On Monday, the Phoenix Historic Preservation Commission approved a proposal that would set aside $500,000 to preserve two iconic, 1920s-era downtown Phoenix skyscrapers. The proposal would also allow the developer to raze buildings on the south side of the block to make room for a future hotel.
Hansji Urban bought the Luhrs block for $28 million last year. The block was built by a pioneer-era Phoenix clan. The patriarch, German immigrant George Heinrich Nicholas Luhrs, built the 10-story Luhrs Building in 1924 and he broke ground on the 14-story Luhrs Tower in 1929. The area is bound by Central Avenue, First Avenue, Jefferson Street and Madison Street, nestled between future developments, CityScape and the Jackson Street Entertainment District
The City Council could consider the proposal as early as June. If approved, Hansji Urban would get $500,000 in city grant money to help preserve the vacant Luhrs Building, which needs many repairs. The plan would also protect most of the one-story span along Jefferson Street that links the Luhrs Building and Luhrs Tower. Other buildings on the south side of the block - including a 1950 parking structure and a 1951 Luhrs Tower annex that faces First Avenue - could face the wrecking ball.
The firm plans to invest $1.3 million to rehab the outside of the vacant Luhrs Building, which needs the most repairs. Luhrs Tower is occupied and needs less work. Bringing the Luhrs Building up to code and other upgrades could cost another $8 million. Ultimately, Hansji Urban, which is affiliated with an Irvine, Calif. hotel developer, plans to build a hotel on the south side of the block. The proposed hotel, which would take a year and a half to plan, could rise as more 200 feet tall.
Recent talks between Banner Health and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center have revived hopes for a comprehensive cancer center in Downtown Phoenix. Houston-based M.D. Anderson serves 80,000 cancer patients a year as one of the country’s oldest and largest cancer centers. The collaboration between the two major players is seen as a positive sign for metro Phoenix, currently served by branches of two noted cancer clinics.
Portland Place has just released new pricing on select units. These units have been discounted from 10-20% from last week’s asking price! Check out urbanliving360.com for more details and to request information.
High-end business travelers will not be the only ones to benefit from the addition of Hotel Monroe to our turf. Sure we love witnessing the transformation of this historic Valley Bank Building into a luxury boutique hotel taking shape at Monroe Street at Central Avenue. But what really gets us going is picturing ourselves meeting friends at the underground wine bar, The Vault, then deciding whether to grab a bite at the bistro, splurge on fine-dining or head straight for the rooftop bar for some star-gazing, all on site. (And of course, hopping the light rail home!)
Located on Monroe Street at Central Avenue, Hotel Monroe is on track for a late November opening according to Grace Communities, also the developers of downtown Phoenix’s 44 Monroe high-rise condo project. We’ll be ready when they are, so save us a table: Happy hour, anyone?
After a long year, the Phoenix City Council has made a decision about the fate of a Downtown Phoenix parking garage, the controversial Jefferson Street parking garage. Both the Phoenix Suns/Arizona Diamondbacks and the Jackson Street Entertainment District groups want it but the City Council has decided that the sports group will purchase it for $20 million dollars. However, the city council has stipulated that they must negotiate with the principals of Jackson Street Entertainment District about wrapping the south side of the garage with shops and multifamily housing.
The final agreement also asks the principals of the Sun/Diamondbacks to develop the historic Sun Mercantile Building and a hotel in the area so that it is consistent with the Jackson Street developers’ plans. Last year, they had to scuttle plans to build a $200 million W Hotel on land between US Airways Center and the garage.
The proceeds of the $20 million sale will go to CityScape to help fund the $900 million complex of offices, hotels, shops and restaurants.
The metro region’s key growth areas for commercial and mixed-use real estate in the near future are downtown Phoenix, the light rail corridor, downtown Mesa and the southwest and southeast areas, according to a new report from Colliers International. The annual report, called 2020 Vision, was released Wednesday by Colliers at its meeting at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa.
The most immediate growth is expected in and around downtown Phoenix’s bioscience community and along the 20-mile light rail system from northwest Phoenix through downtown to Tempe and Mesa, said Colliers Managing Director Mike Fitz-Gerald. In downtown Phoenix, where more than $3 billion in public and private redevelopment projects are under way, officials are awaiting a final decision from Florida pharmaceutical executives interested in opening a regional office in downtown Phoenix. It would open with 20 employees and expand to as many as 300. Fitz-Gerald and Colliers Associate Kevin Lange declined to identify the Florida company. They are anticipating an official announcement from the company soon.
