Phoenix | Astra Towers (2 towers) | 541 FT | 44 Floors & 425 FT | 30 Floors

[PHX31]

Originally Posted by CrestedSaguaro

from other thread: : ...to be ready for the next Super Bowl.

Speaking of the Super Bowl - it is to be played February 2023 here in town at Cardinals Stadium. Let's assume things are back to normal, or the new normal is here and the game with fans and typical festivities will be had, and let's assume by late 2021 Astra breaks ground. How far along will construction be by Feb 2023? I'd hope it would be the new tallest building in the City, even if not fully completed. How much work can get done in just over a year? I'm drawing a blank to compare to recent projects. How long did The Stewart take to top out?

Edit: maybe 1 floor every 2 weeks if all goes well? So in 60 weeks they could get 30 stories done? That kind of sucks, especially considering the foundation and getting vertical takes forever.

[Diamonddave]

Originally Posted by PHX31

Speaking of the Super Bowl - it is to be played February 2023 here in town at Cardinals Stadium. Let's assume things are back to normal, or the new normal is here and the game with fans and typical festivities will be had, and let's assume by late 2021 Astra breaks ground. How far along will construction be by Feb 2023? I'd hope it would be the new tallest building in the City, even if not fully completed. How much work can get done in just over a year? I'm drawing a blank to compare to recent projects. How long did The Stewart take to top out?

Edit: maybe 1 floor every 2 weeks if all goes well? So in 60 weeks they could get 30 stories done? That kind of sucks, especially considering the foundation and getting vertical takes forever.

Well maybe not by the Super bowl, but how about the Final Four the following year?

[CrestedSaguaro]

Originally Posted by PHX31

Speaking of the Super Bowl - it is to be played February 2023 here in town at Cardinals Stadium. Let's assume things are back to normal, or the new normal is here and the game with fans and typical festivities will be had, and let's assume by late 2021 Astra breaks ground. How far along will construction be by Feb 2023? I'd hope it would be the new tallest building in the City, even if not fully completed. How much work can get done in just over a year? I'm drawing a blank to compare to recent projects. How long did The Stewart take to top out?

Edit: maybe 1 floor every 2 weeks if all goes well? So in 60 weeks they could get 30 stories done? That kind of sucks, especially considering the foundation and getting vertical takes forever.

My guess is the first 278' will take forever due to the larger floor plates for the hotel portion (2 weeks per floor is a pretty good guess basing that on Ryan and X). Once it passes that mark, it should go much quicker.

[Obadno]

I thought we were getting Superbowl 2025 or am I crazy?

[ASU Diablo]

Originally Posted by Obadno

I thought we were getting Superbowl 2025 or am I crazy?

Ur crazy And then NCAA Final Four in 2024. I think we had something lined up in 2025 as well (which u may be confusing it with) but I can't think of another mega sports event...

[soled]

Forgive me if this gets too far off track, but a quick question regarding the upcoming Super Bowl: has anyone seen a breakdown of how many out of town visitors for the last Super Bowl stayed in which parts of the Valley?

I'm especially curious how many visitors stayed in Downtown Phx as opposed to Downtown Scottsdale. And of course, how many out of town visitors we actually had overall.

[TJPHXskyscraperfan]

If Tampa can’t have a full event Super Bowl this year, they may end of delaying each super bowl a year.

[ASU Diablo]

Originally Posted by TJPHXskyscraperfan

If Tampa can’t have a full event Super Bowl this year, they may end of delaying each super bowl a year.

I doubt that happens. I'm looking at all the big sporting events (MLB All-Star, Final Four, NFL Draft) that got cancelled this year and the impacted host cities and not one single sport, that I'm aware of, has said they will go back next year to the same host city to make it up and delay the other cities by a year. If anything, they might just give them the next open slot to make up for it, which would be 2025. For example, the NFL Draft was supposed to happen in Vegas before getting cancelled. Next year, it's still Cleveland but the NFL announced it will go back to Vegas in 2022 to make up for it.

[TJPHXskyscraperfan]

Originally Posted by ASU Diablo

I doubt that happens. I'm looking at all the big sporting events (MLB All-Star, Final Four, NFL Draft) that got cancelled this year and the impacted host cities and not one single sport, that I'm aware of, has said they will go back next year to the same host city to make it up and delay the other cities by a year. If anything, they might just give them the next open slot to make up for it, which would be 2025. For example, the NFL Draft was supposed to happen in Vegas before getting cancelled. Next year, it's still Cleveland but the NFL announced it will go back to Vegas in 2022 to make up for it.

True, we’ll see. I’m just glad the Super Bowl wasn’t supposed to be here this year,lol

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by TJPHXskyscraperfan

If Tampa can’t have a full event Super Bowl this year, they may end of delaying each super bowl a year.

I dont think so.

[CrestedSaguaro]

Originally Posted by ASU Diablo

Ur crazy And then NCAA Final Four in 2024. I think we had something lined up in 2025 as well (which u may be confusing it with) but I can't think of another mega sports event...

You might be referring to the women's NCAA Final Four bid. Phoenix and Portland were finalists for it, but not sure if a decision has been made yet.

[ASU Diablo]

Astra (and Garfield House) both passed another hurdle to getting this going. Looks like they are trying to increase overall height allowed in Evans Churchill East neighborhood as well, which is a good thing.

Not sure what the big deal is with widening 2nd Ave to add another lane...

Two changes to the Phoenix Zoning Ordinance were approved by the Planning Commission Thursday, dealing with two different properties on Garfield Street and on Fillmore Street.

At the meeting, the commission heard and voted on different propositions on rezoning and amendments for rezoning. Nick Wood, a partner with Phoenix law firm Snell & Wilmer, proposed two Text Amendments that would, he said, improve downtown Phoenix as well as the two proprieties.

