^Nick, can you get some photos of Oasis on Grand? Im very disappointed from your description.

Sign at the corner of Grand, 15th and Roosevelt.

http://i40.tinypic.com/b7cg7o.jpg

The enterance off of Grand actually looks decent IMO. Unfortunately it's kind of hidden.

http://i41.tinypic.com/2w4w7k8.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/2rfq6vr.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/wbp8cz.jpg

This is the view from 15th Ave looking north. This view looks terrible. There is a big empty dirt lot and car graveyard across the street from it.

http://i40.tinypic.com/t7mivl.jpg

Maybe it's because I'm not real artsy but these bright multi-colored railings look terrible. I would have preferred that they stuck with the 1930's - 1950's motor inn look with maybe turquoise railings.

http://i44.tinypic.com/xfax61.jpg

Empty lot across the street from it:

http://i42.tinypic.com/1zcil1g.jpg

Hopefully something happens on the empty lot, even if it's just a little bit of landscaping to line the street.

Well this is hard to believe, but that is an improvement. Its not great, but the building looked like a war zone before. My biggest complaint is the lack of shade trees and that grey block is nice but a bit harsh, some nice vines or greenery creeping up the building would've been nice.

ground floor units are going to get broken into like a mother fucker.

Hold me. I'm scared.

What was this before it got renovated?! It looks like an old Motel 6.

I agree with VLJ, no way I'd keep my sliding glass door open for fresh air.

Edit: I just looked at it on Google's street view. The Oasis Motel. Hard to believe, but it really is a HUGE improvement as to what the building used to look like.

HUGE improvement. Hopefully it will spur more development in the area.

http://i39.tinypic.com/3481w6r.png

http://i40.tinypic.com/116mn9z.png

Wow and Ewww! The Oasis on Grand looks like it belongs in downtown Tucson with all those colors and dirt lot across the street. But, it is a huge improvement from what it looked liked before, for sure.

Agreed...unless those patio doors are made of security glass, have a steel bar to secure them from sliding, and have "sensor" lighting to scare away would-be thieves, expect your place to get broken into. Bring on some development and that will go a long way in preventing property crimes.

I think the colors add to the building's flair. They could have easily been painted a solid color and been humdrum same-old-same-old but they are different and are a good contrast to the gray brick. I would have gone for bolder colors but I'm guessing the pastel/easter looking colors were chosen to hint at the building's midcentury heritage.

I think more could have been done to alleviate the fears of crime but I like the openness of the patios to the street. The patio spaces are a lot better than the jail cells that were there. It looks like the railings have gates that open to the sidewalk. I like that though it would be nicer if the gates were better defined.

as for street trees, in the image shown there is what looks like a bus pull in. Any trees in those narrow planters would grow into the patios on the buildings. The image below is taken a bit farther west on Roosevelt and shows some trees present along the sidewalk. Unfortunately, the trees seem to be a bit too far from the sidewalk. I also wish the planters along the patio spaces were filled with dense desert vegetation. It would help separate the private patios and the sidewalk areas.

http://downtownphoenixjournal.com/wp...10/Oasis-3.jpg
source: http://downtownphoenixjournal.com/20...8/oasis-grand/

Its a good improvement to the neighborhood.

That picture actually looks a lot nicer, with the planting of trees and vegetation, than the pics previously posted. Perhaps they will plant more in the strip between the sidewalk and patio? Looks like there is still plenty of landscaping to do...

*note that picture is from mid-october.

Those are the same variet like the ones planted at Chase Bank downtown. They grow quickly and canopy wonderfully.

I agree. The picture showing the planting make it look much, much nicer!!!!

^^ I don't mind the the lipstick used.
Whether the concept of live/work units sells is beyond me. If they can generate a little cash flow while holding the land I'm sure they'll be content.

Cool stuff. I love adaptive re-use of buildings such as this.

As for crime, most Phoenix-area suburbanites think ANYTHING in the central city (defined loosely as anything east of SR 51 and south of Dunlap inside the mountain preserves) is some sort of horrific crime-ridden ghetto with police helicopters circling overhead all the time. This includes YOUR neighborhood, John, as well as mine. LOL...

--don

Um I'm not talking about what the suburbanites think, I'm talking about that neighborhood having a high population of roaming drug addicts and how easy those units would be to break into and steal something worth enough to get a rock.

Don, you participated in the census. Maybe you know the stats...Isn't most of Central Phoenix more suburban than the actual suburbs in terms of population density?

