Even though it withdrew a request for request for qualifications last year, the City of Tempe is still interested in redeveloping the mostly vacant Danelle Plaza at the SWC of Mill and Southern avenues.
The City owns 3.14 acres in the roughly 15-acre plaza, home of local landmark Yucca Tap Room and a hub for the Tempe alternative arts and culture scene. The earlier RFQ received responses from Guina Affiliated Developers and Miravista Holdings.
Tempe withdrew the solicitation last June in the belief that the site would benefit from a more comprehensive and detailed redevelopment plan than originally sought. Representatives of both companies had met with leadership from the Brentwood-Cavalier Neighborhood Association in developing their plans. Miravista’s proposal featured a mixed-use with 200 housing units, while the GAD plan would have had up to 1,100.
A recent article in the Arizona Republic focused heavily on the plaza’s historical and cultural significance and artists’ and residents’ worries that “redevelopment could lead to the loss of another city gem.”
Danelle Plaza was originally developed in the 1960s with the vision of creating a new downtown as residents moved south and away from the old city core.
The location has a condominium-style ownership structure, rather than a single owner that leases space to resident businesses. As a result, any redevelopment plan for the Danelle Plaza faces more significant challenges. The various owners, including the City of Tempe, have worked, sometimes in concert and sometimes at odds, to advance various redevelopment proposals.
A 2019 proposal by students at Arizona State University’s Herberger Institute, the foundation for Tempe’s redevelopment vision, sought an approach that would maintain the art and music culture while renovating the site into a mixed-use with a focus on connectivity featuring retail, housing and an urban garden.
Current owners and residents expressed hope for a potential redevelopment but emphasized the desire to maintain the site’s historical and cultural character. The various parties quoted in Republic article were, however, uniform in their desire that the site not continue to languish.
Mayor Corey Woods was quoted as saying Tempe’s vision still includes the addition of affordable housing. He stipulated it will be challenging to create a proposal that will satisfy all the different parties’ desires for Danelle Plaza’s future.
There is currently no timeline for a new solicitation.