Coyotes Arena Announcement Coming Soon
 

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/n...cement-in.html

Really hoping it's with the Suns downtown, but they have been awful quiet. It could end up being with ASU in Tempe.

Really hoping it's Tempe/ ASU Athletics District!

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/n...m-to-help.html

Suns and City of phoenix hire a consultant for downtown arena plans, same company that helped with Coyotes bankruptcy.

Announcement is a joint Coyotes Suns Arena Downtown.

Calling it:tup:

I want you to be correct and Asian surfer to be wrong, just would rather see coyotes move downtown out of selfish reasons.

Ditto on downtown!!!!!!!!

With the recent report of record office absorption since market top in 2006 Im hoping the plan comes with Office and Living components.

And I like the idea of a mall in the old arena IDK why I just think it would be cool A big open atrium style mall with maybe 3 or 4 concourses big wide open center area and a glass roof:notacrook:

I am for a joint downtown arena, but this article gave me the opposite notion.

Does it seem to you like the City of Phoenix is just starting by hiring a consultant? The Coyotes seem to indicate that they are further along in the process than Phoenix.

I hope I am wrong on that. It was just the initial impression I got from reading the article. :shrug:

I am expecting, the announcement to be "we have been in negotiations for a joint stadium with the suns"

Which we now have evidence they city/suns (and coyotes privately) have hired a consultant.

It doesn't make sense for Hokey to go to Tempe, Tempe has plenty of college venue and the new stadium will be designed for concerts and other things too

If Stanton looses the Coyotes to Tempe his office is full of idiots, NBA and NFL franchise are a slam dunk for financing and stuff like that.

Sorry, I can't answer all of the questions. I was driving around but not paying much attention to detail.

Yes, en Hance is wood frame with a portion poured concrete (4 over 1?). I only saw it from Central, I didn't drive right by it, so I'm not sure how long it is.

I didn't notice much about the Law school.

Someday, maybe soon, I'll take some pictures.

EDIT:
linear goes all the way to Garfield. Proxy doesn't quite go to pierce

There is a lot of activity now at the Biltmore development. So far it's all pre-formed concrete segments:
http://i.imgur.com/ok011hPh.jpg

Any details you can share??

Compass is all done along with the bar upstairs, rooms getting a light refresh, lobby will get spruced up. Probably nothing to excite most of you since you seem to dream only of comedy clubs and microbreweries.

The hotel will be better than it currently is and therefore will elevate the standard of businesses downtown. I'm all for it.

My biggest hope would be to see the food match the view in the Compass Room.

I agree. The last time (only time) I ate there I was underwhelmed by the food. Although it's nowhere as good as the restaurant atop the Ren Cen in Detroit or the CN Tower in Toronto, it's still a fun atmosphere and I'd like to go back.

biggus - Thanks for the info on Linear; I was hoping it would end midblock so something could draw action down 3rd St, but guess it's not meant to be. I am surprised CCBG were Baron's architects, as even their Warehouse District projects have mixed use components. iLuminate has a small enough frontage that it doesn't matter much unless for maybe future activation along the 3rd St Promenade, but Linear's corner definitely needed something. The south side of Roosevelt is so bleak.

Any details on the Hyatt's renovations? First time I have heard of them joining Renaissance in making improvements.

exit2lef - I figured you would know about the garage! Thanks. Glad there are signs up at least. Having walked the PBC, is the retail convenient enough that workers/students would use it for lunch everyday? Now that the Skyline restaurant failed, that's the only way it will get filled IMO.

PHX31 - No need to be sorry; thank for the updates and additional info.

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BASKETBALL ARENA:
The idea of turning USAC into a mall is brutally bad. Obadno, I agree that the thought of downtown retail is cool, but as I mentioned, CityScape is now struggling to keep any of its 2nd story retailers, which is exactly what happened at AZ Center before eventually being converted to offices (and the 2nd floor of Colliers is barren, but that whole center is). Multi-level retail barely works in the most urban cities, and is a guaranteed failure in Phoenix as has been proven over and over. And, without a plan that includes substantial condos being built, why would any retailer choose to open in USAC in a market they have continuously passed by? Ignoring CityScape and the leasing deals they offered, what other retailers have chosen and succeeded in the downtown market? I don't believe there is a single one. They are nt suddenly going to flock to a retrofitted arena with design flaws that is on the southern tip of downtown with 0 residential density beyond it.

Absolutely, 100%, any public plan for an arena must include components other than the arena itself. The research shows that they simply don't attract future development as often stated, so those pieces need to be built as part of the package. I like the design of the new Nashville (or Memphis?) arena. It covers a huge amount of land, though - much larger than USAC's existing lot or the South CC. I wonder if the missing CityScape lot could be brought into the picture?

