Hance Park would work...not only would it be a good view of the city from the top, but people driving on the freeways would definitely see it as well.

I like the Convention Center location because it will be very easy to find and out of town visitors/conventioneers will have something easily accessible within blocks of their hotel/convention site/restaurants/etc.

Phoenix Tower
 

Check out this website on the Phoenix Tower.

http://www.novawestventures.com/phoenix-tower/

It looks like it will be located on the corner S/W parcel of the Arizona Science Center according the the above website.

I really like it. My first thought was it should be in a park. As in: "What could have been" at the patriots square park/cityscape. But in the heritage square area next to the Az science center would be even better... better views of the mountains and downtown and the rest of the city.

The website says it will be "adjacent" to the Science Center but the renderings and the site map show it is actually on the Convention Center grounds (NE Corner of 3rd Street and Jefferson) across from the light rail station.

I like the big thinking, but doesn't that remind anyone of Knoxville's embarrassing "Sunsphere"?:

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/med...-knoxville.jpg

That company looks pretty small potatoes, and doesn't seem to own any of the land they're talking about...so Im not sure how realistic this is.

I much prefer that slender midsized tower by the AZ Center.

Also, why hire a Danish architect based in NYC? Has he ever even visited Phoenix? Me thinks Will Bruder or Eddie Jones could do better if given the chance. Most of our really good public buildings in Phoenix (Burton Barr Library, Phoenix City Council complex, South Mountain Community College performing arts building, etc) are by local guys. The ones that stink and have no relevance to the City, or the surrounding streets (Sandra Day O'Connor Courthouse, Chase Tower, etc) are designed by fancy out of town architects.

Not that being local should be ones only qualification, but it seems to me if I were a millionaire/billionaire it would make more sense to give big super ambitious projects to Jones or Bruder, or at least a crack at them.

E: Also, where's the shade? You really want to be walking around on a shadeless, open air white walkway 5 months out of the year in PHX?

No...the Sunsphere is only 75 ft. tall and gold! This would be 430 ft. tall with much better architectural presentation; especially the illumination aspect at night. About the architects, I agree that a vetting process would work best...but that is assuming there wasn't already one completed. The aim of the project is to create a towering landmark (like the Space Needle) and not an office tower tucked in with existing towers. I like the concept...

Sure its bigger than the Sunsphere, but its the same shape. One could easily confuse its silhouette.

Think of truly great architectural landmarks of this bent, you wouldn't confuse the silhouette of the St Louis Arch or the Eiffel Tower with anything else.

Also, the location, dead in the center of Heritage Square Park seems pretty inappropriate to me.

The Eiffel Tower was for a Worlds Fair, as was the Space Needle. The St Louis Arch is a monument to westward expansion, the CN Tower is a working communications tower they just added the observation stuff too, etc.

How does this tower represent Phoenix? What is it about on a deeper level? If its just that "hey it looks like a golf ball on a tee, and there's lots of golf in Phoenix"...then thats pretty embarrassing.

Doesn't matter either way though, it doesn't in any way look "real".

The sunsphere is 266 ft tall.

The ball is 75 feet... I was way off. I still like the concept. At the end of the day, I doubt anything like this would be built.

As for what it represents to the city...there isn't really a reason such as a World's Fair to create it as it is an attraction: which does take away from a possible "back story". It would be a cool gathering spot and a way to see the city, offering a great view and a place to take in the sunset in downtown. I don't think there really needs to be a reason to create a different architectural element.

The location would be on the Convention Center grounds...although the brochure does mention a "Science and Technology Campus" location which means I am wrong and it would be next to the Arizona Science Center and would make sense given the design elements they are incorporating. This would also give visitors a place to take interesting pictures on their travels. Complete conjecturing here, but perhaps "The Pin" could be opened during New Year's like other structural landmarks before it (e.g. London Eye). The silhouette would be distinguishable from the Sunsphere because of the architectural elements. The tower rising is a round core, not a box, and the spiral staircase would add some complexity to the silhouette. I didn't even know about the Sunsphere until you mentioned it. I don't think many do...

Pedestrian-only streets sound good in theory, but are usually a disaster in reality. For every success like 16th Street in Denver, there are dozens of failures. I predict that if this plan goes forward (extraordinarily unlikely in my view), the only business that will remain standing on First Street will be Matt's Big Breakfast, which has the name recognition and loyal clientele to survive. Others, such as the Turf and Squash Blossom will die.

