The MIM????? Oh, it already has an endearing nickname. LOL! It sure got popular fast that people already know it so well that they don't need the actual name. It is our MOMA!!! (Museum Of Modern Art, NYC)

I just wish it were near the PAM. :)

you're right, the Desert Ridge area has filled in like crazy, unfortunately this place is not exactly completely visible from the street as to what it is. It's got nothing on either side of it for at least 1/2 mile. Fail.

Agree with John here. Regardless of its 'cultural significance', it's a dud based on location.

Take a drive out to the Deer Valley Rock Art Museum sometime if you don't believe me. Uber cool building (by Bruder), moderately interesting subject matter, dreadful location with what can only be described as 'poor' attendance. Hey, but there's plenty of parking!

Maybe their target audience is coyotes and rattlesnakes.

I get what you are saying, but how could they have put the Rock Art Museum anywhere else?... The rock art in that area can't exactly be moved downtown, it's on the side of the hills there.

Totally agreed. The Rock Art Museum is where it is based on a need to be there (trails, petroglyphs, etc). This music museum could be anywhere. Why is north suburbia significant? The museum would be a much better draw if it were somewhere else (near an existing arts facility).

It would have been a great grab for any warehouse in the "Jackson St" district. Especially if a House of Blues actually was going to be opening up.

It's not exactly in the middle of nowhere.. it's basically between desert ridge, NE Phx, and Scottsdale, and is a very heavily populated area. I agree tho, from the outside it does look bland and has very little signage to let you know what it is.

Centralizing cultural hot spots clearly has its benefits, but creating destinations around the valley does as well. Great metropolitan areas have smaller nodes of cultural activity throughout, not just at the urban core. I'm not saying I would have put the museum there myself, but I do see a potential upside if it can become part of a larger destination.

I will gladly take the MIM and what it can potentially bring to the valley over the desert lot that was there before (were it indeed a vacant lot - I'm not too familiar with that part of town). Infill of this kind, in my opinion, ranks among the best (it could have been a strip mall).

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_psPbnnw2dhc/S8...usicMuseum.JPG

Oh yeah, looks like there will be thousands of people milling about just looking for something interesting to do... if they're dead veterans!

We already have a couple of "nodes of cultural activity" in the Valley outside of downtown/Central corridor. If they were dead set against downtown, at least place it in Old Town (Galleries and Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art), or near Mill Ave (ASU Art museum and Tempe Center for the Arts). It's like they are trying to fail as hard as possible.

look at that! Almost NONE of that land is allowed to be developed.

Huh? Other than Reach 11 is the rest of that stuff in some sort of preserve?

yup. Everything on both sides of Mayo boulevard between the canal and the freeway is pretty much protected. I used to "live" at 56th and Bell and it boggled my mind how they were protecting that area full of creosote bushes.

Ive never heard of that, the area you're talking about includes the Mayo Hospital and the newish hotel they just opened adjacent to it. Is it preserved by the state, county or city? Like I said I know about Reach 11 but beyond that I thought it was all potentially developable.

I don't really know what the story is. It's a huge swath of land though, and I remember a developer back in 2001 wanting to put homes in there and was unable to for whatever reason. Perhaps it's privately owned and the owner won't sell or maybe it's a preserve. I dunno. I just know that whole area is a wasteland. That parcel on the north side of the 101 between Pinnacle High School and Tatum was the same story for decades as well.

Antique Roadshow Phoenix is on right now if anyone is interested.

mayo clinic
 

Mayo is sitting on 210 acres, it looks like the land to the north and east are owned by the Arizona State Land Department

hopefully the hospital starts to move ahead with the plans that were mentioned last September

http://www.azcentral.com/community/p...o0919grid.html


the area is doing somethings right, apartments on 68th and Mayo Blvd reached 6 floors, not your typical sprawl

What is today known as Cricket Pavilion was first planned to be built between Tatum and 56th Street north of the canal. This was before the existence of either the 101 or Mayo Blvd. NIMBYs went nuts, said loud music would cause rockslides in the McDowells and people from Maryvale would come pee on their lawns. Cost the City Councilman his seat for supporting it.

http://desertridge.com/

has the maps and what's slated to be around it.