Did some searching and this is what I found for 504 E Roosevelt St (that's the empty parcel on the NE corner of 5th and Roosevelt.)

http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/19778...St-Phoenix-AZ/

Idk if that is being built currently, I guess we'll wait and see.

I've heard Park Central Mall is finally going to move. It will be interesting to see who acquires it and what their game plan is.

That would be awesome!!!

That would be amazing. Problem is with Park Central is that there are three ownership groups with competing priorities. Hopefully there are realistic proposals and hopefully, a return to branding it as such since there are no Park Central signs anymore.

Waiting for The Monocle to Open? Restaurant Owner Has Felony Conviction
 

Well this can't be good...

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/...k-jail-9416922

I am confused by this, who is going to move the mall? there's nothing in that mall except a few restaurants and call centers.

Please clarify.

I hope so! I would love to see more projects of this scale be built in the odd random lots around central phoenix, It seems like developers haven't been able to secure financing for anything smaller than your standard block sized apartment complexes.

This size of apartment building would do more to "urbanize" downtown than anything.

He might own it but does that mean he is the one running day to day operations? seems strange to me that a veteran owner would be moving forward with work on project knowing that he couldn't get a liquor license.

I don't know much about how sex-offending effects business licenses haha!:shrug:

Seattle and Phoenix, two tales of growth
 

http://www.seattletimes.com/business...les-of-growth/

Another POS trying to squelch Phoenix's ranking as largest #5.

I hate Jon Talton!!!! He talks about this city after being gone for a while but he can only remember the cliche's of the past. This is a very different city from when he left with a lot more energy and excitement. He's a miserable twat-bag with a permanent chip on his shoulder about this town. If you want to be critical, get your damn facts straight, Jon!

I love these people that haven't lived in Phoenix for 20 years and think this is the same place it was then. I've seen so much change just in my 5 years of living here, it's amazing.

The fact of the matter is whether or not we have 10 large suburbs or 30 small suburbs, the metro population would be the exact same. It doesn't matter if Peoria is 1 large city or 3 smaller cities....same population for the same given area...with again me pointing out, a LOT of land is undeveloped and we are still #12 as far as metro populations go. Imagine where our population will be when the undeveloped land fills out and urban density increases.

I wonder if LA went through this when it passed Chicago?

Here's my response I sent to him just now...

Mr. Talton:


I have read every one of your inaccurate and miserable tomes on Phoenix for a decade. You seem to have a really bad chip on your shoulder about this city. It's though you are working out your childhood issues that you haven't come to grips with yet about this town. You mock and deride this city from a point of view of 20 years ago, when in fact, this city is quite different than the city you portray. Trying to compare a city like Seattle to Phoenix or Philadelphia to Phoenix is just stupid. What city doesn't want to promote their milestones when it grows. Other cities would kill for the growth Phoenix is experiencing.

You seem mad that people keep moving here. I realize this city has it's problems, and so do most large American cities. However, there is a renewed sense of purpose happening in Phoenix and Tempe that does not reflect what you write about. People are not flocking to the edges of the Valley--quite the opposite! I'm in commercial real estate...I know this for a fact. Most every lot and parcel in Central and East Phoenix as well as Downtown Scottsdale and Tempe are being snatched up to build creative, mixed-use, urban places. New restaurants, greater transportation choices and a solid infrastructure make this city very livable, affordable and yes, easy to live. If you expected this city to sit dormant for you to have the comfort of halcyon days gone by, sorry to disappoint.


Every time there's a new article about Phoenix from you, you paint yourself into a corner and are universally laughed at for your cynical take on a city that many of us love, despite your snarky observations. If you're happy in Seattle, please sir, stay there and wait for Seattle, as it continues to progress, to disappoint you.

I can't believe there are people who care that much about the order of the largest cities.

It's a stat.

I've heard the same thing. I guess the owner of the "mall" parcel is motivated to sell and has brought it to market. Jerry Moyes owns a good chunk of the parking surrounding the mall so perhaps he takes it down.

