Phoenix Development News (3)

[IndyAZ]

Originally Posted by Socalzonie

Does anybody have any details on what this might involve? Implies might be multifamily and hotel.

https://apps-secure.phoenix.gov/PDD/...Number=2306032

It's a conversion of the existing tower into a high end hotel with some residential units. No significant new structures, just a major interior renovation.

[Socalzonie]

Originally Posted by IndyAZ

It's a conversion of the existing tower into a high end hotel with some residential units. No significant new structures, just a major interior renovation.

Nice. More residential and sidewalk traffic beats empty offices. Thanks!

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by Socalzonie

Nice. More residential and sidewalk traffic beats empty offices. Thanks!

which office tower

[ASU Diablo]

Originally Posted by PyroD

DVC meeting in October includes an item about a "mixed-use development project at 1 W. Madison. I'm curious about that, anyone planning to attend?

This is the building on the southwest corner of Central and Madison, next door to the former Sing High restaurant. If I'm not mistaken, this building is used for govt purposes right?

Anyone make the DVC meeting? They stopped the hybrid format recently so going to be hard to pull any info unless in person

[locolife]

Originally Posted by Obadno

which office tower

Ditto

[ASU Diablo]

Originally Posted by locolife

Ditto

It’s in the link / PAPP fellas.

It’s the Phoenix Financial Center building (3443 N Central Ave)

[Obadno]

Wait …. So the Phoenix financial center is being converted into residential?!!?

That’s potentially cool as hell

[combusean]

^ From what I remember they're building an apartment block on the rear parking lot. The tower itself leads itself to hotel. I don't remember there being a third phase to complete the horseshoe but that's obviously needed to finish the overall development.

[halicem]

Originally Posted by ASU Diablo

Anyone make the DVC meeting? They stopped the hybrid format recently so going to be hard to pull any info unless in person

Yep! I wasn't able to get a lot of pics, and did not get a pic of the site plan so I recreated it as much as I can.


Aerial from SWC 1st Ave & Jackson, facing NE


Street from NWC 1st Ave & Madison, just before the underpass, facing SE. This is technically the back of the tower and you can see the amenity area on the podium deck. Corner of lot (the immediate corner in the image) is not part of development.


Street from SWC 1st Ave & Jackson, facing NE


Recreated site map from memory:


This was more of a meet & greet, they are going to apply for a GPLET. The public good is the historic preservation of the 1 W Madison building. It was going to be used by the county as a school but the county ended up going a different direction so right now, they're thinking it's retail with the final form being TBD.

The tower will also have some retail, which will all be facing Central. They really want to activate Central from the sound of it. Primary car ingress/egress is off Jackson, and back of house will still have access to the alley off the back (from Madison, they're also proposing to cut off the alley from Central)

They wish to open 1 W Madison by end of 2024. And the tower by end of 2025. They'll be back again when they apply for the GPLET.

Other updates from the meeting:
- sounds like one of the major stakeholders with Milum development is no longer involved so some problems there
- development off 4th ave, which is moving fast, is applying for a full 100% lot coverage with no space for the Taylor paseo plans. They are also on the RAA agenda this week

[Code5]

[QUOTE=halicem;10060014]Yep! I wasn't able to get a lot of pics, and did not get a pic of the site plan so I recreated it as much as I can.

Aerial from SWC 1st Ave & Jackson, facing NE


This would be awesome. 14 stories. More residential. More retail. Let's start that expansion southward! I look forward to the day when the Warehouse District isn't so scary and abandoned.

And this will be kiddy corner to the Fairmont Phoenix Hotel and Residences, formerly known as The Blue. That strip of Jackson Street could potentially become quite neat.

[ASU Diablo]

Originally Posted by halicem

Yep! I wasn't able to get a lot of pics, and did not get a pic of the site plan so I recreated it as much as I can.

Recreated site map from memory:


The tower will also have some retail, which will all be facing Central. They really want to activate Central from the sound of it. Primary car ingress/egress is off Jackson, and back of house will still have access to the alley off the back (from Madison, they're also proposing to cut off the alley from Central)

Other updates from the meeting:
- sounds like one of the major stakeholders with Milum development is no longer involved so some problems there
- development off 4th ave, which is moving fast, is applying for a full 100% lot coverage with no space for the Taylor paseo plans. They are also on the RAA agenda this week

You the real MVP! Thanks for making the meeting and grabbing pics for the rest of us.

I love the activation of Central and the developer leaning into it. That NE view is going to look awesome and that whole stretch once light rail wraps up and trains are operational. No updates around the other building that used to house Sing High?

