Wow...I didn't even know that. I just rode on route 44 last month. I just saw it. I am on the way to D-Backs game with my cousin. When it did happen?

Hotel Monroe
 

Nothing new but more local news organizations are picking up the Hotel Monroe news.

http://azbex.com/san-diego-group-to-...-hotel-plans/#

Phoenix's iconic Encanto Park gets upgrades
 

The new fence looks really nice. The chain link fence looked so trashy and just didn't fit in with how nice the park and golf course are. It's also nice to see Encanto Park getting national recognition.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/p...-upgrades.html

Hey all! I have been lurking in this forum since 2007 days. I used to live right across the street from centerpoint development on mill (now West 6th). I watched it all get built and read about the exciting development projects on this site. Interestingly it became the site to read all about the stalled projects and lost economy in Phoenix.

Anyways, I finally made an account so I can post some of the things I come across development wise in Phoenix.

I live in the Southern Arcadia area and saw that the car wash and teak furniture store have been torn down on the Northeast corner of 44th street and Indian School. Looks like they are finally starting development on the Chik Fil A! Does anyone have any sort of timeline on the In N out burger that is going in across the street?

Sprouts Farmers Market files for $248 million IPO
 

This has to be good news - a local company planning to go public. I just wish more of the local corporate headquarters had had a presence downtown though. The Sprouts headquarters is up in North Phoenix.

WTF is this "nightmare scenario" Justin Johnson talking about? 1. That's an extremely unlikely scenario that has never even been considered by anyone in control of the land - he's just using fear mongering to rile up voters before the election. I know who I won't be voting for. 2. It's a perfect place for a casino. It's along the light-rail line and near other entertainment venues. I hate that all the casinos in the Phoenix area are far outside of the city and not along any transit lines. Many cities are now realizing the economic benefits of having casinos in their downtown areas and are creating entertainment districts. A new casino just opened right in downtown Cleveland, one right outside of downtown Toledo, and downtown Detroit has had a very prosperous and successful casino district for a long time.

All of that nonsense aside, I see this news as a mixed bag. It's probably for the best to get it out of Barron Colliers' hands. They seem to be content landbanking prime properties in Phoenix. On the other hand, this whole situation is probably going to take years to resolve and guarantees it will sit empty for the near future. It also seems like the Feds may not be the best people to develop the land.

Id prefer just about anyone but Barron Collier to own that land, they're one of the biggest land bankers out there.

Im not sure I like Johnsons idea of just expanding the park. The park is already under utilized as is. As weird as it may sound, Central Phoenix might have too much park space, at least relative to the low population density we currently have. A lot of people just play catch or whatever in their yard instead of going to a park.

As for what Id like to happen to the land, I posted this idea on MyPlanPhx a while back. We lack higher education options here and it makes a certain amount of sense to bring back an 'Indian School' of sorts. There's Haskell in Kansas, but its tiny and Lawrence, KS appeals to much different people than Phoenix, AZ would.

E: Also regarding a casino there: I don't see that happening. I like Justin Johnson from my interactions with him, but dont know where he's coming from on this one. The thing in Glendale was a very unusual circumstance and thats actual Reservation land. The land at Central/ISR wouldn't suddenly become a Reservation because the Feds own it. The Indian Gaming Pact is pretty strict, I dont think a Casino is something to worry about/hope for (depending on your perspective).

Considering the amount of money Barron Colliers has put into that parcel, you know they won't build anything there unless its a huge project so they can recoup their costs. Unfortunately, I dont see any huge office tower projects or anything happening there any time soon, so its probably best to get it out of their hands.

Saw this on the Vanishing Phoenix facebook page. It is a killer old hotel blade sign that was "discovered" in the Professional Building. They are saying it's going to be incorporated into the new project - ie. the hopeful revitalization of the Hotel Monroe. It looks awesome, and nice that there is some recent grumblings on the project, hopefully the recent sale goes through.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

Although I would never vote for Dan Carroll, he is right on on this one. I got a robocall from Johnson. He suggests that the land might "go back to the tribes" and then goes into his Glendale Casino bit. Johnson's attempt is clear, he is raising unfounded fears and dancing on the edge of racism. It is not surprising that Johnson, whose father never met a developer that he didn't like, was recently endorsed by Valley Partnership (who also endorsed DiCiccio and Waring).

So I randomly picked up a call today at work from the Pederson Group and they said they're "looking to build a shopping center downtown" and wanted some info about upcoming condo/apartment projects. So maybe that's something. Hard to say what they mean by 'shopping center', or even 'downtown', but its good that people are thinking about downtown retail at least.

I've made a couple of negative comments about Dan Carroll and I guess that I had better explain.

In 1991, I was the Chairman of the PV Village Planning Committee and Dan Carroll was a member of the Committee. He and I had worked together on some political campaigns, including my own runs for the legislature and the (defeated) Phoenix property tax that would have funded a baseball stadium.

