I'm quite sure that I am more impressed than most over what Phoenix has accomplished over the last decade.

Denver had its office boom in the early 80's and despite constant efforts to make Denver more than a 9-5 downtown it generally accomplished little. In fact it was even worse when boom
turned to bust and a lot of the oil & gas companies moved out and went back to Houston or to Calgary.

For Denver, Coors Field was the catalyst that brought some excitement and change to downtown. Then add light rail and a new convention center and hotel.... Denver got on a continuous roll.

Visualize the area in downtown Phoenix that is south of the tracks. In Denver it was to the north and is now becoming the new transit hub.
You can see a drive-thru rendering here: http://www.unionstationdenver.com/

With apartment development now the next wave (all over the country) there are several positioning to break ground next year in this new "neighborhood."
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=8775
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=8852
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=9207

While Coors Field opened in 1995, it has only been the last half-dozen years that have brought development to the Ballpark Neighborhood.
This project recently broke ground: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=8020
It's also worth noting that Zocalo's recent project just sold for over an incredible $308,000 per unit and $340 per square foot.
It looks like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZjjSq4b_E8

All that is happening in an area just like south of the tracks Phoenix. It took three decades of effort.

Phoenix having gotten this far will start "growing up" a lot faster sooner than you think.... in hindsight.

That's great news - why can't the Summit @ Copper Square get it done?

I know of two people who work with me across Lexington at the Department of Veterans Affairs that bought a place there. We also get "free" transit passes if we drive to work less than 2 or 3 times a month (you have to swipe your VA ID to get into the employee lot). Pretty cool situation, and a good career.

Summit has some dirt cheap places now! I think they'll sell...I'd love to live there.

Northeast Corner of 7th Ave and McDowell
 

I walked through the alley behind the building yesterday and took this pic. Progress is being made. It looks like there will be parking behind the buildings accessible from the alley. That renews my hope that the entire east lot doesn't get turned into a surface parking lot.

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

That's nice and all, but the SEC looks fucking craptacular. Suburban strip mall facade FTL.

I don't disagree with you there. At least it is street facing and pedestrian friendly/doesn't have a huge parking lot in front.

You do know that there was always parking back there, right? When My Florist was busy, there would be cars in the side (east) lot, cars in front next to McDowell, cars behind, and even some overflow in the lot north of the dry cleaners facing 7th Ave. If the new businesses generate more customers than My Florist did, they are definitely going to need some additional parking to the east, particularly if the building is extended into what used to be the east lot.

The lot on the east side looks like something is going to happen. I just have that feeling. Wishful thinking says more retail space, rational thinking says an acre of parking lot.

Well, what does the site's permitting say? Isn't that the sure fire way to figure out what's going to happen on a site?

Phoenix Irish center library begins taking shape
 

Arizona Republic

Does the Arizona Republic even own a camera? The article is great but why not show pictures of the progress (aside from the one of the architect looking through scaffolding)?

TAR are too cheap to a) hire a competent photographer and then b) post said photos in relation to an article, in a logical fashion.

--don

Really, insufficient parking? How can they say on one hand there's too little car flow on the street and in the next breath say they have too many cars and no where for them to park? I am generally an optimist and like to think any area can turn itself around, but this strip doesn't have much going for it. If they were wise they'd look to narrow the unnecessarily wide road by a huge amount, adding lots more landscaping, trails, etc.

The street is 3 lanes one way, 2 going the other plus a turn lane! Its crazy how oversized that thing is. They probably out to pair it down to at most 2 lanes each way, with no turn lane. A lot of the road already has large landscaped areas abutting the single family homes, but the landscaping is horrible. If they could create a unique desert greenbelt that would connect to the wash near Acoma, some of the nearby desert/mountain trails maybe they'd have something...but that seems like too big of thinking for that area.

Most of the section is lined with empty or partially empty strip centers that would be better off being torn down and replaced with street fronting retail over the next quarter century. There are also lots of suburban style neighborhoods that have built fortress like walls facing 32nd St, at the very least they need to add murals, foliage or something to liven up those blank walls.

haven't you been to a parking lot lately? People will circle for 5 minutes to save 20 feet of walking. If they have to walk more than 50 feet in to a business, then there clearly isn't enough parking for their cars.

Architects' Own Homes Tour 3 (Nov 11-13).
 

http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/...shometour3.png

Architects' Own Homes Tour 3 is a valley-wide tour of homes that 10 Valley architects have designed for themselves to live in. This full-weekend event includes:

Friday, Nov 11 - Opening reception and panel discussion at Taliesin West

Saturday & Sunday, Nov 12-13 - Self-guided tour of 10 architects' homes throughout the Valley

Sunday, Nov 13 - After-Tour Party at Design Within Reach

To buy tickets for access to all three events ($65 / $50 for students), please visit: www.GnosisLtd.org/projects-events or go to Design Within Reach (Scottsdale).