Lange said the Florida company’s president and chief executive officer, during their recent visit to Arizona, were courted by a team of representatives from the offices of Gov. Janet Napolitano, Mayor Phil Gordon, Translational Genomics Research Institute, Greater Phoenix Economic Council, University of Arizona, Arizona State University, Greater Phoenix Economic Council, and The Plaza Cos. Lange said the meetings with the Florida executives “just a couple of months ago” took place at Mayo Clinic Hospital and at TGen before they ended up in the offices of GPEC President and CEO Barry Broome.
Lange said the Florida executives, who visited San Diego and other cities, were attracted to downtown Phoenix because of the existing 28-acre bioscience community northwest and northeast of Van Buren and Seventh streets. Its members include TGen, UA College of Medicine, UA College of Pharmacy; ASU School of Nursing; Arizona BioMedical Collaborative, the proposed Phoenix Biomedical Plaza and a proposed teaching hospital.
Fitz-Gerald and Lange said they are receiving more inquiries from developers and investors interested in property within about 2 miles of the bioscience community and other new work in downtown Phoenix. “They want to be as close as possible to the biomedical campus,” Lange said.
He also briefs callers about properties along the light rail system, which is scheduled to open in late 2008. “The light rail corridor has become very important,” Lange said.
The ASU College of Nursing just keeps getting bigger and better! (See expansion info below) If you are a nursing student or a member of the faculty, there are great options for nearby chic urban living - and at affordable prices! Check out 215 E. McKinley and Roosevelt 11 and give us a call at 480-232-9699 if you would like more information.
ASU News: Tuesday, the ASU College of Nursing and Healthcare Innovation broke ground on a $30 million addition to its existing five-story building in Downtown Phoenix. Opening in 2009, it will provide more teaching and office space for the college. Started in 1957 with just three faculty members and six students, the school now has nearly 2,000 students and is the nation’s largest. In 2002, ASU graduated an average of 160 nurses a year. Now it graduates 320 a year.
ASU is in the midst of a multi-million dollar building spree in the heart of Phoenix. The university partnered with Phoenix city leaders to open a downtown campus in 2006. It’s a key part of plans to revitalize the heart of the city. Construction crews are building a $150 million student housing complex, which is called Taylor Place, a $71 million school of journalism and a $30 million park with a $2.4 million artwork crafted by Boston artist Janet Echelman.
On March 19th, the Phoenix City Council will most likely approve a great new urban-chic boutique hotel called aloft. Nestled between 44 Monroe and CityScape, this 107-room W Hotel brand will sit on the SE corner of Central Avenue and Adams. Of particular interest to us Downtown Phoenix residents is that its ground floor retail could include a much needed downtown drug store. We aren’t the only ones excited- check out this You Tube video about aloft in Green Bay.
Other aloft brand hotels are scheduled to open in the Phoenix metropolitan area:
Chandler - Opening February, 2009
Glendale - Opening October, 2008
Phoenix-Airport - Opening March, 2009
Tempe - Opening January, 2009
This June, Scottsdale developer Grace Communities expects to finish the first dozen floors of its 34-story Downtown Phoenix high-rise, 44 Monroe - the tallest residential building in Arizona. By August, the rest of the building interior will be completed. The 196-unit condo tower will bring more full-time residents to downtown, a key component of long-term plans to bring vitality and foot traffic to the neighborhood. Cost: $160 million. For a hard-hat tour of the building, call 480-232-9699.
If you have been watching the delightful resurgence of 7th Avenue, turn your eyes east to 3rd Street. Several high-end residential and non-franchise boutique-business developments are planned in an area known as the Third Street Promenade, between Steele Indian School Park and Downtown Phoenix.
Among the developers is Urban Dencity, a Scottsdale-based architecture and design firm. The company hopes to build Soleil, a four-unit residential project at Third Street and Mulberry Drive. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom townhouses would be nearly 3,700 square feet each and would start at $1.35 million. All the units would have outdoor lap pools, roof decks and 10-foot ceilings. They also hope to build Forma on Third Street at Windsor Avenue. The two-bedroom lofts would have a pool and large patio and roof decks. Urban Dencity also will take advantage of the area’s potential business options with a mixed-used development on Third and Flower Streets. This development would have luxury condos on the top floor as large as 3,000 square feet and commercial projects on the ground floor. A restaurant, a wine bar, a little market. Hope so!