That year he approached me about supporting his as yet unannounced run for City Council. There was an open seat. Skip Rimsza, who had represented our district, was no longer our Councilman due to redistricting.

Although Dan and I often agreed on issues, there had been a recent battle over the route of Greenway Parkway and Dan had sided with the NIMBYs who were successful in getting a General Plan amendment causing the road to dead end into Scottsdale Airpark at Butheris instead of connecting directly to Scottsdale's Greenway-Hayden loop.

There was another battle looming, this time over the General Plan's inclusion of a bridge over the CAP Canal at 56th Street. The NIMBYs did not want the bridge to be built. Not building it would have caused an unnecessary bottleneck (no bridge between Tatum Blvd and Scottsdale Road) and would send a lot more traffic down Tatum. I opposed the General Plan amendment and considered this a litmus test for whoever I would support for Council. I asked Dan, who wanted my support as I had a fair amount of name recognition from the legislative races, and he said he opposed the effort to stop the bridge.

I proceeded to give him my support, served on his campaign committee and gave the speech to introduce him at the rally/press conference where he announced his candidacy. There was a large field of candidates. When the August election completed, he came in first but without a majority, causing a runoff. The second place finisher was Frances Barwood, who had run Rimsza's neighborhood office. Among the others were a couple of guys from the NIMBY group that opposed the bridge.

As the runoff approached, I was surprised one evening to pick up a the Paradise Valley Independent and see an article about Dan. He had gained the support of the NIMBYs and one of them was quoted as saying that they supported Dan because he was supporting the General Plan amendment to remove the bridge from the plans.

I immediately phoned Dan, who said that yes, he had changed his position, that it had "evolved". He had clearly traded his position on the issue for the support of these folks.

At that point I wrote a letter to the editor, sending it to both the PV Independent and to the Community section of the Republic. I explained this tale of deception, stating that the only thing that Dan stood for was getting Dan elected. I endorsed Barwood, saying that I disagreed with her on a bunch of stuff but that I at least knew where she stood and could count on her to stick to her principles. I also provided a copy of the letter to the Barwood campaign. The Republic printed my letter.

Dan lost a close election by a handful of votes. It may be delusions of grandeur but I think that my letter may well have cost him the election.

The bridge was built, by the way.

Based on this my opinion of Dan Carroll is that he may talk a good game, and is adept at saying what people want to hear, but that his primary motivation is self-promotion and will sell his positions to the highest bidder.

For what it is worth, I am supporting David Lujan.

Thanks for the insight. It is true, there are many people in the city's government that are using it as a way to move up the ladder for bigger and better things, without a real passion towards the city itself. It always bums me out when I speak with a city official about where he or she see the city going or hope it would go, and they have no real answer or if they do it is a very vague "let me please everyone" answer.

Thanks for your thoughtful insight. I appreciate the ability to discuss politics without it degenerating into ad hominem attacks. Early on in the campaign I had already decided to support Lujan based on a positive in-person experience with him, and a negative experience with one of Dan Carroll's staffers aggressively trying to get him on the ballot. Your insight about Dan Carroll, and Justin Johnson's borderline racist fearmongering reinforced my choice to vote for Lujan.

I am also voting for Lujan. He's easily the brightest and most qualified and generally shares my values. He was a great Legislator.

Sadly, Lujan hasn't strongly articulated why he is running, and his campaign does not have the funds to communicate enough with likely voters.

Expect the following to shake out of the election next month (which really starts next week when people get their ballots in the mail)

1st - Pastor (less than the majority)
2nd - Johnson
3rd - Lujan
A distant 4th - Carroll

Choosing between Pastor and Johnson in the run-off, both of whom are mediocre individuals running off of their last names, will be a very depressing choice. :(

Hopefully Lujan can pull it out and make the run-off.

People here seem to have varying interpretations of what downtown consists of. Someone I used to work with said she lives downtown. She lives at Bethany Home and 19th ave.

Unfortunately all of their current involvements and properties are located anywhere from the suburbs to the exurbs:

http://i44.tinypic.com/rkrodv.jpg

Nonetheless it's an interesting and promising question. What information did you give him?

Hoover, did you ask them if you could post that? A lot of people want to keep their intended acquisitions, etc secret.

He didnt' really call the right place (I work at GPEC- Greater Phoenix Economic Council). I told him about Roosevelt Point, CityScape apartments, etc. but my company doesn't have data on how many units are being built, the rents, when they'll open, etc. specifically about Downtown. We have more general population data...but trying to get developers to move to Downtown isn't really what we do, we try to get companies from other states/countries to move to metro Phoenix.

The Downtown Phoenix Partnership would probably have that information.

Yep I pointed him there way, and to some folks at the City who are helpful.

Well said, Arquitect, I could not agree with you more! We need people with real passion for our city and can look us in the eye and tell us where they see the city going, their hopes and what they will do to try and make it happen, etc. Instead of making it obvious they are "climbing the ladder".