This has to be impossible... there are so many more apartments in central phoenix. There is bunch of midcentury stuff that has to contribute to high population densities.

I think it's close, that's why I posted the question to Don, who seems to follow PHX demographics closely.

There are also many vacant lots and non-residential districts with populations of zero. Central Phoenix lot sizes are much larger (and include alley ways) in the older neighborhoods compared to newer development in the suburbs.

^ Let me find my numbers (admittedly, they date from the 2000 Census; I haven't had the time or inclination to update this information with block data for 2010).

Ahh, here we go:

Central Phoenix consists of roughly the 1960 city limits of Phoenix. It had about 760,000 people living in about 140 square miles in 2000, excluding some preserve lands, and had a density of well over 5,000 people per square mile (ppsm). By comparison, the rest of the city covers about 400 additional square miles, with about 550,000 people. Yes, that is an overall density of just over 1,000 ppsm, but a lot of this land is undeveloped or large desert preserves.

As a reference point, Phoenix had about 430,000 people in 1960. That same area in 2000 had about 760,000.

The per capita income of central Phoenix is about 10% less than the average for the entire city. If you removed Camelback East, which has a lot of money, from these numbers, the per capita income for central Phoenix would be almost 30% below the average.

A discussion about population density:

Most U.S. cities follow the following paradigm: Very high population densities in the core (peak), followed by steep drops in densities as you move into the suburbs. If you graphed this out, it would look like a very steep mountain. For example, Kansas City still has some inner city neighborhoods with 10,000 people per square mile or more. Note during the 1940s, these same inner city areas were over 20,000 ppsm. The Kansas City suburbs, by contrast, are very low density, with many houses on acre lots or more, yielding densities of about 2,000 to 1,000 ppsm or less. Phoenix never had that sort of density in the core, so here, the "inner city" looks like a large plateau with densities of about 5,000 ppsm. This drops very gradually into the built Phoenix suburbs, with many reaching densities of 3,000 to 4,000 ppsm or more.

Put another way, older U.S. cities are at least twice as dense in the core, and half as dense in the suburbs or less. This is why the "urban footprint" (or urbanized area, if you will) of Phoenix is far smaller than eastern/northern cities. For one thing, land costs are much higher in Phoenix, ensuring smaller lot sizes.

Overall, my prediction for the 2010 census will probably show similar numbers. There might be a slight drop from the 760,000 counted in central Phoenix in 2000, offset by a sizable increase in the farther flung reaches of the city. It is fairly clear from glancing over the preliminary block data that central Phoenix may have lost as many as 100,000 Hispanics from 2006-on, and may have continued to have white flight (which has been happening in certain inner city neighborhoods of Phoenix since World War II, just like in many other U.S. cities).

--don

Thanks Don, excellent, well thought out response. I'm looking forward to your 2010 census analysis. It'll be fascinating to see changes that have occurred since 2000.

There is now temporary signage up for Zoyo, in the middle of the block facing McDowell.

There is a sign at the corner of the building across the street at the NE Corner of 7th and McDowell that says "new corporate headquarters of Generated Materials Recovery"

It appears as if their corporate headquarters is currently at 2700 N. 3rd St.

http://www.generated.net/pr/06102011.html

Oasis on Grand
 

I took this picture today when I was stopped at the light. The building really does not look good from 15th Avenue. I hope some landscaping is put in.

http://i51.tinypic.com/5poind.jpg

Phoenix Reducing Parking Meter Hours
 

This is Awesome News! Their current hours are ridiculous only made worse by the fact that there's no way to pay with a credit card.

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PHXBeat/150278

Hey permit watchers, is something going on at 331 E Portland St, the old Black Theater/Speilberg synagogue? The building has been swarmed with workers the last few days.

