Quote:
Originally Posted by PHXFlyer11
One additional thought, because this city continues to amaze me with their aggressiveness.
Every time I walk past City Hall from Sun Devil Stadium towards Mill I can't help but think how low on space Tempe must be. I worked there nearly 8 years ago and they were at capacity at that point for city offices.
I doubt they would kill their upside down pyramid, but how about RFQing the city owed parking lot just to the West between City Hall and Hooters/Gringo Star?
They could get a nice 15-18 story tower that houses both city offices and allows the developer to lease out the rest of the office space, with the city getting preference for future expansion needs?
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I think 15-18 stories is a little ambitious for that parking lot, but I have definitely eyed that lot and thought it would make for a nice infill project at some point. With the municipal garage and plaza right there, an office project would make sense, but I think I would prefer lofts or apartments just because of the prime location and need for more market rate residential in the core. It's too bad the garage wasn't built to accomodate an additional tower either above or adjacent to it.
I'd prefer any additional City offices to be part of a mixed use transit project on the land that currently houses the bus depot; nothing too huge, as I think the transportation center is a great piece of architecture, but tall enough to house future City needs with ground level uses that build on the retail at the Marriott and current transit center.
Will have to look more into the Mill project, but it sounds like good stuff. Like we've all mentioned, it was only a matter of time. I like how there are certain nodes developing within the downtown, while keeping it all walkable and unified. The northern part is developing into a much different scene than the southern end, for example. Very exciting. And, while it would be nice for the momentum to carry north of the lake, I wouldn't want to see Marquee redeveloped until some other prime lake lots (like SouthBank and Hayden Harbor) are completed, along with infill lots like Ash/University, Ash/5th and Mill/7th. The First Solar building, in spite of being attached to a light rail stop, was built with a very auto-centric design and I'd rather the focus stay in areas where there is an urban form in place for now. But, one day, I'd love to see dense development all the way to the Papago Park amenities with a streetcar connecting downtown and that area.
I will say I am surprised that Tempe can handle the demand for *3* boutique hotels in that gateway area with the AC Marriott, Kimpton and now the Mill restoration. I hope we don't see a reversion to the boom days where multiple proposals came through and all went bust because the market couldn't support all of the action. The team in place seems pretty solid, even though I'm growing a bit tired of SmithGroup winning every RFP out there; but, as long as the project has additions that help the Mill meet the street and continue to activate the lake region into the greater downtown, I'm sold.
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