Awesome news! Hopefully any redevelopment plan would include residential and retail fronting Central. With Alta Midtown around the corner now open and Edison Midtown across the street half completed, the area could become the newest Midtown destination. :tup:

You might also want to tell him that his caption to the photo that stated "a storm is seen over downtown Phoenix" would have made more sense had the photo not eliminated most of downtown Phoenix from the photo. However, that was likely strategic on his part.

And also tell him if Seattle is that great, then why is Boeing moving hundreds of jobs from there to, you guessed it, Phoenix!!

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/n...o-arizona.html

I apologize if this has been posted, but for anyone who still had hope that the AZ Center renovation was going to include substantial urbanization of the area, this should help reality sink in:

http://x.lnimg.com/attachments/7E1B2...70A3478AE6.pdf

1. Included is the updated site plan for the retail center, which remains unchanged, except for the massive valet dropoff, a standalone retail building on Van Buren shown only in renderings and not being marketed, and POSSIBLY a small break in the fortress walls to the south of Corner Bakery. That space is not shown as being occupied or for rent, which could mean anything, but a small entrance there would be the only real improvement to this part of the Center. Given that the retail spaces occupied and leasable are identical in placement to the current layout, any chance of entrances off 3rd are eliminated as the west side will continue to be used for BOH operations.

The plan shows how each side is fed into by various entities. 3rd street is fed into by both ASU and "Hotel" -- so, the answer to that is a valet entrance? For students and hotel guests, who either don't need a car, or who have parked in the hotel's OWN valet? This building would have been the easiest to demo entirely, and the depth of the curb-to-building area that exists would easily have allowed for double-sided retail in two buildings (with a grand entrance in the center) with restaurant uses mainly along 3rd for hotel guests, and major retailers on the interior to draw in residents, with creative office and lofts above in ~8-10 stories.
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2. What about the rest of the Center? As we know, VB/5th will become a residential tower. Marriott has seemingly at least unofficially signed on to a 200-key hotel to be included in a tower covering the space between the existing office and garage along 5th Ave. The tower is listed as potentially mixed-use, so they may be waiting to see if additional office or a 2nd hotel can be added before moving forward. However, to the north, the massive garage will become even more opposing as it extends almost all the way to Fillmore. With the large garage, existing office tower, and likelihood of any true retail in the residential tower being oriented inward/toward VB, 5th Ave -- the Center's face to arguably the employment center with the most upward mobility -- is essentially as much of a miss as 3rd Street despite not only the potential for integrating into the PBC, but also the existing urban development of 4th Street that feeds into it, with a fairly well-designed 2-sided road between Roosevelt through to the retail at the bottom of the PBC garage, which will stand no shot at leasing under these plans but will be undoubtedly used as proof that ground level retail does not work downtown.
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3. The AMC may be here to stay for now, but not so in the long-term plans for the site. At some point, Taylor mall will terminate into a midrise titled only "ASU" which, while it makes sense in the context of the Mall itself, means low density, single-use, and a very small chance at anything public-facing.

The corner of 3rd St/VB is the only piece that fits into what I would have liked to have seen done with the entire property. Planned is a mixed-use residential midrise with ground floor retail and grocery store. With such so many dense developments already in place to the north, the planned residential on-site, and the logical need for student housing in the immediate area, something like an Urban Target with a grocery and pharmacy component would make total sense. It's just too bad it will exist in isolation, rather than feeding into a modernized mall of more amenities.

Probably to quiet any objections, the face of the massive expanded garage along 5th Ave is covered by residential along Fillmore, but even in the rendering, it looks to be 4 stories at most and I could see it staying as a parking lot indefinitely due to 'market demand.'

I don't think any of us expect to see AZ Center become the next great urban thing but it's still going to be an improvement even if just from a visual perspective. It's actually helpful for my two rentals on 7th Street because they can't as easily walk to Roosevelt or cityscape. If even 2-3 worthwhile places open I'll be happy.

Can't help but notice some of the labels on the development map, while dated, provide some interesting updates to our current boom. Herberger School of Music on the west side of Civic Space Park. I've yet to hear anything about this and haven't found anything in regards to the music school moving downtown. The CA Ventures project at 3rd and Pierce is shown as student housing.