The goal of urban revitalization should not be to banish the car, but instead to restore the missing balance among cars, pedestrians, bicyclists, and public transit. Unless you have extraordinary levels of density and activity already in place, which First Street does not, the loss of car traffic simply dooms the affected street to obscurity and irrelevance.

From Jeff Speck's recent book "Walkable City":

In all, of the two hundred or so pedestrian malls created in the United States, only about thirty remain. Of those, most are moribund low-rent districts like Main Street in Memphis where, despite the presence of an appealing streetcar line, empty storefronts abound. The exceptions are almost all in college towns like Boulder, Colorado, and Burlington, Vermont, or in resorts like Aspen and Miami Beach.

Perhaps the architect states the raison d'être best:

“Like the monsoons, the haboobs and the mountains of the surrounding Arizonian landscape, the Pin becomes a point of reference and a mechanism to set the landscape in motion through the movement of the spectator. Like the Guggenheim museum of New York offers visitors a unique art experience descending around its central void, the motion at the Pin is turned inside-out allowing visitors to contemplate the surrounding city and landscape of Phoenix. Like a heavenly body hovering above the city the Pin will allow visitors to descend from pole to pole in a dynamic three dimensional experience seemingly suspended in midair. “ Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner, BIG.

I agree with exit2lef about the pedestrian mall plan for 1st Street...too soon and not enough density for Phoenix to go through with it. Although it would be an extension of the park I don't see it working out even with forcing a fake district to sprout out of nowhere. If the street is lined with apartments and condos in the next 10 years it would make more sense.

Besides, the city just spent a lot of money to narrow and improve First Street between Fillmore and McKinley. Better to continue that project (albeit with some better design than on the 2010/2011 work) along the rest of the street than to waste money by tearing everything up all over again.

I agree with you that 1st street is not the a good location for this project. If any street in the Phoenix metro area has the ability to become pedestrian, it is Mill Ave. But beyond that, I also don't think many more could. I do like that people are starting to think about it though. Our leaders are finally starting to act like this is a real city and not just a conglomerate of towns. Not all of their ideas will be good, but at least they are thinking outside of the box.

I would try to rescue the concept of shade structures from this though, that could work even in non-pedestrian-only streets.

Circle K cancels plan for downtown Phoenix store

PHOENIX, AZ - People living in a downtown Phoenix neighborhood are claiming victory after Circle K abandoned its plans for a gas station at a busy intersection.
Circle K wanted to build a 16-pump gas station at the southeast corner of 7th Street and Roosevelt.

Stacey Champion and other neighbors immediately came out opposed to the project.

"We just felt collectively it wasn't the right project for this location," said Champion.

Champion and others in the surrounding community feared the new Circle K would not only bring an increase of traffic to their neighborhood, but crime as well.

Together they let the company and the city know their concerns.

"I think collectively we've come together to be a very strong voice," said Champion.

Circle K apparently heard that voice loud and clear.

Just hours before a vote by the Phoenix City Council Wednesday night, the company withdrew its application for a liquor license.

A spokesperson tells ABC15, Circle K no longer has plans to build at the 7th Street and Roosevelt location.

"I really think it was a business decision for the company to stay where they are at the moment," said Mario Diaz, a government relations consultant for Circle K.

Regardless of the reason, Champion considers it a victory for her and others involved in the grass roots effort.

She hopes it sends a message to other companies considering a similar decision.

"We live downtown, we live in the city because we like things that are unique," said Champion. "We're not fans of big box stores and chains and that sort of thing."

In the end, that sentiment won out. Score one for the little guy.

Read more: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region...#ixzz2FZPb5c00

That Pin observation tower sounds cool but what would that cost, $100 million or more? Ain't no company going to shell out that kind of dough for something that isn't part of some massive mixed-use project. It's not really tall enough to attract people from around the world. Maybe if it were 600 feet tall, but then it would be even more expensive.

--don

There is more validity to the proposed Phoenix Tower:

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/m...&ed=2012-12-20

The architecture firm at least has a proven track record:

Yeah, but the "validity" goes down a notch when the article claims "That would make the tower close to 39 stories and the tallest building in Arizona".

Agreed, however, at least it offered confirmation that this project actually does in fact exist....

This article also says it will be at 6th St and Adams (which would be directly in the Center of Heritage Square).

http://ktar.com/22/1596903/Group-unv...wer-in-Phoenix

They also say Novawest owns this land where they want to put the tower. Which is false, since the City owns all of the Heritage Square block. Don't any reporters/columnists double check their facts before something is published? Not a single article has been correct yet.