I think apartments, done well, or condos would be my choice. If you remember from the earlier renderings the additional construction was lowrise and unattractive. I say put something on the adjacent lot that blends well with Barrister and makes a genuine statement.

If they could get the Chicago company behind Central Station to bid I have no doubt the proposal would be amazing! Not sure anyone wants to commit though right now until it is understood where the new Suns arena will be located.

I really don't understand the trebidation some companies still have with rentals in this metro, they all fill out like crazy.

Office space is the hard one in downtown, but in Scottsdale and the East Valley office demand is huge so Phoenix needs to figure out how to attract that demand.

For example in business journals today. http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/n...nd-on-215.html

Half built 90% leased.

That's only 10 minutes outside of downtown, just the other side of the airport.. Why cant downtown or Midtown attract more business????

New renders of Omega? The url has them dated "6/2015"

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...4&postcount=17

I wish ! I thought this has been dead since before the recession:shrug:

I think this is wishful thinking. They tend to post everything on their FB and this is nowhere to be found. Also, notice that 44 Monroe wasn't completed yet in the imaged used as the background for the rendering. This seems to tell me this is old and they are just promoting their design work since it is a gorgeous design.

Summit was not successful (terrible timing with recession), I don't think that developer will be back to downtown Phoenix.

But I would love to stand corrected.

Highly unlikely. The parking issue about where the residents of the Orpheum Lofts would park during construction seemed to be a sticking point (aside from the economy).

But I do remember the developer claimed they never proposed a building they didn't follow through with. Hopefully they can continue their claim - as unlikely as it may be.

My understanding was that Orpheum Lofts no longer has guaranteed parking and that lot I think is a pay lot. I know when I looked at units to rent, the parking that the unit owners had bought was in the Renaissance garage. So I think this would actually provide parking that is now lacking.

The developer file for bankruptcy. He still hasn't paid contractors for the apartments next to Chase Field that he also built. My friend is an architect who had worked on those drawings several years ago. It ain't happenin' anytime soon.

I'm not surprised the Barrister property fell through, and I'm glad it did. The original plans called for just 130 units in 3 6-story buildings, with 11,000 sq feet of retail. The garages were going to have major street presence on both Jefferson and Central. For a project in such a prime location in between CityScape, Luhrs, and USAC, I think 130 units and 6-story buildings would've been a huge disappointment. I wonder if anyone will attempt to acquire the land adjacent or try to form a joint venture. The current configuration makes it really hard to incorporate much more after factoring in a parking garage, and also limits what can be done on the eastern edge as future development could completely block views.

Since that's unlikely, I'd like to see a 5-story modern complementary addition along Jefferson with retail + creative offices to provide some scale in relation to the 6-story Barristr, leading into an 18+ story apartment tower at the western edge. The southern lot could be anything, but my preference is probably an 8-12 story office building so that the ground level could be used for nightclub-type establishments, given the Marriotts going next door. Since the Barrister itself is only capable of holding 35 units, I'd rather see it turned into a small boutique hotel with ground level retail, basement speakeasy, and rooftop bar/lounge with a 'Psycho' theme.

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I don't think anyone mentioned Alta Phoenix. Camelback and 7th Street - basically a replica off all Wood Partners projects: https://www.phoenix.gov/pddsite/Documents/Z-39-15n.pdf

The retail scene downtown looks like it might be about to plummet. In addition the usual suspects (Tapestry, Roosevelt Point, Union, Skyline Lofts, OS Stapley Buildings, 44 Monroe, Monroe HGI, and the Van Buren/1st Ave garage), two major offices are about to see vacancies skyrocket.

Renaissance Square is losing A Touch of Yogurt, Tom's Tavern, a pizza restaurant, and a jewelry store. This site plan shows the magnitude of space they've put on the market: http://x.lnimg.com/attachments/6C885...4C620ECD78.pdf

The site plan also shows how terrible design leads to challenging occupancies. The majority of the Central Ave, Adams, and 1st Ave frontages are dedicated to lobby/office space, while the retail spaces are clustered around a courtyard that is hidden from plain-view by the light rail and the 'Counter' building on the corner. Some of these spaces are only accessible through the lobby, as well.

US Bank Center is pretty much fully vacant (26,000 square feet) aside from its bank branch and the DPP: http://x.lnimg.com/attachments/85BD0...CD8BE7DA11.pdf

Again, most of the spaces are accessible through the lobby only.

Bud's Glass Joint's lease on 1st St/Roosevelt is up at the end of the month, and the space is currently listed. If Sutra ever opened next door, this woud've been the only block north of Roosevelt with any activity, but that's obviously going to change. OTOH, maybe someone will buy the empty low and Bud's building and create a more substantial infill?

Looks like the new restaurant at Skyline Lofts will be in the space on 3rd St/Fillmore, as their listing has been updated to include only the eat building: http://x.lnimg.com/attachments/F99B3...EB9BF4D4D5.pdf

This is a nice project for it's location. Good density with wrapped garage.

That really sucks we are losing Tom's. I am not shocked though, I've been worried about them for quite some time.

Looks like a great addition:

• there is not much setback from 7th Street,
• the parking garage is not visible from the street,
• it will be taking the place of basically a huge surface parking lot,
• and it has good density for the area.

You're assessment that the sky is falling on downtown retail is beyond wrong. Downtown retail enjoys an 8.6% vacancy rate. That's really relly, good. And if you consider the 1 million SF or so of inventory downtown, losing "A Touch of Yogurt" :haha: and a few others will not turn our downtown into rows and rows of boarded up windows. True, design plays a role in how successful retail can be. Take US Bank. The building has struggled with tenants for years, but is surrounded by an amazing array of little restaurants and shops along Adams, Monroe, Central and First. In fact, downtown retail has grown tremendously during the recession (as the only place to see new retail for several years) and now with the economy in full gear.

It looks like Renaissance Square is following the same strategy as the Arizona Center: Raise rents and bring in new tenants willing to pay them. It's sad to lose long-standing businesses like Touch of Yogurt and Tom's Tavern, but those operated on a weekdays-only business model. Tom's Tavern experimented with more weekend hours a few years after its renovation but soon returned to its emphasis on lunch and early dinner. The Counter, on the other hand, is open seven days a week. My guess is that Renaissance Square management believes it can attract tenants that will bring in more revenue with longer hours. I hope they're right.

Or they are positioning the building for a possible sale.

Also the circle k at 7th Street and Roosevelt is going to be a cerebral palsy headquarters of some sort.

I assume you mean a new structure built on the site rather than the existing store building? If so, that's good news because there's been concern over what would happen to the old Circle K site on the northeast corner once the new one on the southeast corner opens.

It's unclear to me, but there's a banner on the pump awning that says future home of UCP Downtown Phoenix.

Also, as predicted last week, the tower crane base is in place for Luhrs Marriott. The location it is in means it will have to clear the Luhrs building directly behind it, so expect the crane to be fairly tall right at the get go. Going to be great seeing this finally going vertical!

YES! We have Portland underway, Lurh's Marriot and now all we need is Central Station! #SkylineExpanding