This Obama conversation has been dragging on for far too long.

Please, no more posts on the matter.

Sometimes development engenders political discourse...nothing wrong with that as long as name-calling and poo-flinging are avoided.

On a related note, you might be happy to learn that spitfirdude and I have taken care of it through PMs so as to avoid getting too political or too far OT.

About TOD, does anyone know if the Metrowest/Sustainable Communities Collaborative development on 1st and Roosevelt is supposed to look like this:
http://www.lisc.org/phoenix/images/w...e584_16798.jpg

Construction should begin sometime later this year, "before the end of the year" is what we have been told, and ready by September 2014.
http://www.lisc.org/phoenix/what_we_do/tod_update.php

Do you know if that's a recent update? I haven't seen any action on the Phoenix building permits page.

I'm still not convinced that this project will actually happen.

It was on the Roosevelt Action Association's agenda for August 5th. In May, the Downtown Devil reported that construction will begin in early 2014. I have heard that it could start as early as November though I must add that those rumors are mostly unsubstantiated. I guess someone could call Metrowest to get clarification. If I have time, I'll call tomorrow. I'm also interested in knowing how many units will be available for rent: Downtown Devil reported approx. 60 but the developer claims 100 units will be built.

That looks too big for that lot, depth wise. It seems to go back too far to the south. I haven't seen any actual renderings for that project.

That is a rendering of the Mesa TOD project referenced in the article. :)

http://www.azcentral.com/community/m...-downtown.html

New plan review permit for the apartments at Central and Highland.

http://i42.tinypic.com/29zaf4x.jpg

Construction is scheduled to commence in December 2013 with the first units available in February 2015.

http://veduraresidential.com/home/elevation-central

Looks nice, but I wish it was 6 stories, not 4. I also wonder how well the 4 story building is going to hide a 6 story garage, or if it'll stick out above like a bump on the head.

I live in the Roosevelt Square 'C' building and I think our garage is 6 levels counting the roof and it doesn't stick up above the actual building. The first level is open parking for the Gold Spot, then 4 levels of secured covered parking above that, then the roof.

Yes, whenever they say a parking structure will be "x" levels tall, the roof counts as the final level. So it basically will be a 5 story structure with a 3 foot parapet. My guess is that the building should block it from Central. You probably will be able to see it from either Highland or Coolidge.

Ok good! It looks too short compared to descriptions I have heard. If it is indeed going to have 100 units it will be taller than that building slated for Mesa. I'm thinking, 8-12 floors since the first 2 or 3 will be retail and office space.

Also, the historic building on the SEC of Central and Roosevelt is moving ahead full steam now. Passed by there not too long ago and the building has workers inside and out and the large (what used to be garage) door is open. Someone in the area with a good camera would be able to get some great shots of the brick building. There is a backhoe digging up what was the parking lot on the north side of the building. I hope the work being done on the façade is as beautiful as the rendering.

I really hope the owners are going to build their project, rather than get the lot improved and just sit on it. I would have thought it would be further along at this point... but maybe they are biding their time because they have to wait until leases run out at the existing apartment building. That's going to be demolished as part of their plans.

The historic building is the DeSoto building, check out the facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/TheDesotoBuilding

Why would it be further along at this point if construction isn't set to begin until late this year/early 2014? I'm pretty sure there are no other plans but to build it since much of the funding is coming from Sustainable Communities Collaborative.

Yes, that's it the DeSoto Building. Before picture and after rendering:
http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/featur...s/13000019.jpg

http://www.downtownphoenixjournal.co...o3-300x184.jpg

/\ Good information, I didn't know about the Sustainable Communities Collaborative.

Farther along meaning: plans, renderings, anything. Maybe they're doing a lot behind the scenes and being tight lipped about it (just because there aren't any new permits doesn't mean they aren't doing anything)... however if they're planning to be U/C by the end of this year that gives them very little time to pull permits, get their plans approved through PC, council, etc. That can take a long time, I don't believe they can get all of their approvals starting from scratch right now by the end of this year.

At this point, for all we know, nothing has happened except the information you just provided, and the fact that they released a tiny bit of the info about the size of the future development, and that they've tied together the lot and improved the utilities. I feel like we should know more and see more progress by now.

I know they have been working closely with the city (which is how they got the old street to be taken out in order to enlarge the property). My guess is that they have also been working closely with them on permitting. It might not be as big of a time squish as it might normally be. Which honestly, is not that much. Unless you have a horrible set of drawings and a bad group of architects and engineers, you can normally get a set passed in about a month to a month and a half. You'd be surprised about some of the stuff that gets passed.
Also, you can start underground work with a different permit than your construction permit, so I know of many projects where construction has started while the city is still reviewing the drawings. In fact, there are some that are still being designed and finalized while the digging has begun.

Here are some pics I took yesterday. The sign says "Now Leasing-Occupancy Summer 2013", but it doesn't look like they'll have it ready for at least another couple of months at the earliest.

http://imageshack.us/a/img96/8265/nxok.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img843/2100/im3l.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img189/7457/yhw3.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img694/4213/zbij.jpg

Haha, yeah since only a month left this Summer, they won't be making good on that. It looks like they were doing some structural work and stabilizing the brick walls and adding interior walls. Nearly the entire roof had to be rebuilt and I bet they found some problems that weren't anticipated ... which is normal for a building that was as neglected as the DeSoto.

It is also really hard to find financing without at least one committed tenant. Maybe they needed someone to commit in order to secure the funding to finish the remodel.

I really hope this is successful. It really could be a great looking building. Its a shame it was let deteriorate so bad.

Is old building will be demolish? They will rebuilding a new store. I am not quite sure who will be there.

No, it is not being demolished. It is currently undergoing renovations ... an extensive LEED Silver Rehabilitation to be exact. I am not sure if they have any tenants lined up but I wouldn't be surprised if a restaurant, store and small offices moved it. It doesn't look like a large building from the exterior, but the interior space is expansive and I bet they could even retrofit the interior with upstairs, loft-style offices; when I looked into the building the ceilings seemed rather high. The DeSoto's website states that they can "accommodate users from 1,000 to over 11,500 square feet." I'm assuming they mean that if a large tenant moved in, they could take the entire 11k sq ft.