Thank you. I am helping the nonprofit Gnosis Ltd. get the word out about this fantastic event.

Gnosis Ltd. is a nonprofit organization that helps preserve significant creative works. A portion of the money raised from ticket sales will benefit the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture.

Thinking about the 7th Ave/McDowell renovations and this article I wrote a while back...

It would be nice if each of the corners there had some kind of monument sine noting the adjacent neighborhoods. Four very well establish historic neighborhoods meet at that intersection, which is interesting/unusual in my estimation and that should be noted. If each corner had some kind of vertical monument sign that said "FQ Story", "Willo", "Encanto Palmcroft" and "Roosevelt" I think that would be nice.

Though it is funny that the fanciest neighborhood of the four has the shittiest thing on its corner (a Circle K).

On the topic of neighborhood signage, I know the idea has been proposed at the Story neighborhood meetings to install monument signs at some of the entrances to the neighborhood. The ideas range from shitty hanging metal signs to larger metal sculptures like the ones throughout the neighborhood.

That is an awesome idea, Hoover. Each neighborhood's 'character' could be respesented through the style of the sign. San Diego has these enormous signs for their neighborhoods such as Hillcrest, Balboa Park, etc. I see something not quite that big but it would make a terrific gateway if it was done.

I'm all for it as long as it doesn't look like the shitty and fake insignia at the entrances of all new subdivisions. This isn't "Del Boca Vista Phase II Condo Association" for fuck's sake.

I love San Diego's neighborhood signs as I mention in the article I linked. Obviously something hanging over the street wouldn't work in this situation, since each 'hood sort of meets at the point of the intersection.

I'm thinking something along the following lines*: (dunno how well you can read these images so I'll do captions)

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/962/dsc08662s.jpg

Facing into the intersection I'm imaging something like this. The bottom portion could be weathered Corten metal with cacti, flowers, succulents, etc growing in it. For the vertical/obelisk portion maybe stained concrete. Each neighborhoods name and year of founding would be in large, prominent letters (each 'hood could have a different font or color, etc).

I figured the bottom part should have the City of PHX emblem on it to keep it clear that these are neighborhoods within PHX, not their own municipalities.

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/6247/dsc08665x.jpg

The signs would have to be oriented so that the main portion with the name faced the middle of the intersection.

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/3467/dsc08667a.jpg

The other 3 sides of the square-ish obelisks could have more information.

I'm thinking maybe one side would have a timeline of the neighborhoods history as well as a few paragraphs about the 'hood.

Another side could have a collage of pictures from throughout the neighborhoods history.

The side opposite the main sign (the side facing into the retail) could have a portion for a Map of the neighborhood. It could also have a place for residents to post events, sales, piano lessons, etc. It could also have a section for neighborhood wide events like Home Tours and the like.

*Keep in mind I am not a professional Public Artist, Architect, am mediocre at drawing, etc and I just drew this real quick while sitting on the couch and was too lazy to scan it so I just took a picture. Its just a random idea/jumping off point...but its a thought...

"Take the pen!" "I don't want the pen" "You said you liked the pen--- take it!" "Jerry, Take the pen!" :)

too complicated to read from a drive by.

one word "Willo" (or two in the case of Encanto Palmcroft and FQ Story) in 10-12 foot high letters and the year the neighborhood was established is too complicated to read from a drive by?

You're talking about neighborhood history, cactus gardens, and things you would generally find in the middle of a park, not roadside.

I agree with VLJ. The unique neighborhood signs should cross over the street, so it is nearly impossible not to know what area you have just entered.

I think it's pretty obvious the intention is for motorists to see the "obelisks" on each corner and just the name of the 'hood, not read everything on the obelisk... then for the patrons/pedestrians on each corner to be the ones to read the history, see the information, and know what neighborhoods they are adjacent too.

A structure over the road wouldn't be able to explain anything correctly because McDowell and 7th Avenue split through each neighborhood. Each structure would have to have all four names of the neighborhoods on it. For example, if there was an arch from the Pei Wei over to the Circle K... heading west as you see the arch, on the left side of the arch would read FQ Story on the right side would read Encanto Palmcroft, then heading east as you see the arch on the left side would read Willo and on the right side would read Roosevelt. Way too confusing.

