[ASU Diablo]

Article about the proposed tower on NEC Central and Fillmore.

https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/...ial-tower.html

A once-historic site in downtown Phoenix is set to become another massive mixed-use project with a towering residential and retail building totaling about 1 million square feet.

Documents submitted to the city of Phoenix show that Chicago-based developer LG Development Group has proposed building a 29-story multifamily building with 747 residential units comprised of studio and one-to-three-bedroom units and 29,000 square feet of ground level commercial space.

The 2-acre property covers an entire block at 601 N. Central Ave. and is bounded by Pierce Street, Fillmore Street, Central Avenue and First Street across from the historic Westward Ho building. Since the 2000s, the site has been used for surface parking after the previous structure was demolished.

LG Development Group purchased the property from Glasir Capital Partners for $22 million in March, according to real estate database Vizzda. LG Group, which owns LG Development and LG Construction, declined to comment on the project.

The facility could also feature amenities like a pool and spa, fitness center and clubhouse for the ground floor and levels 8 and 28, according to a preliminary application submitted in March by law firm Snell & Wilmer.

The development also proposes a public open space at the southwest corner of the site near the Central Avenue and Fillmore Street intersection. Chicago-based bKL Architecture is the architect.

Primary vehicle access is proposed for Fillmore Street to the south and Pierce Street to the north, documents said. The city said the project, which is in the preliminary process, has not been approved yet.

Site develops after longtime owners sell
In 2020, longtime Phoenix residents Honeylou and Morris Reznik sold the 1.83-acre property to an entity tracing to Glasir Capital Partners for $14 million.

The couple had owned the property, which was home to an underground bowling alley famously known as the Gold Spot on the parcel's corner, for nearly 50 years.

The bowling alley was operational from 1939 to 1950 and on the southeast corner of Central Avenue and Pierce Street. Glass blocks on the sidewalk were formerly used as subterranean skylights, according to Downtown Phoenix.

Honeylou Reznik previously told the Business Journal that she remembered using the bowling alley while attending Phoenix Union High School in the 1940s.

Just north of the property, Glasir Capital Partners also recently purchased about 3 acres that was home to the former site of the Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market and the Phoenix Public Market Cafe, which closed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

More residential projects have been proposed or planned for downtown Phoenix in recent years, especially with the growth of higher education and jobs in the area.

As of May 2021, Colliers International said the Phoenix core, which includes downtown and midtown Phoenix, had a total of 11,760 multifamily units with 5,306 units under construction and 2,046 units planned.