https://twitter.com/PhxDowntowner/st...208459778?s=19

Sean Sweat is very critical of True North and Ro2.

Agree with his assessment that the alley should stay. The office tower has too large of a footprint. But I am good with the rest of the Ro2 development....except maybe too many smiling Teddy's...

Everyone is a critic
 

He could run for office. Or become a developer. Otherwise, who cares what this schmo thinks? I love the Teddy face, and hope that this entire thing is built out. I would love to drive him up and down Glendale's streets for hours and force him to see what this is in comparison to. We ain't Manhattan, but we sure as hell shouldn't kill improvement plans when Yuma has next.

^No problem with Teddy's face on the wall, but the last thing that area needs is another parking garage. Alleys should be maintained whenever possible.

Who is Sean Sweat and why does his opinion carry any weight?

It seems developers are still leery of not including parking garages in their developments. The auto-centric mentality of this area just refuses to die...even when residential growth is exploding in the core.

I agree with most of his criticisms (other than the Teddy Roosevelt, I really don't care about that). And I really appreciate people like Sean Sweat that are willing to advocate for urban issues, especially in a city like Phoenix where you're fighting against decades of anti-urban momentum. But I really hope he doesn't make 'perfect the enemy of the good,' especially in an area that was single-family homes in the 1930s, peaked 'urban'-wise in the 1950s with a mix of single-family homes and one-story commercial buildings, and has slowly deteriorated since, culminating in a rash of demos in the 2000s, since which it has been mostly vacant dirt.

Way overly critical considering the north end of Evans Churchill is dirt

Its not just here there are very few cities relatively that dont demand high level parking in their zoning.

Head of the Urban Phoenix Project and its associated PAC. He led the effort to trigger a recall election for Councilman Nowakowski and was part of the mass resignation of most members of the Complete Streets Advisory Board, among other things.

Sounds like a lot of meddling. I've never heard of him until today.

What has he achieved other than break things (regardless of whether they should or should not have been broken)? I would think someone who is doing things like you described would also have some development or city council experience.

I believe he lead the effort to pushback against the AC hotel when they attempted to submit a variance for a setback that put their property further from the street which the City agreed with Sean and denied the variance.

IMO, it’s a breath of fresh air that someone can focus this much energy on urban design when it seems we only get half-assed effort from developers or shrugged shoulders from the city. Phoenix is plagued with a “settle for mediocre” mentality, it’s good to have a voice or two that champions for better.

Yes, but I don't really consider Ro2 "mediocre" in any way. True North is putting a tremendous effort into this development that includes rehabilitation of 2 historic homes. Any other developer would have just razed them and called it a day.

As far as developers go, True North has become a patron saint for downtown development. But for every True North, there is an Illuminate or Broadstone, and a dozen other half-baked projects that could’ve been better but weren’t.

Fighting everything because it isn't 100% what you think is perfect is the mindset Phoenicians have had for years and ultimately not so different from the guys who are shooting down "high rises" in Midtown/Willo.

If you stunt the growth of the city and deliberately make it hard for developers then guys will start to lose interest and go to a climate that is more welcoming. Nobody is clamoring to lose money or develop something difficult in Phoenix.

Agreed. I suspect that developers are giving people what they seem to think they want...residential with a somewhat suburban feel and amenities. Developments like Illuminate or Broadstone may not be perfect for a Downtown....but they worked and are pulling new residents in.

Hopefully with Stewart and Link coming online in the next few months, this trend will change and developers will realize that high-rise residential pulls people in as much as these 4/5 story residential developments. I suspect we will see things change over the next year towards taller more urban developments.

The more I think about it, the more I like the Teddy Roosevelt picture. Downtown needs more identifiable landmarks that serve as gathering spaces, photo opportunities, and conversation starters. A lot of the public art created for this purpose hasn't worked out. "Meet me in front of Teddy" sounds a whole lot better than "Meet me under the shade structures no one uses."

OMG....just got Teddy Roosevelt on Roosevelt.....I NEED SLEEP and a drink or two or three......... OR BOTH!!!!!!!!!

As I have said before its better to turn 1st floor Gyms and lounges into retail later than have a bunch of empty retail fronts that cant get filled.

Ugh. Just took a walk around during my lunch and there are "Stop the Tower" signs EVERYWHERE. There are several down 3rd St and even a sign at Park Central.

I just want to get some "Stop the Nimby'ism" signs made and put them all over. :slob: