Sweet, nothing says "big city" to me like a good, classy place to go see and listen jazz players perform.

Apartments at Steele Park sell for $36 mil
1 commentby J. Craig Anderson - Apr. 13, 2012 11:46 AM
The Republic | azcentral.com
.

Apartments at Steele Park, a 399-unit multi-family rental property at 411 E. Indian School Road, in Phoenix, has been sold for about $36 million, a broker involved in the deal said Friday.

The buyer was an entity formed by Weidner Investment Services, of Kirkland, Wash. Weidner has purchased about 7,500 apartment units in metro Phoenix since 2010.

The Seller was DMARC 2006-CD2 Indian School LLC, an entity controlled by Florida-based LNR Partners.

David Fogler and Steven Nicoluzakis of Cassidy Turley BRE Commercial's Multi-Family Service Group represented the seller in the transaction.



Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/business/re...#ixzz1s2twXLZC

Alta Phoenix Lofts sell for $59.5 million
by John McLean - Apr. 12, 2012 07:25 AM
Arizona Business Gazette | azcentral.com .
Wood Partners of Atlanta sold Alta Phoenix Lofts at 600 N. Fourth St. in downtown Phoenix to Weidner Investment Services of Kirkland, Wash., for $59.5 million. Tyler Anderson, Sean Cunningham and Asher Gunter of CBRE in Phoenix represented the seller, and the buyer was self-represented in the sale of this 332-unit luxury high-rise apartment community. Built in 2009, Alta Phoenix Lofts is an upscale, urban community offering unique loft-style living and modern amenities. The eight-story property has a resort-style swimming pool, private clubhouse, cybercafe, 24-hour fitness center, yoga and meditation studio, media lounge and ground-level retail along Fillmore and Third streets. The community was 93 percent occupied at the time of sale.

^ At $180k a unit. Damn. Double what their other property went for.

That being said, it's unfortunate so many projects here are built to be sold.

Wow...Unreal. They sold it, huh? So much change.

Hey! You can't used inappropriate language on the message board. You better say sorry to him. This is not acceptable for your behavior.

Joking I assume?

Yes.

NE Corner of 7th and McDowell
 

NY PD

http://i44.tinypic.com/2mcernp.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/1zbffkj.jpg

The Habit Burger

http://i40.tinypic.com/b6zuo6.jpg

http://i43.tinypic.com/mhewzc.jpg

Sign

http://i42.tinypic.com/5zfzox.jpg

This is cool but wish it was opening closer to downtown like say the old Circles building.

Changing Hands Bookstore may open Central Phoenix location

Tempe's Changing Hands Bookstore    may be opening a second location at the site of the former Beef Eaters restaurant at Camelback Road and Third Avenue in Phoenix.

The bookstore is the Phoenix market's best known independent bookstore, known for hosting celebrity biographers and acclaimed authors on their book tours.

Changing Hands co-owner and general manager Cindy Dach said the Tempe bookseller is considering acquiring the former Beef Eaters building alongside an investor like Venue Projects in Phoenix. The long-time Valley restaurant closed in 2006.

Dach said Changing Hands would either purchase the space with Venue Partners, or lease the space from the group once the purchase is complete.

The new Changing Hands Bookstore location also could include a restaurant concept, she said.

The Phoenix New Times    first reported this story last week.

The property is near Central Avenue and the Metro light rail system. It is owned by a California landlord and has been up for sale since last year

The seller's broker, Jared Lively, a senior associate with Rein & Grossoehme Commercial Real Estate in Scottsdale, declined to comment on the possible sale.

Venue projects also could not be immediately reached for comment.

Copyright © 2012 American City Business Journals. All rights reserved.

^Its a good fit in Uptown, hopefully it'll make a nice anchor for a lot of the boutiques around there. Downtown does need a bookstore, Circles would be a good spot, as would the Canvas building on Roosevelt...lets keep our fingers crossed.

Regarding McDowell/7th Ave stuff, I imagine that now that I live right around the corner from there Ill be going to that corner a lot. Not sure Im excited about "Habit Burger" with a 5 Guys right across the street...I would've preferred some more variety. Seems like we're still waiting for those local/unique types of places that were promised...

