Phoenix preps proposal request for downtown corner – The Business Journals
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The city of Phoenix is preparing to issue a request for proposals to redevelop Seventh Avenue and Washington Street in downtown Phoenix.
The RFP would be issued either later this year or early next year, said Christine Mackay, community and economic development director for the city of Phoenix. The city owns properties on the southwest, northwest and northeast corners of Seventh Avenue and Washington, she said.
The police headquarters at the southwest corner will be moved into the former Wells Fargo tower at 100 W. Washington St., which the city bought for $46.5 million in 2021. Renovations of the 525,000-square-foot tower are expected to be completed for the police HQ move by next year.
Meanwhile, the existing, aging police headquarters would be razed to pave the way for new development. Mackay envisions a mixed-use project that would include apartments and ground-floor retail and restaurant space. Affordable and workforce housing units would also need to be included in the development.
“What a great location for a mixed-income residential development on one corner,” she said.
Over the past two or three years, there’s been more effort to expand outside the downtown area between Seventh Avenue and Seventh Street, she said.
“We’re going to take out the RFP by the end of the year or early next year at Seventh Avenue and Washington to connect us to the capital mall,” Mackay said.
Last spring, Phoenix City Council approved an RFP to develop a mixed-use project that would include affordable, workforce and market-rate units on 1.49 acres at the southwest and southeast corners of First Avenue and McKinley Street.
“It’s an exciting RFP,” Mackay said. “It was the first time the city council in an RFP approved mandating an affordable, workforce and market rate mixed-use project.”
The RFP was issued last fall, and the council is expected to award the contract this spring for the First Avenue and McKinley project.
With these RFPs, “we tell the private sector to tell us what will work there,” Mackay said.
These requests come at a time when developers have about 2,400 apartment units under construction in downtown Phoenix, with about half of those expected to come online in 2024, according to Northmarq.
In the 1970s, downtown Phoenix was one of the most populous places in Arizona, Mackay said, and was where people lived, worked and shopped.
“Then we started getting freeways and the suburbs got malls and shopping centers and there was a mass exodus out of downtown Phoenix,” she said, leaving a lot of residential vacancies downtown.
In the 1980s and 1990s, city officials tried to revive downtown. When Mackay took the economic development director job in 2014, she joined efforts to revive downtown. It was tough at first, as developers would tell city officials that rents just couldn’t meet construction costs.
“Downtown Phoenix was not the IT girl she is today,” Mackay said. “There was a lot of convincing to get people to come to downtown Phoenix. We did not reach the population that we had in 1970 in downtown Phoenix until 2016.”
In 2004, the Phoenix City Council had a goal to reach 10,000 downtown residents by 2030.
“As of today, we are at 23,700,” she said. “We will be at 30,000 by 2025. We’re triple what the council goal was. At the time, the strategic plan was considered a very audacious goal.”
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The city of Phoenix is preparing to issue a request for proposals to redevelop Seventh Avenue and Washington Street in downtown Phoenix.
The RFP would be issued either later this year or early next year, said Christine Mackay, community and economic development director for the city of Phoenix. The city owns properties on the southwest, northwest and northeast corners of Seventh Avenue and Washington, she said.
The police headquarters at the southwest corner will be moved into the former Wells Fargo tower at 100 W. Washington St., which the city bought for $46.5 million in 2021. Renovations of the 525,000-square-foot tower are expected to be completed for the police HQ move by next year.
Meanwhile, the existing, aging police headquarters would be razed to pave the way for new development. Mackay envisions a mixed-use project that would include apartments and ground-floor retail and restaurant space. Affordable and workforce housing units would also need to be included in the development.
“What a great location for a mixed-income residential development on one corner,” she said.
Over the past two or three years, there’s been more effort to expand outside the downtown area between Seventh Avenue and Seventh Street, she said.
“We’re going to take out the RFP by the end of the year or early next year at Seventh Avenue and Washington to connect us to the capital mall,” Mackay said.
Last spring, Phoenix City Council approved an RFP to develop a mixed-use project that would include affordable, workforce and market-rate units on 1.49 acres at the southwest and southeast corners of First Avenue and McKinley Street.
“It’s an exciting RFP,” Mackay said. “It was the first time the city council in an RFP approved mandating an affordable, workforce and market rate mixed-use project.”
The RFP was issued last fall, and the council is expected to award the contract this spring for the First Avenue and McKinley project.
With these RFPs, “we tell the private sector to tell us what will work there,” Mackay said.
These requests come at a time when developers have about 2,400 apartment units under construction in downtown Phoenix, with about half of those expected to come online in 2024, according to Northmarq.
In the 1970s, downtown Phoenix was one of the most populous places in Arizona, Mackay said, and was where people lived, worked and shopped.
“Then we started getting freeways and the suburbs got malls and shopping centers and there was a mass exodus out of downtown Phoenix,” she said, leaving a lot of residential vacancies downtown.
In the 1980s and 1990s, city officials tried to revive downtown. When Mackay took the economic development director job in 2014, she joined efforts to revive downtown. It was tough at first, as developers would tell city officials that rents just couldn’t meet construction costs.
“Downtown Phoenix was not the IT girl she is today,” Mackay said. “There was a lot of convincing to get people to come to downtown Phoenix. We did not reach the population that we had in 1970 in downtown Phoenix until 2016.”
In 2004, the Phoenix City Council had a goal to reach 10,000 downtown residents by 2030.
“As of today, we are at 23,700,” she said. “We will be at 30,000 by 2025. We’re triple what the council goal was. At the time, the strategic plan was considered a very audacious goal.”
Healthiest Employers presented by Cigna Healthcare
The Phoenix Business Journal and our sponsors are shining a light on Valley businesses with the most outstanding health and wellness programs!
The Inno Fire Awards presented by BlueCross BlueShield of Arizona
The Fire Awards are Inno’s premier recognition program, honoring the companies and organizations setting the local innovation economy ablaze.
© 2023 American City Business Journals. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated January 24, 2023) and Privacy Policy (updated December 19, 2023). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of American CityBusiness Journals.
This article was autogenerated from a news feed from CDO TIMES selected high quality news and research sources. There was no editorial review conducted beyond that by CDO TIMES staff. Need help with any of the topics in our articles? Schedule your free CDO TIMES Tech Navigator call today to stay ahead of the curve and gain insider advantages to propel your business!
