blocks toward the northeast.
If Arizona Center could serve as a hub for all of those various groups to come together, there would at least be multiple clusters of entertainment spread throughout downtown - Roosevelt to the north, AZ Center in the center, and CityScape/Sporting Venues to the south. Otherwise, the stretch between Roosevelt and US Airways along 5th or 3rd is horrifically dull and uninviting. For a Center that has only been around 20 years, 3 renovations seems like an awful lot: first adding the theater, second adding offices to the 2nd and 3rd floors along with a cosmetic update, and now the facade updates they're doing. Why not just stop picking at what's a much larger problem?
So, anyway, with that said, I made some changes. Obviously, activating 3rd Street to become more inviting to the ASU campus and Convention Hotel was still item #1, done by wrapped patios, "to-go" stands, balconies on the upper levels, and bisecting the Center and allowing Taylor to go all the way through.
The main goals for the northern portion of the Center were:
1) Bringing in market rate residential heavily marketed toward the Biomedical Campus workers and students and ASU would bring in the necessary pedestrian numbers to support the retail and to activate the street scene.
2) Based on posts in this thread, there should be elements of the Center that are uniquely Arizona; we can't move historic building stock over, but we can make smarter choices in the retail mix to appeal to conventioneers who want that authentic experience. A museum, micropub, and monuments/plaques throughout would give all visitors a sense of place.
3) Diversifying the retail mix ensures that the success of the retail, which will in turn support the restaurants within the Garden portion. Quick services for the Biomedical and other office workers, accessory shops for conventioneers, clothing and department store retail for residents, and a theater/museum that are appropriate for all ages.
4) Increasing convenience by offering an abundance of street level parking, which also helps to increase the visibility of all the stores.
I think the retail mix is realistic for a renovated center; all the stores are expanding heavily in urban areas, and would be new to the central Phoenix market. They're also not your typical "big box" stores or even boutique stores, which would still be aimed at a shopping street along Van Buren. The stores are all fairly middle-class and priced appropriately for the nearby residents.
Obviously, even if this plan was somehow feasible, I don't think the hotel or the residential tower would be doable at the same time as the other improvements.