I've always thought that they should turn BeefEaters into a gay bar and keep the same name. I hope that they keep the BeefEater signs. I'm excited about a bookstore though.. I only live a block away from there.

Lmfao!!!!!

Interesting news coming from Garfield:

At this weeks Garfield Organization Revitalization & Economic Development committee meeting will be a presentation about a new development at 7th Street & Roosevelt. This is a LARGE development proposal that will encompass both the Llantera Shop, Circle K, the bus station, Tacos de Jurez and the strip of shops on Portland. It's a large development that will drastically change Garfield neighborhood.

To find out more AND to have some input on that development you'll need to attend this meeting.

Garfield Organization
Revitalization & Economic Development committee
Tuesday, April 24, 5:30pm
At the Youth at Risk facility
1001 E Pierce St (SE corner Pierce & 10th Streets)

LARGE!!!!? I hope in all aspects~!

Interesting... Weird the development bridges Roosevelt because the llantera shop is on the southside, everything else is on the north. The warehouse of that llantera shop is a historic brick building hiding behind a giant corrugated metal skin. Hopefully whatever happens they save and renovate that building.

thought i'd share this with the forum. this image was posted on Motley Design Group's Facebook Page. The picture shows a possibility for the building at the southeastern corner of Roosevelt and Central. Bits of other information can be found in the comments.

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...25027926_o.jpg

^I don't really understand what's going on in that rendering. Big parking lot, random old timey gas pumps....odd.

That building definitely has a lot of potential, but a parking lot would be pretty lame. There's plenty of parking nearby. I'd rather see a large patio for a restaurant facing Roosevelt. Or if whatever eventually goes into that building has a larger footprint they could extend the building closer to Roosevelt with some kind of boxy modern/glass addition.

Totally agreed Hoover, however I've been waiting for someone to do something with that building fir so long.... So at this point beggars can't be choosers.

but its right off of a transit station. how is a parking lot not a good idea?

kidding of course.

Parking in that area is non existent so I'm sure in order to lease the space they'll need to offer a lot to businesses.

There's loads of parking in that area. Not by suburban Phoenix standards, but compared to urban areas, its got tons and tons. Its directly across from a major transit station too. There's street parking on Garfield and 1st St, there's another surface lot to the South of the building, there's a parking garage just to the NE, there's tons of street parking around Roosevelt Square, there's a garage there too, etc, etc.

In the urban core we need to be more creative about shared parking and time sharing spaces. Some businesses need it during the day, others at night, but there's no reason every building needs its own sea of surface asphalt that sits predominately empty all day.

Also to note: people park fairly far from their destination every day when they go to places like a Mall or Power Center. But because those places are well lit and well landscaped, it seems safe and OK. If you have to walk past two dirt lots downtown to get to your destination, even if its a shorter walk than to your car at PV Mall, it feels much less pleasant.

^^^^^^^^^^ Couldn't agree more, Hoover.

That said, the problem is in the city code and zoning ordinance. In most cases it doesn't matter if there is a mega-mall across the street with more parking than the property owner could ever fill.

I've seen this become an issue all over the Valley time and time again. In Tempe, both the Cornish Pasty Co and Cartel Coffee had expansion plans delayed earlier this year because their new expansions required more parking in shared lots that were already "full".

Restaurants and other businesses have been similarly halted along the Central Avenue/LRT corridor.

Fact is, Phoenix-metro municipal codes right now MUST include the car and are usually written to plan for the maximum anticipated volume (in retail terms, the night before Christmas).

That's a whole half mile from the intersection we are discussing!

edit: I'm the dumbass, I'm still stuck on teh 7th and roosevelt development. Agreed, central and garfield does not need a surface parking lot.

It appears Circle K plans to buy the tire shop and build a bigger Circle K similar to their store on 7th and Buckeye...large store and pumps for 20 vehicles to fuel up.

awesome.

That's going to DRASTICALLY change the neighborhood?

Did anyone actually attend the meeting? This seems more like some cruel joke, I'm having a hard time believing it.

