There is a similar concept being done in NY and according to the article...

Oh course their hotel will be 68 floors and 753' in height. :(

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/re...-new-york.html

I am not sure by the diagram, but if it is a 250 room hotel, how high might that be? The Palomar is 250 but it takes up 1/2 a block. I get the feeling the Marriott would have a much smaller footprint......so???

We actually went thru all of this in the Luhr's thread...I had forgotten myself but it's all been discussed, even heights and some renderings...

FAA permits from 2008 approved the site for up to 264'.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...=166536&page=5

http://www.acm-architects.com/img/PH...erial%20NE.jpg

http://www.acm-architects.com/img/PH...ERSPECTIVE.jpg

http://www.acm-architects.com/img/PH...erial%20NE.jpg

I love the rendering of the tall, blue modern tower. Not sure why the shorter tower facing Madison is so beige and dull though. It seems like going full tilt with contemporary glass towers would contrast best with the historic buildings.

That's a good question, though those that know have updated this project but in general the best example is at L.A. Live by AEG and according to Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.A._Live

^Interesting. Well it would be nice if one hotel had an entrance off of Jefferson and the other out onto Madison. That would help activate both streets and keep people milling about.

Good call Hoover!

This would be an incredible development on a great block.

Looks like the Suns could be back in action for Christmas. Will be good for downtown and CityScape and make the area busier than it already has become without the NBA games.

The Hansji Hotels project is interesting and hopefully the beige building in the rendering is left out...

Deal for Arizona Opera property up for council vote
 

Link

Something needs to be done on the empty lot at McDowell and Central. I would prefer a high-rise office or condo building or a mixed use mid-rise. Does anyone remember what used to be there? How long has it been a dirt lot?

Referring back to the topic of development in the area around 44th Street and Van Buren/Washington, there's some small work being done on VB near Tovrea Castle. They've added a small parking lot with some pretty nice signage and landscaping. I'll try to snap a picture this week. The building mentioned in the article at 44th and VB is fairly attractive, as well.

It's a shame how disconnected and underdeveloped that area is with quite a few potential destinations/landmarks, though: Phoenix Municipal Stadium, Papago Park, Zoo/Botanical Garden, Tovrea, etc. It's also right off the light rail and very close to downtown Tempe.

It is "underdeveloped" for a variety of reasons. 1) It is close to Sky Harbor and all the accompanying height restrictions, sound issues, etc. 2) Much parkland and parcels that cannot be developed (Pueblo Grande Museum) are within this zone. 3) It is not particularly "close" to either downtown Phoenix or Tempe in terms of continuing the urban core out to 44th St. 4)One corner is also a Transit Center for light rail, the future Sky Train, and buses.

I really wish the Musical Instrument Museum would've gone on that lot. The MIM fronting McDowell with a pair of 300' or so towers facing Central would've been a dream. Plus with a 3rd Museum (the MIM) in the area the name "Midtown Museum District" would've seemed a bit less silly. I've never really understood how PAM & The Heard constitute a "district".

It housed a bland, windowless building that belonged to Mountain Bell, now known as Century Link. It was torn down at some point in the early '90s.

Agreed, but there has still been a decent amount of development there. Lots of mid rise buildings from 5 to 10 stories have been erected in the past 10 years in the area bounded by Washington St., 44th St., Van Buren, and 48th St.

Completely agree. Unfortunately, at the time MIM was being planned and built, that lot was slated for two high-rise condo towers that were never built. That's not to excuse MIM's poor site selection, but more just an explanation of why that corner was probably never available to the museum.

Africa-Israel Group (can't make this shit up) is the owner of the parcel on McDowell and Central. They're a pretty big outfit, so my guess is their holding until the right project comes along.

http://www.afigroup-global.com/afi_usa_new_york.htm

Just a heads up - dirt lot turning into a parking lot on the SE corner of 2nd Ave & Fillmore, just south of the Lofts.

ASU needs parking for YMCA while they renovate so they are going to pave the lot into another heat island-inducing, flood water collecting parking lot.

/\ Good, that lot is a huge piece of sh!t. This is one instance where I'd rather see a new parking lot (as it used to be one that fell into total disrepair).

I'll still hold out hope that someday it's developed for real.

The permanent signage for Chipotle (NWC) and Five Guys (NEC) is up at "The Corner on 7th". An eat-outside area is being constructed, surrounded by a railing, on the McDowell side of Chipotle. Temporary window signs for Jersey Mike's (between Chipotle and Five Guys) and How Do You Roll? (SWC) are also on display. How Do You Roll? has a beer and wine license application in the window.

Fess up.... You just made that site up, right?

Actually I see it's a public company that trades on both the TASE and the LSE. From Wikipedia there is this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa_Israel_Investments
Apparently, like everybody else they are recovering slowly. In October they sold the Manhattan Clock Tower for $165 million. (per Wikipedia)

The Africa-Israel site has been for sale for a long freaking time. The associated project *used* to be listed on their website but is long gone.