Not judging your transportation choices, but curious: When you say "tougher to get in and out of," are you referring to parking, one-way streets, or something else?

I live in Scottsdale and go visit friends downtown about 2 times a week. I pay 11 bucks to park and that's it.

"its hot" bullshit; we know its phoenix. do people wallow around Minneapolis complaining that its too cold to walk two blocks downtown? No.

Its no harder to get around than any other city.

When I drive by the building it seems very nothing-ish, parking is difficult to see, and it's just kind of an annoying place to try to go. The only on street parking for blocks is on Adams or Monroe... there's nothing on First, Central, or Washington and the spaces that are available are almost always full or handicapped, so now I'm left with either walking several blocks or going in that garage which is a pain. I have been to that bank a few times and it's super aggravating, the Wells Fargo across the street does not feel the same, it's pretty straight forward and easy. I'm not trying to be whiny, I was just pointing out that as a local resident in the neighborhood, it would take something really interesting to pull me in, just like Desoto market, it's a total pain in the butt to deal with.

:runaway:

So you don't mind walking around downtown in 100+ degree temperatures wearing a tie and slacks? Do that a couple of times and see how you feel when you sit back down at your desk and your whole back is covered in sweat and your shirt is wrinkled to all hell.

Different strokes I suppose, but I did say that I'm speaking for myself not trying to tell you that everyone in Phoenix agrees with me or makes the same decisions.

Not a big difference, but worth mentioning. There is in fact parking (parallel) along 1st Ave for the entire block of the 101 building. As far as 1st Ave goes, this is the most parking friendly block available.

"if I cant park in front of the door its a pain" :uhh:

in other news: http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/n...dquarters.html

I expected this, We are really going to get screwed with this merger in the end. Why do we seem to be the only place with large companies have no loyalty too.

Thanks for the reply. As others have pointed out, there is parking along First Ave, but I think your answer illustrates a longstanding challenge for Downtown Phoenix: the perception that parking is scarce when in fact it's abundant. Part of that is unrealistic expectations, but some of it can be blamed on the city for not putting parallel parking in enough places. There's also the problem of single-use garages. One example is the garage across the street from the Crescent Ballroom. It would be an ideal place for concert audiences to park, but instead it closes at 6 PM. As for DeSoto, it worked out a shared parking arrangement with the church next door. Union Market might want to try to do that with a nearby garage.

Moved to the Lurs thread...

My interpretation of on-street parking in Phoenix is this:

when I want a parking spot or need one they're so hard to find that I end up getting frustrated and give up. I agree that few streets have them which makes the spaces scarce and eventually I just got in the habit of not going downtown because I'd end up getting annoyed. They made it even harder with the installation of these big boxes that require me to remember a parking space number, pay at a box, and wait for a ticket. It's all quite aggravating, so when the weather is nice I'll take a bicycle out and run an errand but otherwise I'm using a car to go to an area that doesn't annoy me.

Desoto does in fact have parking in the church parking, but there are very few spaces and it's generally full. You can circle around for a street space but good luck, or you can go across Roosevelt to the county building and park there which they say is fine but I'm not so sure it's okay.

We must be going at different times. I get my hair cut at the Adams (whatever it is called now) Hotel and have never had a problem getting a parking space (when I don't use the light rail). That's about a block and a half from there. I recently stopped at the Detroit Coney Grill (a couple doors down from the building) and found a space right in front. In short, there always seems to be parking along Adams.

My only gripe with street parking in downtown is that the spaces near the Chase Field are usually 2 hour meters, rendering them useless if you are going to a game.

I'm usually trying to stop somewhere (cartel) on the way to the office or in the afternoon when I'm usually not working, so I would imagine those are the two times of the day when parking is at the peak of its demand.

Minneapolis has 8 miles of skyways through their downtown. Houston, a city that approaches Phoenix's heat, has several miles as well but underground.

Expecting people to just deal with the heat in Phoenix and expecting they patronize downtown is generally a philosophy that hasn't worked, otherwise we'd have more people walking around downtown and downtown might not be such a perpetual quagmire. The resulting disinvestment and abundance of concrete and blacktop has created a neighborhood that's much hotter than the rest of the city and especially the metro area.

You would think it would be easier and more efficient to move the employees from various American Airlines buildings into a nice big building near the airport and transit, like the US Airways building perhaps. :shrug:

Scottsdale apartment developer preps new 7th Avenue project, buys $31 million complex
 

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/n...s-new-7th.html

does anyone have more details on the location of this development in 7th? it will be in the heart of melrose and hopefully will build on the eclectic and charming nature of this area.

This sounds awesome! I am so excited for all the new residents coming to downtown and midtown. Revamped retail will follow once some of these start leasing.

The Curve is going on the 3.7-acre vacant lot south of Stacy's where Glenrosa and Montecito and 6th Dr and 7th Ave all collide. It's decently dense for the area, which is a plus. Should be a 4 - 5 story building.

I remember during the boom, we were going to be getting this project instead:

http://emvis.net/~sean/ssp/projects/...te/melrose.jpg

I'm happy to see all this infill. Cheaply built dense tenements are exactly how real cities are created over time. Phoenix's wide roads will well-absorb the density and provide ample space for complete, user-friendly streets.

Muse (Lennar at Central/McDowell) will start moving utilities in a couple of weeks. They are not planning a formal groundbreaking. First move-ins around March 2017, project completion October 2017. So far they have lined up a coffee shop/bistro and a hair salon for the 11,000 sq ft retail area.

That's good news, but competition seems so far out at two years! A year is a long time. I wonder why?

Development would bring 609 apartments, 2 new restaurants to downtown Phoenix
 

Looks like the city has picked a winning bid for the RFP for 4th Ave-Filmore area. Only 7 stories however...maybe something slightly taller? Nonetheless, 600+ units, both market and affordable, is pretty awesome along with 2 restaurants. No renderings yet but I researched Trammell's portfolio and looks great. They are also doing some urban project in LA, partnering with Cesar Chavez Foundation again.

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/n...nts-2-new.html

That's going to be a massive building (or buildings) surprised it contains no office space.

Is it going to take up the entire parcel? which is huge. Or is it just part of it?