The circle k there does have a serious issue with space and I could see them wanting to make the referenced project happen.

Where does it say that Circle-K plans on tearing down the brick building?

Yeah, none of this makes sense. This development is supposed to go from Portland to Garfield (where the tire shop is)? There has to be more than just a Circle K. I'm going to withhold my opinion until more (reliable) details come out.

Just an assumption.

Circle K
 

I attended the meeting and I'm not a fan of the idea either...I was hoping for a much better announcement; though I agree that the current location is pretty inaccessible and cramped. Circle K has no plans of saving the existing structures. They would be razed and a new gas station would take its place. Concerns were voiced regarding this at the meeting but Circle K reps said that the existing structures just didn't fit into their proposed site plan and wouldn't make the site very accessible for automobile traffic. Residents also voiced concerns over pedestrian, bike access, shade, moving the large power poll on the SE corner of the intersection and possibly moving the building closer to the street. Other than that, Garfield residents seemed somewhat supportive.

Circle K still holds a long term controlling lease at their current location and will remove the gas pumps and canopy and sublet the building.

As far as the other developments regarding Tacos de Juarez and the bus station, the developer who worked on the 7th Ave/McDowell retail spots was there proposing something similar but everything is still in infancy. He didn't really talk much about it other than that he wants to create something similar to what they did at that intersection.

So then what you're saying is that Circle K is going to raze the southeast corner where the tire shop is at and build a whole new larger store. Close the existing store, pull the gas pumps and sublet the shell to become some mini mart type store with gaudy Budweiser posters in the windows? And the residents were okay with this? WTF.

You're going on an assumption here that Circle K would lease the space to another mini mart?

G*d Damn!t, just what the city needs, further destruction for a completely shitty development (a gas station - really!?). So what should be a cool intersection heading into downtown (7th Street/Roosevelt) will basically have gas stations on 3 corners of the intersection. And everyone wonders why Phoenix gets ragged on constantly?

I'm telling you the exisiting structures look like shit due to the tire shop and the hideous facade skin, but there is a sweet brick building underneath it. Does anyone out there realize this? Or are they just thinking a worthless tire shop is going away? They could be rehabbed into retail/art spaces just like those other two historic buildings just to the south were rehabbed.

Someone, maybe you bwaynoh, needs to bring this to someone's attention and get the neighborhood against this project.

Do you know the person/planner at the City that I could contact about it?

EDIT: In case anyone isn't sure what I'm talking about. From the aerial you can see the huge old structures:

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i265/phxrep/r3.jpg

From the side when you are driving on 7th St behind the sh!tty facade and billboard you can barely make out some of the sides of the building and its brick. It actually looks like it could be two pretty cool structures with nice prominent fronts, I'm sure they have some cool old trusses, maybe an old chimney, etc.:

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i265/phxrep/r1.jpg

It could be rehabbed to look like the two buildings just to the south. These are awesome. But I guess the neighborhood would rather have gas pumps and cigarette carton signs.

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i265/phxrep/r2.jpg

It is so irritating. What a fucking horrible downtown we have and we are creating.

The Roosevelt Row and Evans Churchill people need to get mobilized on this issue. I'm pretty sure they will not be okay with this. Does anyone have contacts with these organizations so this can be brought to their attention?

H M Investments (Henry McKinney owner) owns the land according to the Maricopa County Assessor's web. A google search found no website, but a potential phone number: (602) 272-9579.

Someone should call and tell him not to sell to Circle K, or not let Circle K lease his property and alter it, or whatever is happening. (Not that it would do any good I guess.)

Yeah, I'd hope so. The sorry state of Evans Churchill is because of things like this. If Roosevelt Row ever expects to expand, they'd better be against something like this, or else that whole area will just stagnante or likely decline.