I looked for it and found this: (I didn't know there was going to be some new townhomes in that area... or am I missing something? I searched for SPG studios inc and "evergreen moreland street townhomes" and found nothing)

05-1110 EVERGREEN MORELAND STREET TOWNHOMES

Issue Date 9/30/11 Expires 9/29/13

EFFECTIVE CODES: ICC/ANSI A117.1-2003

TYPE OF BUSINESS: SINGLE FAMILY HOMES
LOG #: LPRN 1101668
PROJECT #: 05-1110

DESCRIPTION OF WORK: 20 UNITS-MEDIUM DENSITY RESIDENTIAL INFILL ON EXISTING DEVELOPED SITE. UNITS CONSISTS OF INDIVIDUAL 4-STORY SINGLE FAMILY HOMES ON PRIVATELY OWNED SEPARATE LOT (FEE SIMPLE). UPDATE PLANS TO CURRENT CODE. SEE CMOD 070129 A COVENANT AND AGREEMENT TO HOLD ALL LOTS AS ONE PARCEL. CONSTRUCTION. EACH UNIT IS STRUCTURALLY INDEPENDENT AND SEPARATED BY 1-HOUR WALL WITH PARAPET. R-3 OCCUPANCY; TYPE V-B. PLAN __. GROSS AREA _______ S.F.

SITE WORK FOR BUILDING(S): SINGLE FAMILY HOMES (MATCHING BUILDING PERMIT NAMES)
---------------------------------

WORK MAY INCLUDE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS - OUTSIDE THE BUILDING - PER THE LATEST APPROVED SITE PLAN:

A.D.A. RAMPS, PARKING AND ROUTE(S) DELINEATION(S) AND SLOPE(S), AND A.D.A. SIGNAGE
EXTERIOR SITE LIGHTING ON BUILDING OR POLES, FALL PROTECTION (HANDRAILS ETC.), FIRE LANE(S)
PARKING SPACES, SIZE, COUNT, LOCATION AND PARKING LOT STRIPING
BUILDING ELEVATIONS, COLOR/TEXTURE, ADDRESS SIGN, SCREENING OF ROOF TOP EQUIPMENT,
LANDSCAPING, IRRIGATION SYSTEM, SCREEN WALLS AND SITE WALLS, LOCATION, SIZE, COLOR/TEXTURE
TRASH ENCLOSURES (GATES), BACK FLOW PREVENTION DEVICE SCREENING,
PRIVATE FIRE HYDRANT(S), LOCATION(S) AND REQUIRED PAINT, ON SITE PAVING/CONCRETE OR SURFACE TREATMENTS,
UTILITY ADJUSTMENTS ETC.

They have all sort of permits under the project number 05-1110.

Plug the number on the left side of this page and it will pull up a bunch of stuff. Looks like it's been an ongoing thing dating back to 2005 and they are finally making it happen.

http://phoenix.gov/haht-bin/hsrun/pa.../HS_projSearch

Was this the condo project that was slated to needlessly tear down the old 333 W Portland Theater? If so, I sure hope if they're bringing it back they've revised those plans. That old Synagogue/Theater could be a really cool re-habbed MCM structure and great theater space for the arts district, I hope we can avoid lowest common denominator planning that seeks to tear everything down and start anew.

E: Also the "Evergreen Moreland St" name makes no sense, as Moreland St is the next block North. Didn't these "Portland 2" condos once have future phases planned on other lots around Evans Churchill?

http://www.weknowurban.com/Phoenix/Portland-2/


I was always sort of fond of the odd crayola colors and forms, it was something different at least.

Yeah, looks extensive but possibly ready for construction.

But have you seen a site plan or any plans/pictures of the project? I can't find anything.

EDIT:

It looks like there is a piece of land that has recently been paved with some interior driveways. I've never noticed this before, so this must be the project location and it looks to be moving forward.

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...untitled-3.jpg

05-1110 is for a *completely* different project for that vacant lot between 5th and 7th St on Moreland. I assume it will be like that 4 story townhouse thing on the north side of Portland.

I can't find anything relevant in the permits for address searches on the 300 block of E Portland, however.

/\Yeah, that's what I think we're talking about (can't find anything related to the synagogue).... the project called Evergreen Moreland St townhomes. They mention 20 single-family 4-story townhomes, which look like they could fit on that lot on Moreland St in and around the driveways. Those colorful buildings on the north side Portland are multi-family condos, but I guess the two projects may look similar.

If there are no permits, I'm guessing the property has been foreclosed and the bank is cleaning/securing the property.

Math majors might notice the original description of the projects says 25 homes. They completed 5 before bubble bursting. The units are technically single family homes - they have deeded land, and there is an air gap between the structures (not visible on finished product). So I would expect 20 more similar units.

Thanks, sounds like we have our answer then :) I haven't really been over there, so I didn't know only 5 had been completed. Lets hope they'll rent them out as Apartments while the economy builds back up and then they can think about flipping them to Condos. Im so annoyed with the bit of good infill (like the stuff over in Garfield) that was built during the boom and is now sitting empty b/c its Condos and not Apartments.

