22-story condo project planned for Town Lake
City Council should see plans in a few weeks
Jahna Berry
The Arizona Republic
May. 5, 2006 12:00 AM
A 22-story condominium tower may be headed to the northern shore of Tempe Town Lake.
The development, tentatively called Onyx, would be nestled on a site along Playa Del Norte Drive, the area near Scottsdale Road and Loop 202. There are two similar projects already under way in that area, including a 532-unit apartment-condo project called Mondrian and a 137-unit condo development called Northshore.
WestStone Group of Companies, the developer that is building Onyx and Northshore, isn't worried about competition from the recent burst of similar projects elsewhere in Tempe.
"There are limited opportunities for shoreline access," said Greg Loper, director of development at WestStone.
The unfinished Northshore project has sold all but a handful of its units. The lake is "just an ideal location," Loper said.
WestStone expects to submit formal plans to the city in a few weeks.
The project would have about 200 units, including townhouses and condos. They would sell, on the low end, for $400,000 to $500,000, Loper estimated. The site is just less than 1.5 acres, and the tower would be around 220 to 230 feet tall, he said.
The Town Lake property is a hot commodity, and developers are pursuing more condos, said Chris Anaradian, Tempe development services manager. Initially, a restaurant was to be built where the proposed Onyx project would go, he said.
Suncor Development Co. may also inject more condos to its complex of office space, condominium towers and shops near Rio Salado Boulevard and Mill Avenue.
The proposed Onyx site has the necessary zoning, but the proposal must be approved by the City Council during public hearings, Anaradian said.
In general, any project that is more than 200 feet tall has to notify the Federal Aviation Administration, Anaradian said, adding that the city won't issue a building permit until a project has applied for FAA review.