“This is going to be one of the largest projects in downtown Phoenix covering over 1.7 million-square-feet,” he said.

The first amendment dealt covers the property at Sixth Street and Garfield. Wood’s proposal would change the Downtown Code Density map from a maximum of 218 dwelling units per acre to having a no density limit.

Alongside the property, Wood said he also hopes to amend Evans Churchill East Development Standards to create more height, as well as to increase lot coverage from 50% to 90%.

Lachele Mangum, a member of the City of Phoenix Planning Commission, motioned to approve and support the first text amendment. It was not met with any public comments.

In addition to the amendment for the Garfield Street property, the commission also approved the second text amendment proposed by Wood for the property on Second Avenue and Fillmore.

Wood said the purpose of the amendment is to change the height provisions approximately 200 feet south of the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Fillmore.

Wood also requested a replacement of the Downtown Code Height Map in order to increase the maximum height of 525 feet to 540 feet on this property and move the Taylor Street Pedestrian Paseo approximately 100 feet north of the required alignment.

Ryan Boyd, a member of the Urban Phoenix Project, opposed the second text amendment, and said at the meeting that (he and the Urban Phoenix Project) see this amendment as “basically spot zoning.”

“The city of Phoenix is not required to amend its zoning code for a specific design that a developer wants,” he said.

For Boyd, an easy way to fix what Wood was proposing is getting rid of one floor of parking on that property. But for Nico Howard, a member of the commission, that parking floor is too valuable to be replaced.

Boyd said the property location is close enough to the light rail and bus stations that knocking out that floor wouldn’t have much effect on downtown.

Howard, however, was still convinced that parking downtown is still very important, as it shouldn’t be something that can be “looked over” and that parking is still necessary for those who do not want to take public transportation.

“From a development perspective, it’s really tough to get rid of parking,” Howard said.

Boyd also brought up that he is concerned about the streetscape and how this project could influence that environment. Widening Second Avenue, Boyd said, creates problems for the downtown streetscape.

Also according to Boyd, the amendment would destroy already created streetscape improvements and would halt the connectivity of downtown Phoenix. While he said there is potential for this project to be improved, it needs to be done without destroying the streetscape and making sure downtown is still easily accessible and walkable for residents.

The downtown development codes are meant to “give us a city that is connected, like a connected oasis,” he said.

https://downtowndevil.com/planning-c...phoenix-areas/

[Phxguy]

Originally Posted by ASU Diablo

Not sure what the big deal is with widening 2nd Ave to add another lane...

The widening of streets is generally degrading toward walkability. Drivers tend to drive faster if the street is wider and sight lines are clear obstacles which pedestrians perceive as more threatening.

[biggus diggus]

I believe that the people who are hired to do things like manage our traffic flow in our streets are capable of doing their jobs. If they are widening 2nd Street there must be a good reason.

[Phxguy]

Their reasoning now is the influx of units (Astra, Basecamp, and the O Neil Printing project whose name alludes me). But their initial reasoning was Fire Marshall concerns. Depending on the day, their reasoning changes to fit whatever context.

[combusean]

Streets has ever only been concerned with one thing: Streets. It’s probably the hallmark example of why such a “well run city” is such a pain in the ass to deal with because they can’t actually think outside the box about other things like walkability or pedestrian amenities.

Fire departments are also known for their anti-urban design preferences. They want super wide streets to turn around their equipment like it’s the 19th century and they’re working with a team of oxen.

[soled]

Originally Posted by combusean

Fire departments are also known for their anti-urban design preferences. They want super wide streets to turn around their equipment like it’s the 19th century and they’re working with a team of oxen.

Lol. This will be my first snarky post here ever

PFD has been internationally renowned in the Fire Industry for being a cutting edge leader for decades, starting in the late 70's with one of the world's most progressive and famous Fire Chiefs in history: Alan Brunacini.

(snark begins with images of Kramer coming to mind)I'm not sure what experience you have in operating fire equipment, or which stuctural fire incidents you've commanded, but those conclusions are a little out there, haha.

Now, one of the hall marks of a progressive fire department is seriously entertaining constructive criticism. But what you laid out ain't it, lol

Snark aside, sincerely, you are always welcome to go to any fire station here and bounce your theories on how to mitigate any and all incidents.

[downtownphxguy12]

Originally Posted by soled

Lol. This will be my first snarky post here ever

PFD has been internationally renowned in the Fire Industry for being a cutting edge leader for decades, starting in the late 70's with one of the world's most progressive and famous Fire Chiefs in history: Alan Brunacini.

(snark begins with images of Kramer coming to mind)I'm not sure what experience you have in operating fire equipment, or which stuctural fire incidents you've commanded, but those conclusions are a little out there, haha.

Now, one of the hall marks of a progressive fire department is seriously entertaining constructive criticism. But what you laid out ain't it, lol

Snark aside, sincerely, you are always welcome to go to any fire station here and bounce your theories on how to mitigate any and all incidents.

yes, god forbid you question the fire department.

[soled]

Originally Posted by downtownphxguy12

yes, god forbid you question the fire department.

Lol.

Clearly, the issue isn't about questioning the fire department. As I said in my post, one of the hall marks of a progressive fire department is to seriously entertain constructive criticism. We love that every day of the week, and in fact, we are perpetually our own worst critics.

I was simply responding to criticism that has absolutely no basis in reality for PFD.

[biggus diggus]

What I'm reading is "the fire department is getting in the way of my sim city dreams".

Guys, traffic has to move, first responders have to have room to help. I get that this is a "skyscraper" website but can't we still be reasonable about how services and infrastructure needs to be able to work? Not everything can be your version of an urban utopia.