By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
Last month we gave you a snapshot of the aggressive pace of overall growth and development in once-sleepy Avondale (AZBEX, Jan. 14).
This week provided our Research team with an interesting anomaly: Three multifamily cases totaling 1,092 units were scheduled to come before the Avondale Planning Commission in one meeting. You may be asking: “What’s the big deal about that? Lots of cities have multiple multifamily submissions in a given session.”
Three cases. Totaling 1,092 units. In a city that currently has 12 other multifamily projects totaling 2,542 units in the Design or Design/Plan Review stage, according to a February 16th review of DATABEX information. When the cases under review in one meeting begin to approach half the total units in the design stages for a city, we count that as noteworthy.
The 12 projects mentioned above have a total planned building area of 302MSF and a construction valuation of more than $543M.
Yardi Matrix and DATABEX structure their data a bit differently. DATABEX lists projects with valuation estimates of $5M or more. Yardi lists projects of 50 units or more. The two may also put different properties in different categories at different times. Still, the numbers this time around show a functional parallel. Yardi shows 12 properties at 2,922 units as Planned or Prospective in Avondale.
Add into that mix, again using Yardi data, Avondale has delivered a less-than-thrilling 731 units in three properties since 2017 and you can see how we found this to be an interesting week.
Just to round out the numbers, Yardi also estimates two properties totaling 539 units will deliver in 2022. Those are also the only two projects it shows with an active Under Construction status. DATABEX shows three projects as Under Construction, for a total of 757 units.
Now for the last numbers before we take a look at the new projects’ details. As noted above, DATABEX lists 2,542 units in the Design or Design/Planning stages. The projects considered this week would increase that total to 3,634 if they are all ultimately approved and built.
According to Yardi, as of February 17th Avondale’s total existing multifamily inventory is only 6,590 units across 28 properties.
We generally try to avoid superlatives, hyperbole and cliché when talking about construction, but you can pretty much pick your adjective when it comes to the current pace and state of multifamily planning in Avondale. Words like, “Booming,” “Exploding,” or, “Unprecedented,” are not bad descriptions to start with.
Prose at Ascend
The first of the three we will look at is Prose at Ascend from developer Alliance Residential and part of the Ascend at Avondale Mixed-use master plan.
Planned for the SEC of Indian School and Dysart Road, the 432-unit project will feature a mix of three-story buildings with fewer than 30 units each. Planned unit sizes, derived from parking data, equal approximately 270 one-bedroom units with the rest being two-bedroom.
Planned amenities include open areas, a pool, a dog park and a tot lot with play structures.
Alta Avondale
The second project under review is Alta Avondale by Wood Partners, which would be built as part of The BLVD master plan. The proposal calls for 360 units on 12.8 acres west of the NWC of Avondale Boulevard and Van Buren Street.
The “urban form” community will consist of seven three-story and one four-story buildings. According to the request summary, amenities will include “a primary clubhouse within a centralized courtyard, resort style community pool, spa barbeque islands with bars, fire pits, bean bag toss area, outdoor seating and cabanas.” It goes on to say, “A secondary amenity area is located in the middle section of the site which includes expansive turf area, pet waste station and pet drinking fountain.”
Alta Avondale’s planned unit mix is 204 one-bedroom; 138 two-bedroom and 18 three-bedroom units. The planned gross building area totals 445.8KSF. According to representatives of Wood Partners, construction is targeted to begin in July, with opening expected in 13 months.
Encore Avondale
Also planned in The BLVD area, the third project before the Commission this week is Encore Avondale from developer EMF Avondale LLC (Encore Multi-Family, LLC). The 300-unit development would go up on 9.5 acres at the SEC of Roosevelt and Park Avenue.
According to the summary request, the planned unit mix consists of 143 one-bedroom, 121 two-bedroom and 36 three-bedroom units. Planned amenities feature a clubhouse and leasing office with a fitness center, conference room and workspaces, an outdoor pool and amenity area, an outdoor entertainment area with TV and barbeque grills, an outdoor dog splash/dog wash area, pocket plazas multi-use and pedestrian paths.
Planning staff recommended all three projects for approval. Meeting minutes and results were not available at press time.
