Ballet Arizona revamping warehouse east of Downtown

Ballet dancers soon will fill an old office-furniture warehouse east of downtown Phoenix.

Over the next six to eight months, construction crews will transform the 45,000-square-foot Walsh Bros. warehouse near 29th and Washington streets into a giant dance complex with seven studios, one of which will be a black-box theater. It also will house offices of Ballet Arizona.

Ballet Arizona officials said they may even have enough space to accommodate another area non-profit group that is a close partner to the ballet, but talks still are under way.
The non-profit ballet company has been raising money for a portion of the renovation project over the course of several months. The ballet plans to spend around $4.5 million for its part of the project, and the city is spending $3.2 million funded by the 2006 voter-approved bonds to help the ballet acquire the building and fix up the property.

The ballet has long needed a new space. It has been in close quarters at 3645 E. Indian School Road, said Katrina Olson, a spokeswoman for the ballet who used to be a dancer for the company.

"There are two bathrooms," Olson said. "And we see around 200 to 300 people a day."

The professional dance company has a corps of 34 professional dancers. The offices are staffed by nearly 40 people. An estimated 200 students are learning ballet in the small complex, which spans an estimated 14,000 square feet.

Space is so tight that costumes are stored in another location -- a warehouse south of downtown Phoenix. When dancers are getting ready for a big production, such as "The Nutcracker," the costumes are brought to the east Indian School building, where racks of costumes fill hallways, Olson said.

The dancers have one changing room and share the two bathrooms.

They also have no private place for massages or physical therapy, she said.

The ballet had been searching for a large space with high ceilings. Finding a spot that met those qualifications -- and also was near the 19-mile light-rail line -- made the Walsh Bros. warehouse a top choice for the ballet.

Ballet Arizona officials hope the construction will be completed by summer.

Jon Teeuwissen, executive director of Ballet Arizona, said the non-profit will spend $2.9 million on the building renovations and $1.25 million on furniture and equipment.

"For the black-box theater, we'll have theatrical seating, lighting. That's another half a million dollars right there," he said.

The ballet will install equipment and fixtures such as mirrors, barres (the bars where dancers stretch and practice) and a sprung floor.

Sprung flooring is standard for ballet studios. The wood flooring, which rests on foam backing or rubber feet, allows the floor to flex when dancers land or bounce. The flexibility reduces the dancers' risk of injury.

Ballet Arizona has been raising money for its share of the renovation costs.

Carol Schilling, a ballet volunteer and member of the board of directors, said the ballet will thank the public for its help by starting new community programs, such as stretch classes for seniors and master's level dance classes.

Schilling said the ballet is a unique asset to the community.

"This is the state's only professional ballet company," Schilling said.

Schilling said the ballet is on track to reach its fundraising goal of $10 million. The money will cover the cost of renovations, build cash reserves and buy a new set for "The Nutcracker" production.

Demolition could begin as early has next month.

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Phxguy: Thanks for the photos. The rebar on top of the hotel is for the elevator core to go up more levels, though it's been like that for a long long time and it could get capped off if they don't proceed.

Thanks for the photos.

I still don't get how they aren't proceeding with apartments considering the obvious demand and the relatively low construction costs.

And what is the status of the renovation of the Lexington hotel?

I'm thinking financing is probably the hold up with the apartments.

Helps to Have a Scottsdale Adress
 

Scottsdale must have ten new complexes planned though we'll have to wait and see how many come to fruition. Two were mentioned at azcentral yesterday (1/1) for SkySong.
Another at the Scottsdale Quarter site seems good to go.

Generally lenders are apartment friendly partly b/c they're unfriendly to most any other form of commercial currently.
The Phoenix downtown market may be a bit more "complicated" but I'd expect some to surface.


The Ballet's relocation is a nice move.
It will just be so great when downtown get's it cool going.

As long as that crane stays up at Cityscape........ :)

I've been wondering that also. It looks like they just took down the old signs and finger painted the new name on the outside :shrug:

Could someone here elaborate on this court decision and explain what's different about the Sheraton that allowed for it to happen. I feel like I am missing something obvious but I thought the city owned the hotel and Sheraton managed it.

I think the court decision came AFTER the Sheraton was funded. The Marriott at Collier Center would have been the second "city" owned hotel...

Let's hope that Stanton is not completely serious about creating a "2nd Bio-science hub" in NE Phoenix. It would steal too much from the downtown campus! This is something I didn't think Stanton would do...

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepu...nix-mayor.html

I dislike that its way out away from the Core as well, but Mayo owns that land and it can be developed easily. ABOR continually fucks ASU and doesn't want them to have a medical school, so ASU partnering with Mayo to make a medical school out there is likely the only way the PHX area will have a medical school thats based in PHX in the near future. If our choice is Medical school in a sprawl location or none at all, I suppose this is better.

It was in the plans long before Stanton. But, still, it concerns me that his very first act in office is to focus way the f out of downtown. He also barely spoke about downtown during campaigns (Wes Gullet did but, oh well).

That's not true; Stanton was the biggest proponent for downtown which is why this 2nd hub is surprising and unwise.. Gullet responded to Stanton's positions on the core and issues like transit and light rail (Gullet opposed expansion and even its existence to some extent).