American Express awards $250K for Phoenix projects
 

I made the effort to walk across the street and saw a new roof. And my finger.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-y...4/IMG_0073.JPG

The Pane Bianco expansion looks nice!

http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/...s-phoenix.html

They actually do carryout on the pizza but unfortunately they will not take phone orders.

Chipotle at 7th Ave and McDowell is open. I stopped in on my way back from class but the line was too long. Grabbed a carryout menu.

In this week's Dec. 9th Phoenix Business Journal, there is an article about a developer trying to get approval for a 5 story apartment project on the east side of 12th Street between Washington and Jefferson. The project's name is Blue on 12th Street, and consists of one story of parking and retail topped by four stories of apartments. His proposal is being fought by Calvin C. Goode, who apparently prefers dirt lots and junk to anything new like this. Goode told the PBJ that this project would "alter the texture of the neighborhood."

The renderings included look pretty blase, white and gray C-shaped buildings with smaller windows and lots of EIFS.

This developer has two other options for the NW corner of 11th and Washington, and the SW corner of 9th and Jefferson.

--don

You know ... I sometimes understand some NIMBY complaints. The original project posted some weeks ago was kinda big for that lot and a density that might work closer to the downtown/midtown core area instead of yet another node of never-fully-realized quasi-density.

But five stories--in a struggling neighborhood, no less, poses a problem? Goode is being a numbskull of the lowest order by opposing something not only compatible but would bring new residents and investment. I can't freaking believe he would bite off his nose to spite his face like that.

Images for the article featuring a shot of the design with the developer and outlines for the other lots are available here:

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/p...=image_gallery

Perhaps he has knowlege we don't regarding the developer's past projects, background, promises not kept, etc. Just because someone opposes a project, doesn't mean they are ill-informed. As you state, the renderings look blase. Maybe he's waiting for a better proposal.

Well, when a better proposal comes along there will still be plenty of dirt lots to build it on.

Also, did people notice the thing about GROUND FLOOR retail? This is exactly the sort of project that people have in mind when they say transit oriented development; makes it better in my book than a lot of more "impressive" projects with no street level interaction.

Silly question. I can't tell. Which way does the roof tilt? It looks like it is on a slant showing its air conditioning units to the street or back neighbors? Optical illusion or just me thinking wrong.

Calvin Goode is a moron, most things he opposes should be almost immediately supported.

I had occasion to speak at City Council several times when he was a Councilman. He appeared to be napping on at least a couple of those occasions.

http://cdn.globest.com/media/newspic...77mayoblvd.jpg

Ground to Break on $182M Mayo Clinic Proton Beam Facility
By Amy Wolff Sorter

PHOENIX-The Mayo Clinic is ready to launch construction on its $182 million proton beam therapy facility. Groundbreaking is taking place today on the project, with completion slated for 2016.

Jim McVeigh with Mayo Clinic’s Division of Public Affairs tells GlobeSt.com that the facility at 5777 E. Mayo Blvd. will be open to patients in 2017. Concurrently with the Phoenix construction, Mayo is building a similar proton beam therapy facility at its home campus in Rochester, MN.

“We’ve been looking at proton beam therapy for the past seven years for our three sites,” says McVeigh, adding that the third Mayo site is in Jacksonville, FL. “The Jacksonville community already has a proton beam therapy center, but the southwest and upper Midwest don’t.” The Phoenix facility will be adjacent to Mayo’s Arizona hospital on what McVeigh calls “wide, open desert” rather than near the Scottsdale clinic. McVeigh adds that the proton beam therapy facility will serve the entire southwest.

The Rochester facility is expected to open its doors in mid-2015, with all treatment rooms fully operational at both campuses by 2017. Mayo Clinic estimates that approximately 137,000 cancer patients a year could benefit from this treatment; the current capacity is 10,000 per year. Once the clinics are operational, it’s estimated they could treat up to 2,400 patients per year; 1,200 patients at each site.

Read more at: http://www.globest.com/news/12_242/p...t/-316509.html

SE Corner of McDowell and 7th Ave
 

Has anyone peeked into the window near the 5 guys sign? It's a long corridor with brick columns, wood trusses, and exposed brick walls. I'm hoping that they keep the character of this area to make up for the facade.

I ate at the Chipotle last night. Aside from keeping the rafters and wood ceiling there wasn't a lot of historic character preserved. Overall it was nice however.