Regardless, I really would only support an arena in its current location. Not only would moving it create a massive white elephant, but it would be built in the least busy and ped-friendly part of downtown. The current site, meanwhile, is in the heart of the largest projects and future plans, and has an entire district to its south that it could help transform into supporting businesses and residences. As I have said before, the development agreement should require a minimum # of 200 condos or 300 hotel rooms based on market demand, minimum of 100,000 office square footage with provisions for local small business owners/entrepreneurs, and minimum retail frontage requirements for every bock. Additional incentives could kick in for 20% affordable units, additional 100 rental units, contribution to youth sports programs, and design features like open recreation space, underground/wrapped/public parking, green roof, etc.

TEMPE OPTION:
I actually would also support an arena in Tempe. It could be combined with their much-desired convention center, which would likely attract an attached hotel, too. This fits right into both the city and ASU goals:

1) ASU's goals for its athletic facilities are for them to be of a high enough standard to attract major regional sports events like the PanAm Games. Wells Fargo does not fit that bill, which a new arena with consultation could be.
2) In the right location, the hotel and convention center would bring year-long traffic that benefits both parties. Potential sites would be the corner of Rural/Scottsdale (with a bridge connecting the west and east sides, or ferry service across the lake); the current City Hall property on 5th Street; University/Mill
3) Tempe has always wanted to improve its recreational and amateur sports facilities for residents and to increase tourism; plans for such a development were scrapped west of the TCA, so this is an opportunity to get this done. On Uni/Mill, in particular, enough space exists to incorporate outdoor facilities, parks, and smaller venues. These could also be added along the lake in a less-condensed plan, or on rooftops in a centralized location.
4) Such a plan may be enough to convince Colangelo to eventually still relocate USAB to Tempe, which would increase its profile if not its employee base by much.

That isn't a fair statement. While those upgrades are nice, they do nothing do contribute to the ongoing work toward making Adams Street more dynamic. The City has spent money and resources providing public processes and developing a study with detailed recommendations, so it isn't unreasonable to hope that the private businesses find there is positive potential ROI for renovating their buildings to form a cohesive urban block with unrivaled access to convention guests, close enough proximity to take advantage of the sports venues, and potential for future events. A massive undertaking like I proposed is not realistic and I realize that. But, the Renaissance's designs for its renovations prove that incremental upgrades are doable and worth the ROI.

There is extensive ROW along both Adams and 1st Street that would allow the Hyatt to build as much as 20' deep additions, and in many areas, there is existing interior space that could contribute to even larger bays. None of that needs to be filled with comedy clubs or breweries, though why would that be a bad thing? This block is a chance to present unique-to-Arizona destination retail that attracts convention guests (who mention breweries outright in research on where they spend their money) and current downtown visitors. A restaurant/bar at the corner of 1st St/Adams from one of the major local restauranteurs (a Julian Wright concept would be interesting downtown), local boutique where one can purchase professional businesswear, seasonal swimwear, athletic wear for things like hiking, etc. on Adams, expanded lobby with entrances to a signature restaurant and late-night bar mid-block, and maybe a Lolo's or something before an expanded Networks would be a great mix and not that huge of a pipe-dream. The only other changes I'd like to see made would be the limestome+copper facade redesign (or anything really that would look nice), and maybe extended the salon that exists to match the dimensions of the restaurant at the other end.

The alternative is dark brown stucco on 3/4 sides... you prefer that to breweries and clubs?

There's more to making a city good than just what you see from the street.

The challenge is that the retail spaces face the street, and the path between the PBC buildings and the new garage, as well as the 5th Street express bus stop, doesn't pass by the storefronts. As a result, any business opening there would have to use coupons and other promotional strategies to let PBC's population know of its existence.

What did I recommend that was mutually exclusive to this statement? It goes both ways; there is more to making a city good than just occupancy percentages, averages room rates, and expenditure per guest. AFAIK, the Hyatt was doing fine financially, but if that isn't the case and these interior modifications improve those metrics listed, then that's great.

But, it will have no impact on the city-sponsored study and plan developed for activating Adams Street. Given that the final proposal was the result of several months of meetings with the public, local business owners, and other stakeholders, creating a focal point for the community and visitors along Adams is clearly seen as a high priority within the downtown development ecosystem. No matter how many more visitors stay at the Hyatt because of its new lobby or splurge on the new dessert menu at the Compass Room, the goals of this plan are never going to be achieved without exterior changes to 1.5 square city blocks (5 street frontages) worth of total shit. The Renaissance has been working on plans for 3 years and is almost ready to share final renderings and site details with the City and the public for review and commentary. Not only will the project raise the hotel's profile by improving and updating its look, and attracting interesting and authentic retailers in a much more visible ground level, but it will raise the profile of downtown which has a hub of activity building on Monroe and Adams, from 1st Street to just west of 1st Ave.