It is true that this campus was planned before Stanton, but it should be scrapped. Let the Mayo invest in the land with private money; public money should be spent in the city where it can have long-term value and will be easy for the majority of the population to reach. Students, patients, and employees shouldn't have to rely on a car or even a bus to get to an internship, school or receive treatment in such a remote location.

Also, this campus and the Mayo School isn't a medical school for ASU but an extension of the hospital's Rochester, MN campus. ASU should create its own medical school and it should be in Tempe or downtown Phoenix...

As discussed a while back...

Phoenix to install bike lanes on Central Avenue
by Maria Polletta, AZ Republic

The Phoenix Street Transportation Department on Saturday will begin installing bicycle lanes on Central Avenue from Camelback Road to Bethany Home Road.

A lack of designated bike access between the Arizona Canal and the Uptown Metro light-rail station led to the change, which will require the removal of two vehicle lanes. Work should be completed within 24 hours.

The affected stretch of Central Avenue has up to three lanes of traffic in both directions and a center turn lane. Traffic volume is 17,000 to 19,000 vehicles per day, with passing possible in the curb lane and no buffer between the sidewalk and traffic.

After the changes are implemented, passing in the curb lane won't be possible and traffic will travel six to 11 feet from the sidewalk. Lower traffic speeds and a reduced noise level should follow, says city traffic engineer Kerry Wilcoxon.

Though some residents of the Medlock neighborhood, northeast of Camelback Road, are concerned the change could create cut-through traffic, Wilcoxon said feedback from most neighbors and local businesses has been largely positive leading up to the installation.

"The neighborhoods that are right off of Central see the benefit of this, because they're going to be able to use the sidewalks," he said. "The businesses kind of see it as a way to help their customers get to them."

A cost estimate for the project has not been released.

There's a Desert Out Here...
 

As I recall the new Mayo Med school is a cooperative effort with ASU where ASU focuses on the pre-Med stuff while Mayo's focus is on the Med School itself. It's in the vicinity of Shea and the 101.... That's in Scottsdale.

There's still a ton of undeveloped land out here and Phoenix can either take advantage of Mayo Hospital's current location or give up the idea to Scottsdale. If powers that be want to feed off of Mayo's cache,
the alternative isn't downtown but a half-mile down the road in Scottsdale.

Downtown, UA has a medical school building currently under construction, No?

ASU and Mayo are going in together on a Medical school:

http://asunews.asu.edu/20110928_video_mayomedicalschool

Now Im not sure if it'll be at this Desert Ridge location out by the 101 or more in Scottsdale near the hospitals on Via Linda and that area. I'm a bit confused on that point and maybe all of that isn't yet finalized.

No, the Mayo Clinic that the PHOENIX mayor is referring to is in Phoenix on Mayo Blvd, a few miles east of Scottsdale Rd. There is another branch of Mayo in Scottsdale (the Shea Campus), but that is not the one being referred to in this discussion. ASU does have a pre-med program and offers some degrees in collaboration with Mayo clinic.

However, it is not the traditional med school that the school hopes to eventually develop. UofA has a branch of the med school under construction in dowtown and a new cancer research and treatment center soon to follow. Undeveloped land in the desert reaches of N. Phoenix should remain undeveloped. No more sprawl please...

From the link:

"The Mayo Medical School – Arizona Campus will include a key collaboration with Arizona State University. A major differentiating feature at this new branch of Mayo Medical School: all students will complete a specialized master’s degree in the Science of Health Care Delivery granted by ASU, concurrently with their medical degree from Mayo Medical School, believed to be the first medical school to offer such a program."

Again, it is not a medical school like the UofA's but a collaboration with Mayo's medical school and an extension of their main campus in Rochester, MN...this is NOT a comprehensive medical school for ASU, but an extension for Mayo. ASU will offer a Master's in Science of Health Care Delivery while Mayo Med School will offer concurrent medical degrees...

The mayor is referring to a NEW bio-med/sciences campus in Mayo's NE Phoenix location. ASU's collaborative effort with Mayo will be dispersed on many locations but mostly on Scottsdale's Shea campus.

One good thing about this type of collaboration is that when ASU finally creates its own med school it can partner with Mayo for professors and as a teaching hospital for the school.

phxSUNSfan... You've pretty much summarized it well.

Ya, It's more than a half mile. Just know it doesn't take me long cruising down Mayo Blvd. to get to Scottsdale Rd. Mayo Hospital is at the SE corner of 56th and Mayo Blvd. Scottsdale Rd. is like 72nd... so whatever that distance is.

Phoenix, on the South side of the 101, starts I believe at the center line of Scottsdale Rid. - to the the West (I assume that's what you meant). South of Mayo on 56th Street is the American Express campus.
It would make no sense to thumb your nose at Mayo rather than develop a compatible use around the Hospital.

There is still a sizable amount of land on the south side of 101 as well as a lot of land north of the 101 in the Desert Ridge area as well as large tracts of land to still be auctioned off by the State between Tatum and Scottsdale Rd.
Forget where the boundary between Phoenix and Scottsdale is north of the 101 but likely 64th Street is close. It is all Prime land. You can let the high dollar stuff all go to Scottsdale or you can compete for a good slice of it.

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