• Regarding your other updates around other projects, bummer about Milum development. Hopefully that one moves forward.
• The 4th Ave project? Did they mention what that was at all? I'm not sure I'm familiar with it. I'm familiar w/ the tower project on the other side (3rd Ave - old law firm building) from the Chicago developer but hadn't heard 4th Ave lot had something being proposed. Would be a big bummer if the Taylor Paseo was killed between 3rd and 4th Ave.

[PHX31]

Originally Posted by halicem

Yep! I wasn't able to get a lot of pics, and did not get a pic of the site plan so I recreated it as much as I can.

This was more of a meet & greet, they are going to apply for a GPLET. The public good is the historic preservation of the 1 W Madison building. It was going to be used by the county as a school but the county ended up going a different direction so right now, they're thinking it's retail with the final form being TBD.

The tower will also have some retail, which will all be facing Central. They really want to activate Central from the sound of it. Primary car ingress/egress is off Jackson, and back of house will still have access to the alley off the back (from Madison, they're also proposing to cut off the alley from Central)

They wish to open 1 W Madison by end of 2024. And the tower by end of 2025. They'll be back again when they apply for the GPLET.

This is all great - thank you for posting all of this info.

I hope the Diamondbacks keep winning for the next couple of years at least with this young roster they have. It's awesome they're in the NLCS starting tonight, but added excitement and fans and interest down there would likely help these projects get going.

[combusean]

Did they say they were preserving the facade or any component of the warehouse on the NEC of 1st Ave and Madison in that presentation? It sort of looks like it from the rendering but I can't tell.

[halicem]

Originally Posted by ASU Diablo

No updates around the other building that used to house Sing High?

Nope! Owned by someone else and they're not working with them to do something. Only that the Sing High lot has to maintain access to the alley, which falls on their easement, for the back of house stuff for the development. They don't see any issues with it since if/when Sing High does something (like build their own hi-rise), they'll probably also use the alley. It's hard to see with the renderings but that side has the uncladded garage floors, the Central, Jackson & 1st Ave sides will be cladded since they expect Sing High will also redevelop at some point.

Originally Posted by ASU Diablo

[*]The 4th Ave project? Did they mention what that was at all? I'm not sure I'm familiar with it. I'm familiar w/ the tower project on the other side (3rd Ave - old law firm building) from the Chicago developer but hadn't heard 4th Ave lot had something being proposed. Would be a big bummer if the Taylor Paseo was killed between 3rd and 4th Ave.

Yep, it's this one: ZA-375-23 I was too busy looking up where it was I didn't pay enough attention lol. I think it was mentioned the developers were based out of California, and DVC expected RAA will oppose the development on grounds of well, it's another building lol. DVC will oppose on grounds of the plans don't leave room for the paseo. It's a 7-story development with 5 floors residential.

Originally Posted by combusean

Did they say they were preserving the facade or any component of the warehouse on the NEC of 1st Ave and Madison in that presentation? It sort of looks like it from the rendering but I can't tell.

Yep, they're preserving everything and bringing it up to code (it's the basis for their GPLET application). They are relocating the elevator to the basement, which is currently right on the curb, to be in the center at the back. Moving the elevator core to the back lets them have access to the rooftop too without it being visible from the street. They plan on having a small retail space on the roof too (in the previous plan for the school, it was meant to be an outdoor space for the kids), it just wouldn't go all the way to the curb to maintain the facade.

[combusean]

I'm not sure how they're "preserving everything" when it looks like a facade job ... not that this warehouse is particularly unique or worth saving but I'm sure it has bones.

The RAA is right to oppose that 4th Avenue building if it's nixing the paseo. There's literally no reason they can't just cantilever over it and get the height and density they want otherwise.

Edit: it's a 7 story development. *rolleyes*. They just need to sell it to a real developer who will build height and density there, all other annoying density limits be damned.

[ASU Diablo]

Originally Posted by halicem

Nope! Owned by someone else and they're not working with them to do something. Only that the Sing High lot has to maintain access to the alley, which falls on their easement, for the back of house stuff for the development. They don't see any issues with it since if/when Sing High does something (like build their own hi-rise), they'll probably also use the alley. It's hard to see with the renderings but that side has the uncladded garage floors, the Central, Jackson & 1st Ave sides will be cladded since they expect Sing High will also redevelop at some point.

Yep, it's this one: ZA-375-23 I was too busy looking up where it was I didn't pay enough attention lol. I think it was mentioned the developers were based out of California, and DVC expected RAA will oppose the development on grounds of well, it's another building lol. DVC will oppose on grounds of the plans don't leave room for the paseo. It's a 7-story development with 5 floors residential.