Luckily the Urban Form Code changes this, at least for Downtown. Hopefully sometime soon Midtown and Uptown will have form based codes implemented and have parking in that area reduced...looking at Central PHX on Google Satellite view is depressing, so much parking everywhere.

Yeah, as Phxguy said, that seems like a severely cruel joke. No way are 20 pumps needed in that location, but aside from that, no way will the City (nor the neighborhood) allow that tireshop (ie, the brick building underneath) be torn down for a giant gas station. That is in no way the direction the city is going for downtown... at least I really really hope not.

Why would a Circle K encompass the llantera shop? That's on the south side of Roosevelt.

The circle k there does have a serious issue with space and I could see them wanting to make the referenced project happen.

Where does it say that Circle-K plans on tearing down the brick building?

Yeah, none of this makes sense. This development is supposed to go from Portland to Garfield (where the tire shop is)? There has to be more than just a Circle K. I'm going to withhold my opinion until more (reliable) details come out.

Just an assumption.

Circle K
 

I attended the meeting and I'm not a fan of the idea either...I was hoping for a much better announcement; though I agree that the current location is pretty inaccessible and cramped. Circle K has no plans of saving the existing structures. They would be razed and a new gas station would take its place. Concerns were voiced regarding this at the meeting but Circle K reps said that the existing structures just didn't fit into their proposed site plan and wouldn't make the site very accessible for automobile traffic. Residents also voiced concerns over pedestrian, bike access, shade, moving the large power poll on the SE corner of the intersection and possibly moving the building closer to the street. Other than that, Garfield residents seemed somewhat supportive.

Circle K still holds a long term controlling lease at their current location and will remove the gas pumps and canopy and sublet the building.

As far as the other developments regarding Tacos de Juarez and the bus station, the developer who worked on the 7th Ave/McDowell retail spots was there proposing something similar but everything is still in infancy. He didn't really talk much about it other than that he wants to create something similar to what they did at that intersection.

So then what you're saying is that Circle K is going to raze the southeast corner where the tire shop is at and build a whole new larger store. Close the existing store, pull the gas pumps and sublet the shell to become some mini mart type store with gaudy Budweiser posters in the windows? And the residents were okay with this? WTF.

You're going on an assumption here that Circle K would lease the space to another mini mart?

G*d Damn!t, just what the city needs, further destruction for a completely shitty development (a gas station - really!?). So what should be a cool intersection heading into downtown (7th Street/Roosevelt) will basically have gas stations on 3 corners of the intersection. And everyone wonders why Phoenix gets ragged on constantly?

I'm telling you the exisiting structures look like shit due to the tire shop and the hideous facade skin, but there is a sweet brick building underneath it. Does anyone out there realize this? Or are they just thinking a worthless tire shop is going away? They could be rehabbed into retail/art spaces just like those other two historic buildings just to the south were rehabbed.

Someone, maybe you bwaynoh, needs to bring this to someone's attention and get the neighborhood against this project.

Do you know the person/planner at the City that I could contact about it?

EDIT: In case anyone isn't sure what I'm talking about. From the aerial you can see the huge old structures:

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i265/phxrep/r3.jpg

From the side when you are driving on 7th St behind the sh!tty facade and billboard you can barely make out some of the sides of the building and its brick. It actually looks like it could be two pretty cool structures with nice prominent fronts, I'm sure they have some cool old trusses, maybe an old chimney, etc.:

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i265/phxrep/r1.jpg

It could be rehabbed to look like the two buildings just to the south. These are awesome. But I guess the neighborhood would rather have gas pumps and cigarette carton signs.

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i265/phxrep/r2.jpg

It is so irritating. What a fucking horrible downtown we have and we are creating.

The Roosevelt Row and Evans Churchill people need to get mobilized on this issue. I'm pretty sure they will not be okay with this. Does anyone have contacts with these organizations so this can be brought to their attention?

H M Investments (Henry McKinney owner) owns the land according to the Maricopa County Assessor's web. A google search found no website, but a potential phone number: (602) 272-9579.

Someone should call and tell him not to sell to Circle K, or not let Circle K lease his property and alter it, or whatever is happening. (Not that it would do any good I guess.)

