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  #81  
Old Posted Mar 10, 2014, 4:26 PM
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PHX31 PHX31 is offline
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Intersesting ideas. I like the grab and go annex. And the history of TV and theater would be a good addition. Improving the Arizona Center is definitely a good idea to give that area a nice urban catalyst.

Couple questions: Why exactly open up Taylor Street to vehicles? I can see maybe pedestrians and bicycles, but not cars... plus, the parking garage would have to be totally moved to allow Taylor street to continue through like that. I can't imagine the expense would be worth it.

Some of the residential would be good, but I don't know if I'd want to live above or on a parking garage.

A couple notes on the Arizona Center, as I saw a movie there on Saturday night...

-it was more crowded than I've seen it in a long time. The 1130 restaurant seemed fairly full, it's almost always completely dead at night, at least when I've seen it.

-Brick pizza wasn't very full when we went into the movie, and when we came out, Brick had turned into a night club complete with lights, DJ, dance floor, etc. What the hell?
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  #82  
Old Posted Mar 11, 2014, 2:11 AM
Jjs5056 Jjs5056 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PHX31 View Post
Intersesting ideas. I like the grab and go annex. And the history of TV and theater would be a good addition. Improving the Arizona Center is definitely a good idea to give that area a nice urban catalyst.

Couple questions: Why exactly open up Taylor Street to vehicles? I can see maybe pedestrians and bicycles, but not cars... plus, the parking garage would have to be totally moved to allow Taylor street to continue through like that. I can't imagine the expense would be worth it
I originally thought of making it a pedestrian mall, but I envision it being very pedestrian-focused, with a large linear plaza and same-grade paving; something similar to what they're doing at Gammage. Opening the street to traffic does multiple things:
1) Connects the Biomedical Center to Arizona Center to ASU to Western Downtown; having a small-block system downtown is preferable to megablocks or multiple abandonments, and continues to the feeling of having disconnected districts that don't interact with each other.
2) Increases convenience for visitors by providing a healthy amount of street-side parking for short visits, or even longer visits without the hassle of
parking in a garage or far- away lot. The issue of parking mentality is discussed earlier in this thread.
3) Increases visibility to the restaurants and gardens within the southern portion of the Center to traffic, which is a huge problem impacting the Center's urban design right now. It's impossible to know what is behind those walls on foot, let alone while driving.
4) Allows for street-fronting retail for the new northern retail/residential portion of the Center. Again, the inward-facing fortress design was a huge miss; Taylor would eradicate that for the new phase, and allow for a true urban shopping plaza in downtown.
5) Yes, the garage would have to be removed. The first thing that needs to happen for ANY longterm success of the Center is to remove both the theater and garage in order to open up the views to the Center from the north and break up the fortress walls fronting 3rd Street on the west.

It's costly, but look up how many times the mall has changed hands/been renovated within only 20 years. It's clear the design isn't working, and major changes needed.

Quote:
Some of the residential would be good, but I don't know if I'd want to live above or on a parking garage.
Many residential projects uses the "wrap" technique for their parking structures, which is what I have proposed in the retail/residential addition. Some of the residential would likely spill over to fit the floor plates, but I would imagine the complex's amenities would be placed on the garage roof, which is again, fairly common.

Adding residential is also pretty crucial to the Center's success. It's why CityScape will always be able to keep a decent vacancy rate. Retail follows rooftops, and nothing beats having them SHARE a roof. The residential-over-retail allows this to happen without the higher construction costs of a high rise structure, and creates a nice urban village feel.

Quote:
A couple notes on the Arizona Center, as I saw a movie there on Saturday night...

-it was more crowded than I've seen it in a long time. The 1130 restaurant seemed fairly full, it's almost always completely dead at night, at least when I've seen it.

-Brick pizza wasn't very full when we went into the movie, and when we came out, Brick had turned into a night club complete with lights, DJ, dance floor, etc. What the hell?
LOL. The Center has always struggled with its identity: first a high-end retailer with a food court on the upper levels, then a mix of retail and dining throughout, then removing the food court for offices, and now focusing mainly on dining... And, a nightclub here and there, I guess?
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