Ah got it. I confused myself thinking that Hansji Corporation owned the entire block, when they only own the old Sing High building (Stag Hotel/Patio Hotel) and the parking lot to the West. Like the article I linked before mentions, Hansji is also thinking about redeveloping that property so this whole block will be pretty dense if both developer plans come to fruition.

Re: the 4th Ave project, looks like the zoning hearing is this Thursday so curious to see whether it gets approved or City makes the developer go back to the drawing board and incorporate Taylor Paseo into the design.

[ASU Diablo]

Originally Posted by combusean

^ From what I remember they're building an apartment block on the rear parking lot. The tower itself leads itself to hotel. I don't remember there being a third phase to complete the horseshoe but that's obviously needed to finish the overall development.

I'm not sure if that's totally correct? I reviewed permits and the project # listed for the tower renovation (MF & Hotel) is completely different from the 6-story apartment project being built on the parking lot. This project is called "Modera Midtown at PunchCard".

I may be wrong...

[combusean]

I don't think the developer can park the thing in two floors with the paseo. Hopefully they do shoot it down and we get a better project out of this.

[combusean]

Originally Posted by ASU Diablo

I'm not sure if that's totally correct? I reviewed permits and the project # listed for the tower renovation (MF & Hotel) is completely different from the 6-story apartment project being built on the parking lot. This project is called "Modera Midtown at PunchCard".

I may be wrong...

The same owner owns everything, so I have too much difficulty believing they're not related. A hotel there in the existing Punchcard building with a decent size bar or club in the rotundas would be awesome... a hell of a lot better than a closed off exercise center and leasing office that sometimes ends up in adaptive reuse.

Maybe they're doing the long-planned twin to the tower to provide for both uses, or a larger hotel. Now that would be really cool.

[CrestedSaguaro]

BizJ update on current crane counts...

By Audrey Jensen – Reporter, Phoenix Business Journal
Oct 18, 2023

The number of cranes in downtown Phoenix has remained mostly steady throughout 2023 with the latest count totaling seven cranes in the third quarter.

This is a slight decrease from nine cranes in the first quarter of 2023 and is a result of several projects being completed including two major health care developments, according to the latest North America crane count from Rider Levett Bucknall.

Since the first quarter, however, six new cranes have been added to the downtown Phoenix skyline, demonstrating ongoing activity in high-rise construction on mostly infill properties within a six-mile radius of the Central Avenue and Washington Street intersection.

"There's been a big evolution in Phoenix over the last several years in density," said Scott Macpherson, an executive vice president for RLB. "There's some huge pros to that. It's become a more livable city, a more walkable city because the buildings actually cast natural shade. ... You get a lot of people who are living in downtown and therefore supporting downtown businesses."

The seven cranes counted in the third quarter were for two mixed-use projects and five residential developments.

Phoenix city officials previously said that downtown Phoenix had 11 cranes this summer, while a number of major projects that also require cranes are being developed across the entire Phoenix metro. Phoenix is also a relatively younger market compared to other major cities and is much more geographically spread out.

Challenges ahead: Project financing, fewer infill opportunities
Macpherson said he believes downtown Phoenix will continue to see momentum in development as a result of progress made in the past few years on new projects. As more infill sites are built out, however, he said it could become challenging to find sites for development moving forward.

Other markets that kept a steady number of cranes in Q3 included New York, Portland, Honolulu, Seattle and Calgary, Canada. The markets with the highest number of cranes were Toronto with 240, Seattle with 45, and Los Angeles with 30 cranes.

Chicago, Washington, D.C., Denver, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco saw a significant decrease in cranes since the last survey, or a more than 20% decrease per market as interest rates continue to increase, projects are delivered and construction slows.

Only Toronto and Boston saw an increase in the number of cranes and totaled 240 cranes and 20 cranes, respectively, in Q3. The overall crane count between the 14 markets decreased by 10% since the previous count.

Despite the downward trend, RLB reported that residential and mixed-use projects have seen the most consistent growth. The number of cranes in the 14 markets is also expected to remain steady for the rest of 2023.

In addition, RLB found that major markets such as Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Denver and Washington, D.C., experienced construction cost increases below the national average of 1.55% from April to July 2023.

From July 2022 to July 2023, Phoenix saw a 6.52% increase in construction costs, and a further 1.3% increase during the third quarter.

Macpherson said that the construction industry has continued to experience challenges for financing projects as a result of the increase in interest rates but the ongoing supply chain issues have started to ease up some. Availability of skilled and unskilled construction workers in Arizona has also remained a challenge, he added.

Source: https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/...x-q3-2023.html