Hot damn, what is wrong with the owner of Circle K? I'm sure there has to be many people in the Garfield and Roosevelt Row districts that are mighty angry. Hell I'm in Mesa, and I'm pissed. There has to be a way to avoiding this, there has to. Downtown's weren't meant for the car, they were built for people and bikes so what's expanding a gas station going to do? If downtown and the surronding neighborhoods continue with achieving the urbanism (Building multi-story apartments, shops, local buisnesses, and supporting pedestrians and bikes) at this current rate, the gas station will be nearly useless within several years. This really irks me. Revolt anyone?

Guys, this really isn't that big of a deal.

Honestly, that Circle K is so difficult to get in and out of the way it sits that I can't even go there, and it'd be very convenient for me to get gas at the new one. There is currently a GARBAGE piece of shit business on the SEC, that llantera. I'd wholly welcome a shiny new Circle K. It's basically freeway frontage... if it were 9th street or 5th street, then yeah, I think it should be dense residental or something, but c'mon guys, it's 7th street and I-10 basically, I see no issue with this, especially since there are already two gas stations on that corner now. It's not like turning that corner into a historic building will make that corner something awesome.

/\ sounds sarcastic. It has to be sarcasm. The llantera sucks, but that's a given... Doesn't mean the building sucks. The old folks home at the westward ho sucks too... Tear it down for something better?

Well, Mr. Vicelord should never have to be troubled to make a left turn for any reason, especially gas. I'm satisfied. Tear 'em down! :)

nothing to do with left turns. You can't get into that parking lot during the day, it's a complete clusterfuck. I'd rather have the CK than the llantara, and at that particular location, it's not really a high denisity residential corridor.

How does that building not suck? It's completely ruined inside. I've been in there, it's beyond rehabbing.

Youre a historic preservation specialist now? To defend all of this is insane.

Dude, they've ripped the building to shreds inside. The only thing historic might be the facade which they've covered with aluminum.

Go in there and look.

The building thats there now is vastly better for an urban area than a huge Circle K like the one thats up at Indian School/10th St.

I just feel like you always defend shitty developments, its frustrating. We can't just let this crap happen anymore, we have to demand excellence.

On a "what do we do about this?!" note...I posted a link to this page on the Roosevelt Row CDC Facebook page and Evans Churchill Facebook page, hopefully it'll get their attention.

It's not about defending shitty developments, it's about not crying over spilt milk. It's 7th street and Roosevelt, it's a major throughway. There is decades worth of vacant land nearer to Central and nearer to downtown to develop dense housing.

I'd rather they build some 5 story apartment building with zero setback and ground floor retail, obviously, but It's not that big of a deal that it isn't happening at this specific location.

On that note, as a resident of the general neighborhood in question, I've been wishing they would expand that Circle K for years. It could be worse, they could be taking the empty lot off of Roosevelt and using the entire area from 7th to 9th. ;)

Here is a shot of the corner of LaSalle and Ontario in downtown Chicago. LaSalle is much like 7th Street, it's a major road that cuts through the neighborhoods to get downtown. This Citgo station is gigantic, and I've filled up there many times. Across the street from it is a ginormous McDonald's. Ontario is a street that is more on the residential side, kind of like Roosevelt. The two interesctions are very similar. Looking in the background, Chicago has still managed to build a huge downtown, despite a corner so close to the city being surface parking and gas stations. If you all are such visionaries, you might realize that Phoenix still has PLENTY of room to build high rises and density, while still leaving major traffic corridors to the motorist related businesses.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d6...ntitled-14.png

^You're using straw man arguments though. You're saying people are clamoring for apartments with zero setbacks, high rises, density, etc. No one has really been saying that. We're saying, use the older buildings, refurbish them as much as possible. They could potentially have nice bones, but we won't know for sure if they're demolished.

I understand thats it not the kind of corner thats ever going to have the best urban fabric, but I'm pretty certain there are more than enough gas fillup stations in and around Downtown and Central PHX. What there aren't more than enough of are old brick buildings with unique things in them.