Phoenix Development News (3) - Page 873

Buckeye Native 001 · #**17441** Posted **Jul 16, 2020, 5:28 PM**

^Infill, infill, infill...infill.

Devon's certainly impressive, but compared to the rest of OKC's skyline?

Not as bad, and I really like Salesforce Tower in SF, but it still sticks out more so than it probably should from certain viewpoints.

My hometown of Cincinnati built a perfectly fine skyscraper in 2010, ruined by a gaudy tiara, making it taller than the beloved Carew Tower. Kind of feels like cheating.

fawd · #**17442** Posted **Jul 16, 2020, 5:38 PM**

Just out of curiosity - what is everyone's top-3 out-of-state downtowns?

I'd probably go:

1) San Diego. Perfect mix of weather, residential, views, entertainment. And the airport location is clutch! Only downside is the homeless population, but it's gotten a bit better recently imo.

2) NYC. Lived on the upper east side (68th & Park) for 3 months a few years ago and absolutely loved it.

3) I'll get weird and throw New Orleans out there. NOLA has that history and the French Quarter is truly one of a kind. Has really come a long way since Katrina.

biggus diggus · #**17443** Posted **Jul 16, 2020, 6:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

^Infill, infill, infill...infill.

Devon's certainly impressive, but compared to the rest of OKC's skyline?

Not as bad, and I really like Salesforce Tower in SF, but it still sticks out more so than it probably should from certain viewpoints.

My hometown of Cincinnati built a perfectly fine skyscraper in 2010, ruined by a gaudy tiara, making it taller than the beloved Carew Tower. Kind of feels like cheating.

I watched the NYE countdown last year on the SalesForce Tower while watching fireworks over the bay bridge standing on the pier. It was one of my favorite memories, very cool that SalesForce has that setup.

My favorite downtowns to visit are:

1. Chicago - I have a great love for the city and used to live there for a short time. I lived at 40 E Delaware so if you're familiar with the city you know that's a pretty busy touristy area but I still loved it. Lots to do, didn't drive a car more than a dozen times in that 18 months.

2. Tulsa - What a grand city. The number of beautiful Art Deco buildings downtown is staggering for its size. It was a pretty wealthy oil town and still is a pretty wealthy town. Blue Dome District has a lot of great restaurants and we always love hanging out in Brady Arts as well. Smaller than OKC but a lot more fun in my opinion.

3. Omaha - many people think I'm kidding but I love visiting Omaha. The downtown area around Old Market is just killer. There's not a ton of density but it's easily one of the more fun cities to walk around.

Yes, I'm a midwesterner at heart. I don't really like California cities, they tend to be dirty and hard to really see much on foot. A few years ago I bought a car at a Downtown LA dealership, we flew out there and picked it up but spent the day looking around before driving home. Walking past the downtown Farmer's Market, Bottega Louie and some other hotspots is interesting but it's pretty nerve wracking in some areas. I feel more unsafe there than I ever have in Memphis or STL which are notoriously unsafe. Just something about California doesn't feel good to me.

That said I do love my weekends at San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara but I would not expect many people to be familiar with that town, more of a weekend away for LA people, like what Flagstaff is for us.

Buckeye Native 001 · #**17444** Posted **Jul 16, 2020, 6:20 PM**

Aw hell, top three?

Big city downtowns:
1. Chicago
2. San Francisco
3. Albuquerque

Small city downtowns:
1. Charleston, SC
2. Charlotte Amalie, US Virgin Islands
3. Juneau, AK

biggus diggus · #**17445** Posted **Jul 16, 2020, 6:22 PM**

Tell me more about Albuquerque. Have been many times and never found anything about that city - aside from a couple breweries and one restaurant I like - intriguing. Always felt like an uninteresting Tucson to me.

Buckeye Native 001 · #**17446** Posted **Jul 16, 2020, 7:03 PM**

It's not big, but there's parts of it that are quirky (to me, at least). I live in Flagstaff and am kind of a sucker for Route 66 kitsch. Downtown Albuquerque is very comparable to Downtown Tucson, a place I also really like. While not necessarily downtown, I really enjoyed spending time in Old Town. I thought about going to UNM for law school.

I tend to like a lot of downtowns that might not be on people's radar, such as Houston and Charlotte.

RichTempe · #**17447** Posted **Jul 16, 2020, 7:40 PM**

Taken this morning when I had an appointment at an office across the street:

KEVINphx · #**17448** Posted **Jul 16, 2020, 7:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wildcats

Trolling...? I'm not even sure what you mean by that! I am beginning to think that many here are jealous or resentful of me. Is this your personal website? I am not looking for new friends here. If there is some legal issue where only liberals that are asu grads allowed - on this site - that pay for it - let me know. Being virtually deserted in downtown Phoenix is not entirely to be blamed on the pandemic. I have read comments how shocked people were with no one was on the streets. What I wrote were facts. The courthouse square in Prescott has more traffic and people than downtown Phoenix. The pandemic means worldwide.

For the asu sun devil: success and growth takes MONEY!!!! Who do you think can afford to pay for $1,900 a month one bedroom apartments!?! You get all giddy with the new apartment buildings - yet, do you think that someone that hasn't any money can afford to live there!?! If there are no takers - developers will not build!