Yeah, I'd hope so. The sorry state of Evans Churchill is because of things like this. If Roosevelt Row ever expects to expand, they'd better be against something like this, or else that whole area will just stagnante or likely decline.

Hot damn, what is wrong with the owner of Circle K? I'm sure there has to be many people in the Garfield and Roosevelt Row districts that are mighty angry. Hell I'm in Mesa, and I'm pissed. There has to be a way to avoiding this, there has to. Downtown's weren't meant for the car, they were built for people and bikes so what's expanding a gas station going to do? If downtown and the surronding neighborhoods continue with achieving the urbanism (Building multi-story apartments, shops, local buisnesses, and supporting pedestrians and bikes) at this current rate, the gas station will be nearly useless within several years. This really irks me. Revolt anyone?

Guys, this really isn't that big of a deal.

Honestly, that Circle K is so difficult to get in and out of the way it sits that I can't even go there, and it'd be very convenient for me to get gas at the new one. There is currently a GARBAGE piece of shit business on the SEC, that llantera. I'd wholly welcome a shiny new Circle K. It's basically freeway frontage... if it were 9th street or 5th street, then yeah, I think it should be dense residental or something, but c'mon guys, it's 7th street and I-10 basically, I see no issue with this, especially since there are already two gas stations on that corner now. It's not like turning that corner into a historic building will make that corner something awesome.

/\ sounds sarcastic. It has to be sarcasm. The llantera sucks, but that's a given... Doesn't mean the building sucks. The old folks home at the westward ho sucks too... Tear it down for something better?

Well, Mr. Vicelord should never have to be troubled to make a left turn for any reason, especially gas. I'm satisfied. Tear 'em down! :)

nothing to do with left turns. You can't get into that parking lot during the day, it's a complete clusterfuck. I'd rather have the CK than the llantara, and at that particular location, it's not really a high denisity residential corridor.

How does that building not suck? It's completely ruined inside. I've been in there, it's beyond rehabbing.

Youre a historic preservation specialist now? To defend all of this is insane.

Dude, they've ripped the building to shreds inside. The only thing historic might be the facade which they've covered with aluminum.

Go in there and look.

The building thats there now is vastly better for an urban area than a huge Circle K like the one thats up at Indian School/10th St.

I just feel like you always defend shitty developments, its frustrating. We can't just let this crap happen anymore, we have to demand excellence.

On a "what do we do about this?!" note...I posted a link to this page on the Roosevelt Row CDC Facebook page and Evans Churchill Facebook page, hopefully it'll get their attention.

It's not about defending shitty developments, it's about not crying over spilt milk. It's 7th street and Roosevelt, it's a major throughway. There is decades worth of vacant land nearer to Central and nearer to downtown to develop dense housing.

I'd rather they build some 5 story apartment building with zero setback and ground floor retail, obviously, but It's not that big of a deal that it isn't happening at this specific location.

On that note, as a resident of the general neighborhood in question, I've been wishing they would expand that Circle K for years. It could be worse, they could be taking the empty lot off of Roosevelt and using the entire area from 7th to 9th. ;)

Here is a shot of the corner of LaSalle and Ontario in downtown Chicago. LaSalle is much like 7th Street, it's a major road that cuts through the neighborhoods to get downtown. This Citgo station is gigantic, and I've filled up there many times. Across the street from it is a ginormous McDonald's. Ontario is a street that is more on the residential side, kind of like Roosevelt. The two interesctions are very similar. Looking in the background, Chicago has still managed to build a huge downtown, despite a corner so close to the city being surface parking and gas stations. If you all are such visionaries, you might realize that Phoenix still has PLENTY of room to build high rises and density, while still leaving major traffic corridors to the motorist related businesses.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d6...ntitled-14.png

^You're using straw man arguments though. You're saying people are clamoring for apartments with zero setbacks, high rises, density, etc. No one has really been saying that. We're saying, use the older buildings, refurbish them as much as possible. They could potentially have nice bones, but we won't know for sure if they're demolished.

I understand thats it not the kind of corner thats ever going to have the best urban fabric, but I'm pretty certain there are more than enough gas fillup stations in and around Downtown and Central PHX. What there aren't more than enough of are old brick buildings with unique things in them.