Hoover, maybe your "obelisks" could be in a crescent shape to sort of "frame" the neighborhood... with the ends of the crescent extending on a plane abstractly outlining the boundaries of each neighborhood. On the rounded side facing the street would be the large letters of the neighborhood's name. On the inner crescent side you could have all the info you mentioned before.

EDIT: ^^ Yes thanks, you got what I was going for. Yah I'm not married to what I drew, anything sort of vertical and on each corner would work I think. I'm all for them being unique and representing the neighborhoods as much as possible. If that meant each 'hood used different materials, colors, etc. they thought represented them, that would be great. Where possible it would be great to plant a few character trees near them as well that represent the neighborhood (this would be especially easy to do for the FQ Story sign which I imagine would sit on that little grass patch on the corner).


Re-read and look at what I posted please :)

The big part that would say the neighborhood name would face into the intersection so motorists could see it. The more detailed level of intricacy would be on the other sides, facing pedestrians and be for them to enjoy while waiting to cross, going in and out of stores, etc.

Normally I'd agree, but that doesn't work in this application.

Are you going to put a "Welcome to Willo" sign above 7th Ave for those heading Northbound? Because thats not accurate. 7th Ave is the border between Encanto Palmcroft and Willo, so it doesn't work.

All 4 neighborhoods meet at a point at 7th Ave/McDowell, so you have to have some kind of signage that works with that geography, its like the 4 corners area.

What you're talking about (and again, I'm all for in other places) would work great for say the Coronado Neighborhood. I'd love a sign that arches across Oak Street at 7th St as you enter that neighborhood. Likewise it could work going down McDowell over in the "Miracle Mile". Similar things could be done as one enters Midtown and Uptown (once those borders are firmly and officially defined), etc.

Yeah that intersection doesn't make any sense for overhead signs because like you said, many neighborhoods merge in the area. Perhaps, the city should name the intersection after a long time influential local. ie: 7th Ave/McDowell = "_____" Square.

I was just saying in general, neighborhood identity signs would work better if they hung over the roadway versus a monument style on the side of the road.

The problem is, Phoenix doesn't really have too many main street type pedestrian areas where an overhead sign would make sense.

The controversial Willo "streetscape" project treats 3rd Ave. from the south and 5th Ave. from the north as the gateways into Willo. There used to be a PDF of what was proposed posted on the Willo website but it doesn't seem to be there any more. I think there was some form of signage involved.

Anyone know what this 4 floor (and higher?) building at 3rd Street and McDowell is?

http://i40.tinypic.com/dwz0ah.jpg

It's a prison; a.k.a. a modern Arizona school building. :jester: Not sure if it is a charter or private school though.

Arizona School for the Arts, a charter school.

Thanks.

Apparently it will look like this:

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

It certainly isn't the prettiest building I've ever seen.

http://azremagazine.com/new-market/e...l-for-the-arts

It should be noted that ASA is a performing arts school, not a visual arts school.

Maybe it should be a school for the blind :jester:

Hoover... I read the article and thoroughly enjoyed it (and the comments).

Haha hilarious. I see you've had your humor "on." Humor is good. Contrasts nicely with the Vicelord John. :D

As for neighborhood signage, I'm mixed. Not without merit but sounds like a nightmare to get folks to agree on what, how and where. Certainly worth further thought.

Cities and History
 

So I've been familiar with both places on some level since the 1070's. Lived near Camelback and 7th Street for a period in the mid-eighties. I liken them to a race between
the tortoise and the hare to some degree. Both have had boom/bust periods. But when Phoenix gets it mojo going it's like a space rocket.

I can recall when there was an anti (City of) Denver mood: White flight, growing suburbanism, shiny new suburban office parks, freeways to new developments waay out there.
The anti-Denver movement included a state law that (effectively) prevented Denver from further annexation. It was then landlocked, isolated and a bit forlorn.
(The one exception being to build the new Denver International Airport)

Phoenix, of course, has been "lavished" by sprawl.

The attitude towards Denver softened in the late 80's into the 90's. The siting of Coors Field was huge. Then the city was enhanced by the decision to build a new Bronco stadium at its current site instead of
going outside the city. Finally, from a sports angle, a Wal-Mart descendant's hubby sited and built the new Pepsi Center downtown on his dime (which was a good business decision).

So far as its urban core Phoenix is a decade or two behind Denver. By way of keeping pace, though, Phoenix does now have light rail, its own new/expanded convention center and hotel as well
as some other neat stuff. Just as important, I sense Phoenix has caught "the bug," a progressive urbanism bug. :D

Cities and Their Neighborhoods
 

Phoenix has a lot of great neighborhoods and over the last decade or so, there has been a resurgence in living "in the city" and a rediscovery of it historical areas. I think an enhanced clarity
of its different neighborhoods will become more noticeable as the downtown core continues to build out and with continued appreciation for city living.