Was theTEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE between Phoenix and Prescott lost on you? ? ? Also, I bet even on a hot day there are MORE people in DT Phoenix than Prescott - perhaps not by density, but certainly in pure numbers.

fawd · #**17449** Posted **Jul 16, 2020, 7:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichTempe

Taken this morning when I had an appointment at an office across the street

What's the second new building in the background? The big concrete wall...

The med school building is looking amazing. I love that it's so close to Central, and not setback.

Buckeye Native 001 · #**17450** Posted **Jul 16, 2020, 9:40 PM**

Pretty sure that big concrete structure behind it is a parking garage. Stayed at that Hampton or whatever it is next door to attend a training at the Phoenix Corporate Center back in December.

biggus diggus · #**17451** Posted **Jul 16, 2020, 9:47 PM**

yes, it is a parking structure.

fawd · #**17452** Posted **Jul 16, 2020, 9:49 PM**

Got it, thanks. Hopefully they pretty up that big concrete wall facing central!

biggus diggus · #**17453** Posted **Jul 16, 2020, 10:01 PM**

They're building apartments on that side of the garage, I think it will be well hidden.

fawd · #**17454** Posted **Jul 16, 2020, 10:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by biggus diggus

They're building apartments on that side of the garage, I think it will be well hidden.

Buckeye Native 001 · #**17455** Posted **Jul 16, 2020, 10:43 PM**

I worked at a satellite office for United Healthcare at Park Central back in 2008-09. I hardly recognize it any more.

Diamonddave · #**17456** Posted **Jul 16, 2020, 11:57 PM**

I believe that their building an 18 story apartment building around the northwest corner of Thomas and Centeral

Obadno · #**17457** Posted **Jul 17, 2020, 1:10 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diamonddave

I believe that their building an 18 story apartment building around the northwest corner of Thomas and Centeral

It’s an 18 story office building and it’s mostly a perspective zoning plan idk if it’s actually in the works for real yet.

YourBuddy · #**17458** Posted **Jul 17, 2020, 1:38 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by biggus diggus

I watched the NYE countdown last year on the SalesForce Tower while watching fireworks over the bay bridge standing on the pier. It was one of my favorite memories, very cool that SalesForce has that setup.

My favorite downtowns to visit are:

1. Chicago - I have a great love for the city and used to live there for a short time. I lived at 40 E Delaware so if you're familiar with the city you know that's a pretty busy touristy area but I still loved it. Lots to do, didn't drive a car more than a dozen times in that 18 months.

2. Tulsa - What a grand city. The number of beautiful Art Deco buildings downtown is staggering for its size. It was a pretty wealthy oil town and still is a pretty wealthy town. Blue Dome District has a lot of great restaurants and we always love hanging out in Brady Arts as well. Smaller than OKC but a lot more fun in my opinion.

3. Omaha - many people think I'm kidding but I love visiting Omaha. The downtown area around Old Market is just killer. There's not a ton of density but it's easily one of the more fun cities to walk around.

Yes, I'm a midwesterner at heart. I don't really like California cities, they tend to be dirty and hard to really see much on foot. A few years ago I bought a car at a Downtown LA dealership, we flew out there and picked it up but spent the day looking around before driving home. Walking past the downtown Farmer's Market, Bottega Louie and some other hotspots is interesting but it's pretty nerve wracking in some areas. I feel more unsafe there than I ever have in Memphis or STL which are notoriously unsafe. Just something about California doesn't feel good to me.

That said I do love my weekends at San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara but I would not expect many people to be familiar with that town, more of a weekend away for LA people, like what Flagstaff is for us.

Only downtowns I’ve really been able to explore are NYC, Minneapolis and Portland. But...

1. NYC. My favorite city. The most amazing food, great for people watching, great for interesting architecture. Obviously so many historic sights to see. Loved being able to take the subway or walk wherever I wanted.

2. Portland. I went to visit my friend and had to explore DT for a few hours between landing and him getting off work. Absolutely beautiful and walkable. Amazing public spaces and parks.

3. Minneapolis is my hometown. The skyway is amazing for staying out of the cold and has some really interesting areas of architecture inside. Only issue is that some people think it takes away from potential walk ability outside because so many people prefer to do shopping inside. 1st Avenue, Hennepin ave. and Washington are all great streets with interesting buildings to see. Walking the stone arch bridge and W. River Parkway around sunset is amazing.

jvbahn · #**17459** Posted **Jul 17, 2020, 8:22 AM**

There is a very large gap between the Park Central entryway and the building, is anything supposed to go here in the future, or will it just be the entry/parking for the building? So much wasted space. Is there any sort of masterplan for Park Central? It has such amazing potential to be a centerpiece of Uptown, I hope they don‘t waste the opportunity.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichTempe

Taken this morning when I had an appointment at an office across the street:

combusean · #**17460** Posted **Jul 17, 2020, 3:33 PM**

Did construction basically stop on the Millennium apartment building? The above looks much the same as it did a month ago.

jvbahn, there is a master plan for Park Central sort of in its rezoning but none of that represents anything with teeth. The space between the under construction building and the walkway is slated for creighton's phase 2 which should be a couple floors taller than phase 1.