But, with an entire street of shit-stained stucco between 1st Street and the CC, the full vision for the block and its ability to be used for events, etc. is not possible. According to this latest update on the Activation Plan, the CC department entered into lease agreements for the retail space in the Regency Garage on Adams in late 2014 and that business terms are still being discussed; does anyone know that this is anything but total BS? AFAIK, no negotiations ever worked out for that RFP and 1.5 years to negotiate a lease seems, um, excessive. I don't see what the issue is in filling the vacant space on Adams; nearby leasing is going well and with the restaurant boom of the last few years, surely someone thought to capture CC visitors?

The fact that there was just 1 bid for all of those empty spaces (two at the CC, two along Adams in the garage, and one on 2nd St in the garage) is pretty pathetic, though the CC spots are pathetic (barely more than 1,000sf; no depth; no space for any kind of small cafe to even operate; poor visibility and street frontage). I assume the department just half-assed the RFP? Which seems par for the course since they have also yet to issue an RFP for the vacant parcel on Adams/Central (this would have been fantastic across from a renovated Renaissance: http://whitneybellperry.com/past-projects/aloft-hotel/ ).

exit2lef - Yes, that's exactly what I figured. The entire campus has been built with an inward POV that seems centered along the 5th Street alignment. If this thing had to be built on its own, it should have been on Fillmore/7th Street with retail on either/both streets. Fillmore seems like the only logical space for retail to work on this campus as it is highly trafficked, used by many other commuters and ASU, and will eventually be the dividing E-W street once ASU builds on its land. If the developer cared at all about getting some sort of ROI on the retail component, the entrances/exits would have been reconfigured to allow it to wrap along that corner with the hope that in 5-10 years, it will be central enough to work out. With the street grid still in place and the lack of an AZ Center to contend with, the north portion of the campus has no excuse to be as poorly designed.

Other Major Updates:

Disposition of the Personnel Building on Monroe/2nd Ave.

At 6 stories of outdated commercial ceiling heights and no dedicated parking, can anyone imagine this getting any attention? The only things I could see it having potential for are:
a) purchased by 111 W Monroe, gutted and perhaps turned into 3 floors all with a 2nd, loft level to accommodate the ceiling issues? A new facade in silver and more awesome retailers = :cheers:
b) Purchased by ASU and turned into student housing (no need for parking and residential heights are lower still).
c) If this was 2006, and Wallach still owned Adams/2nd Ave, a highrise residential project there could be built with a large garage that connected to the building above the existing 111 parking ramp. The building is 60,000 square feet above the ground level; with the added residential density, it could be turned into a combination of big box retailers - for example, a TJ Maxx/HomeGoods combo store is exactly 60,000 square feet.

I assume that even though both are government agencies, Federal and City landowners don't do much collaborating? A mixed use garage behind the Federal Building between Monroe and VB, 1st-2nd Ave would be a decent solution if some sort of swap could occur.

The Derby (Transwestern Micro-Housing Highrise)

More details on the the planned microhousing highrise by Transwestern on the lot on 2nd St/McKinley. This project, given its GPLET incentives, fast progress, and experienced team makes me think it's almost certainly going to happen.

The tower will be 19 stories, 215' in height (awesome) with 5 levels of parking integrated into the tower and 4,500 sf of retail space. Amenities will be on a separate, privately owned parcel. In an oddly progressive move, the City allowed a different model to be used for calculating parking requirements and offered the developer a 100% reduction in spaces. They are only reducing it by 50%, though, as they have built other projects and have a good sense of demand.

4,500 sf isn't too bad for that lot... I hope it is split on both 2nd St and McKinley though I'd imagine 2nd St will be sacrificed for the garage rams and loading docks. Still, even a small wrap-around would tie into the rest of the block. I'd like to see ~3,000 of it go to a nightlife venue and ~1,500 to a boutique of some sort. Either way, there are a few bumps along the way, but McKinley will be really great from Proxy down through this tower.

"The 211-unit development will be constructed on a vacant 14,157-square foot site .... would be among the highest-density residential projects in downtown at 650 units/acre. With an average unit size of approximately 400 square feet, the units are all for rent and are furnished." - Amazing density. But, my only critique of the whole project: that they will be furnished. I would certainly live in 400 sf in a downtown tower if the price were reasonable, but I would never, ever lease a furnished apartment. No biggie.

Finally, "Developer must start construction within 18 months thereafter, and complete construction no later than 36 months after starting."