I enthusiastically agree with phxSUNSfan that the city needs to do much much more with street improvements and enhancements both in the downtown and in the surrounding neighborhoods.


Denver has always been know by its neighborhoods, except I'm not sure people much cared until all the revitalization occurred. One rather large neighborhood that is well known is called Highlands.
Recently they've added the moniker LoHi for the lower part. A long proud immigrant history from Italians and Irish to Hispanics. It also had many of Denver's Grande Dames of historic houses
along with bungalows, Tudors, Denver Squares and cottages. The whole neighborhood was itself a mixing bowl.

Gentrification started in the late 1980's in Highlands. The housing crash allowed younger couples (and others) to move into the area. As time went by,
you started getting more renovation. It also led to more density in areas appropriate for that.

After a couple of decades of urban love this area looks much different. Its ongoing but it now looks cleaned up and dressed up.
If you'd like to view just a few pics from a fav. photag of the results....
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=9324

To get a better sense of what phxSUNSfan envisions as it looks in Denver try this one minute video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz2We-hJxO8

Give Phoenix a couple of more decades, I suspect you'll be amazed. I can visualize Vicelord John, combusean and the rest of you clowns sitting around jabbering when someone says:
"I wonder whatever happened to TakeFive... he promised that all this would happen." :D

In defense of my daughter's school, ASA, I kinda like the building.

Found this...
http://azremagazine.com/new-market/m...-cancer-center
My computer won't allow me to paste it directly

Nice find, looks like it's built up to the sidewalk, I like it. :)

http://azremagazine.com/wp-content/u...cer-Center.jpg

A proposal submitted by developer Eric Brown seeks funding for a small apartment complex — perhaps nine to 12 units—at Fifth and Roosevelt streets.

Details are still in flux, but Brown says he envisions each unit costing between $600 to $950 a month in rent — well within reach of the commuters, ASU students and other downtown dwellers who use the light rail.

From this article...
http://azremagazine.com/news/buildin...apitalize-loan

I wonder if that would be where those storage containers sit now on the NEC of 5th and Roosevelt, it's the only place I see empty at that intersection, unless they plan on demolishing a building that is already there.

Cancer Center says 6 stories, but why do I count 7 from the picture?

My son went there too, graduated in 2001.

It would have to be the NE corner where the cargo containers are, since Eric Brown owns that lot. That would be a pretty compact apartment building. However he is a residential developer with a substantial urban track record.

/\ That would be great... northern downtown (really, most of central phoenix) needs these types of small apartment or multifamily buildings, hopefully mixed-use, to be built on the gobs of empty lots we have. Mostly all of the individual empty lots that had their original old houses or small commercial buildings demolished would be prime candidates for these types of developments, probably not the superblocks that the City has accumulated. I would honestly rather see a sea of small, dense, varied multi-family and mixed use buildings throughout downtown and northern downtown, with the odd superblock development or high-rise development thrown in, then an entire downtown of master planned CityScape huge developments (or huge alta-style apartment buildings everywhere).

I'm thinking since downtown Phoenix lost a lot of its historic built environment, we could build a new modern and dense and interesting/varied city.

I imagine our northern downtown could be full of these (below) types of in-fill developments, with their mixed-use ground floor components providing space for more restaurants, bars, galleries, offices, etc. Does anyone know if the Urban Form will help this along?

Roosevelt Street, being one of the hubs of First Friday, seems to be the logical place that the first new development after the recession will be built.

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...d/P1010110.jpg

http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...9/0487dcea.jpg

I'd love to see Phoenix adopt this. Phoenix would have to create main street destinations though, reduce the speed limit, narrow the thoroughfares. Roosevelt area is probably the only area that could build something like this immediately.

Mill Ave, Mesa's Main St., DT Chandler, Old Town Scottsdale and DT Glendale could probably do this too. Mesa's future Fiesta district on Southern Ave would be a good location too.

My daughter started in 5th grade, two years ago. It's good to see ASA grow the way it has been. In addition to the 4 story building mentioned on the last page, they refurbished the older building immediately to the North on McDowell. ASA is also holding the SWC of McDowell and 3rd St. for future development.

We still send them the annual tax credit money and keep up with developments. It was one of the best things that ever happened to our son.

Chipotle Mexican Grill opens 5 stores in Arizona