I got the image off the Davis website. It could be an old rendering.

I don't think 14 floors would make much of an impact as far as height goes, but it would probably make the skyline noticeably more dense. The CTBUH Height Calculator estimates that it would be 170 feet tall. In my opinion the biggest gap that needs to be filled is the northwest corner of Central and McDowell.

Absolutely regarding Central and McDowell. Such a shame that both the NW and SE corner proposals during the boom fell through. I'm just not sure there will be the demand for that kind of height again in midtown. I'll be happy with some 10-12 story apartment buildings, but obviously those will do little to connect our two skylines.

Those empty lots being developed are so important to revitalizing the midtown area. For starters, that intersection is a key connection between downtown and midtown being just north of the 10 divide. It's also in the heart of what is supposed to be our museum district, and is right across from the library and park entrance. Dense residential, with some ground level uses that complement these existing cultural amenities might give some life to the area and bring traffic to these places. Lastly, McDowell has some great bones from the 51 to 7th ave. Bad choices - filling these slots up with chains - aside, 7th through 3rd ave is really quite great... Street facing retail, almost always busy... Adding dense, permanent residential down the street will help spread that revitalization east.

It won't happen overnight, but I would to see the area around 16th St turn around. It has to be the last remaining strip of classic, urban retail... Some mid rise lofts mixed into the empty lots with some funky shopping and eating offerings throughout would be a great benefit to the central city. We could use some viable urban neighborhoods surrounding downtown. A shame there isn't any transportation connecting the area over to downtown.

Selfishly, I think it would be great to see this as Phoenix's gayborhood. Melrose is the default area, but isn't walkable and the residential options are spotty. This strip of retail along McDowell seems ripe for clubs, bars, eateries, salons, and boutiques. I also love the art piece bridging the north and south sides, and wish something similar would be installed on Roosevelt to give a sense of place.

Anyway, yes- those lots on Central and McDowell are very important. I thought I heard the lots surrounding CVS were being used for apartments... Is that still in the works? I doubt we will see more than 6 stories, but it's a start...

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All I remember hearing was a few months ago that a small residential building was going up behind the Blue Fin restaurant (just south of CVS). I got the impression that it was going to be pretty small (3 - 4 floors). I haven't heard anything lately.

The Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS building is coming along. Unfortunately they didn't restore the original brick façade but it looks much better than it used to.

http://i40.tinypic.com/zim82s.jpg

I think it is boring and drab.

I haven't heard any recent updates on this project but I do know it is supposed to occupy the northeast corner of Central and Willetta including the Blue Fin restaurant and the city owned land just north of it. The initial proposal by Will Bruder is listed as "the Blue Fin/1401 TOD" under the "in progress" tab on his site http://willbruderarchitects.com/ and is 6 floors (apartments over retail) plus below grade parking.

I found these renderings at Will Bruder's website. I really like it, especially how it goes right up to the street.

http://i42.tinypic.com/20ti1s9.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/24kz7ys.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/23o6s8.jpg

Interesting. Looks like the NE corner of Central and Willetta, where Blue Fin is.

It looks awfully wide, east to west. I wouldn't want to see the old Suns-Diamondbacks academy building knocked down, its a cool old Valley National Bank and ought to be adaptively reused. But if this project (who knows how real it is, my guess is not very) was built right up against it, that'd be cool.

Well, this an f*ckin' disappointment. It looks like a suburban industrial building. Ick, ack, twfft! :yuck:

I hate Will Bruder's style, especially for Arizona. Who wants to live in a stainless steel building? And imagine how hot it will be around it, with all the sun reflecting off. Anyway, all of his work is starting to look the same to me. Diversify a little bit Bruder! /end rant.

Yah I've completely given up hope for the Hance Park Conservancy and that parks redesign/rebirth. I think in the long run, it'll be much improved (how could it not?) but to say itll be anything like 'world class' is laughable.

From allowing this building to continue to hide the park, to the new dog park that I never see being used (and likely will always be infrequently used) that's surrounded by a sea of ugly gravel, to doing a National search for a designer of the park and saying they were going to get someone 'world class' and then hiring a local firm thats never done a project like this. Its been a huge disappointment.

Would you prefer a stucco jailhouse like the Southwestern Center for HIV? While I don't think that is his greatest design and I'm not a fan of the "checkerboard" balconies: the more Bruder in Arizona, the better.

There seem to be a lot more proposals for midrise residential in midtown than downtown these days, no? Broadstone at Central, former Brophy Towers lot, Lofts at Thomas finishing, the infill apartments behind the opera building, and now this Bruder project. Seems interesting as downtown seems to have so much more momentum going for it and walkable amenities/restaurants/etc., whereas Midtown is more or less a ghost town with sporadic places amongst the sea if dirt lots.

I'll always hope for higher, and it seems like rebuilding midtown is an insurmountable challenge, but I like the idea of midtown being a low-key hub of urban residential and more alternative kind of bars and restaurants to complement the museums and cultural amenities, with light rail connecting it to the busier downtown with sports, clubs and big box/chain/tourist-attracting offerings. That's not to say each has to be defined in such black and white terms, I just think it's great that we could have defined urban neighborhoods along the light rail.

Ayone know more about the Bruder project? A while back there was an article about a couple who was engaging in some kind of land swap with the City with plans to build apartments near th CVS. Is this the same property? I think the design is perfect for the area, and would look great next to a taller, Onyx-like residential tower. :)

If anyone wants to accidentally light the SW Institute on fire and erect a grand entrance to Hance in its place, I won't say a word.

Hoover- you summed up the reality of Hance Park's renovation perfectly. Just last week, 4 of my Phoenix-native friends' jaws dropped as I explained the fact that there is a park above the tunnel as we drove to CityScape. It sucks that the City refuses to even try to make it work.

The Bruder project looks like a parking garage.

Unfortunately, its not just the City. Its the Hance Park Conservancy, which is a group of private, well meaning citizens. I like a lot of them as people, but they seem to be in a big rush to make the park 'meh'. It was no shock to me that the landscape design firm that was selected to work on the project was the firm owned by the Conservancy's Secretary.

That way my first thought too.

Ha, i see it now too. I don't like the bold colors he is using here and at the Vale in Tempe (I am 95% sure that is his too). Seems unnecessary and attention forcing.

If I had to choose between something like the drab SW Center or this project, I'd go with the Bruder design even though it's not my favorite either.