Yes, this is Astra and is very real and very likely to be built.

Yeah Astra is more than likely going to break ground. There are some new renderings on the Astra page and I am very excited about it. Hopefully it will push more 400' to 500' towers in the future.

Its nice that we have gone from hoping projects will come to fruition to expecting them too.

The Blue
 

https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/...I0Z0t1dGc9PSJ9

Working on a plan to create a 26-story tower and incorporate a historic building in downtown Phoenix’s warehouse district has been a “labor of love” for real estate attorney Nick Wood, who said the project will greatly benefit a Phoenix nonprofit that aims to train people for in-demand jobs.

The Arizona OIC, which stands for Opportunities Industrialization Center, opened in 1967 and is part of a network of other chapters that were built out of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. In Phoenix, the OIC operates out of 39 E. Jackson St. in a building that has historic preservation status. As part of the proposed development, Wood’s client, Thunderbird Legacy Group, is seeking to remove the historic preservation designation so the roof and one of the walls of the building can be removed. The other walls will be preserved and the new building will be built inside them.

Thunderbird Legacy Group is proposing a 26-story building, named the Blue, that will reach 270 feet in height. The building will include ground floor retail and office space, and the OIC will continue to operate out of the building. The OIC is a development partner for Thunderbird Legacy Group. Other firms involved include Polaris Pacific, Gensler, Project Management Advisors, RCLCO and CCBG Architecture Inc.
Six floors of the building will be a 210-key, luxury hotel, totaling 211,000 square feet. The upper floors will be condominium units, with a total of 200 units totaling 320,000 square feet. The project plan includes two levels of underground parking and four levels of above-ground parking.

Some of the proceeds from retail sales, hotel stays and sales of the condo units will be donated back to the OIC, Wood said. The hotel and retail operations will also be used by the OIC for its vocational training programs.

“So many members of our society are challenged economically,” Wood said. “People who are underrepresented, underserved, trying to find their way. The OIC brings hope to those who have none.”
Wood said that since the OIC opened more than 65,000 people have completed its programs and more than 48,000 people have been placed in jobs.

“The service they provide and their contributions are immeasurable,” Wood said.

Gene Blue is the organization’s president and CEO, and Wood said the project, named the Blue, will pay homage to him and the other leaders who have worked with the OIC to better the community.

Wood has been working with the development team for two years on the project, which he said is unprecedented in Phoenix.

“We are doing something that has never been done before,” he said. “We are asking the city council to remove the historic preservation overlay, which has been done before, but it has never been removed while a building is still standing on the property.”

Other cities, such as Philadelphia, have seen projects like the Blue, where portions of historic buildings are kept and preserved while a new building is built inside them, Wood said. Plans for the building call for removing the stucco on the walls and restoring the brick to its original condition.

So far, the project has been approved by the village planning committee and the city’s planning commission, and still needs to go to the city council for final approval. The city’s historic preservation commission recommended approving a portion of the change, called the façade easement, but did not recommend approval of the historic preservation removal.

Wood said continuing the work and expanding the scope of the OIC will help honor the organization's history and further the legacy.

"History isn't just about buildings; history is typically about the people or businesses that occupy those buildings," he said. "The OIC is living history. They're still with us."

Community organizations, including the Maricopa County chapter of the NAACP and the African American Christian Clergy Coalition, wrote to the city council in support of the OIC and the changes that will benefit the organization’s mission.

The Blue
 

Sounds freaking awesome! However I don’t have the highest hopes for this... aside from the historic preservation and FAA concerns, a luxury hotel and condo development sounds suspect. The condos could work, but I’d say they would be more entry level. But I’m all for it! The hotel is even more suspect as they had to pull hotel from Central Station.

Anything breaking the 19-21 floor cap we had for years is amazing to me!

I agree but we can all hope that this might make it through but the FFA is going to be tough.

There's a good joke in here about chickens and pigs. :cheers:

Astra Page
 

Awesome! where is that page?

Everything is under the Astra thread.

The Skye at 6th (aka Garfield House)
 

There was a lot of equipment onsite today. A couple of backhoe's and a dump truck with about 10 workers digging. Most likely prep-work and/or potholing. Also, the adjacent palm trees have been marked for probable removal and the house next door looks like its about ready to get demo'd.

All definite signs this is going to be moving fast.

Noiiice!

Wow this could be the first ground breaking of the 1Q

The FAA has already approved Thunderbird up to at least 270' in 2019:

https://i.imgur.com/ab4mgFU.png


When I brought up my FAA height concerns a few pages back, sean corrected me on what I had read. So I think it was just the preservationists bringing up that the FAA had missed a step in approving the height in order to push for their fight-against-height agenda. I misread this as the FAA reversing their decision which was not the case. I actually don't recall an instance where the FAA has reversed a height limit decision minus small technicalities.

Also, the Planning Commission approved the height increase last week sending this on up the chain.

That's great news Crested thanks for the update

Started a separate thread for Skye on 6th since this is pretty much a done deal:

https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/sho...33#post9157733

So Skye is going on the southwest corner of Garfield and 6th?

If so, do we know what is going on with the empty lot bound by 5th St, Garfield St, 6th St, and McKinley St? Is someone just sitting on that land?

I could be mistaken, but I believe that land along with all the land running along 4th st down to Fillmore belongs to the Biomedical Campus.

Anybody have a typical floor plate of Chase? I know what the outer dimensions are (70' tubes offset by 35'), but it's been many many years since I've been in there so I cannot remember where the stairs and elevators are (I know most of them are in the south concrete wing). I definitely have some ideas about the floor plan.

That garage across the street is dreadful. 6'-4" clear at the entry? Given the ramp configuration, there's almost no way to drop out a portion of the second floor to get the accessibility to work. Structured parking (new) runs about $25-35k a space.

I looked at other garages in 21st century developments and 6'4 is low but none of them are in compliance with recent ADA legislation that requires them to be at 8'.

biggus said it has 15,000 sqft floor plates with an absurdly low deck to deck height.