By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
Fueled by the explosion in employment opportunities and related development in north Phoenix, developer Toll Brothers Apartment Living has proposed what would be one of the largest multifamily developments by unit count in the Greater Phoenix area.
Situated on approximately 18.68 gross acres at the SEC of 7th Street and Beardsley Road, North 7th Residences is planned for 817 units, with up to 825 units allowed, spread across five buildings. Four of the buildings would be garden-style, with the remaining structure constructed as a wrap-style building with an interior parking garage, according to the Planned Unit Development project narrative submitted to the City of Phoenix by project representative law firm Snell & Wilmer.
According to the conceptual site plan, the wrap-style building—Building A—would be five stories in height with 407 units and a square footage of 611.5KSF. The remaining four garden-style buildings break down as follows:
- Building B: three stories, 62 units, 97.5KSF;
- Building C: three and four stories, 177 units, 220.1KSF;
- Building D: three stories, 60 units, 92.5KSF, and
- Building E: four stories, 111 units, 151.4KSF.
There is also a separate 4.5KSF amenity structure planned, bringing the total proposed building area to nearly 1.18MSF.
The expected unit count calls for 19 studio apartments, 455 one-bedroom, 309 two-bedroom and 34 three-bedroom apartments. As a self-described “modern, upscale, and amenity-rich living experience,” several site and lifestyle enhancement features are planned, “including a total of 25,050 square feet of air-conditioned indoor amenity space distributed throughout the site, as well as up to 90,100 square feet of useable outdoor open space containing pools, outdoor seating and lounging nodes, cooking and dining areas, fire pits, activity and fitness lawns, sports courts, and entertainment media walls distributed throughout the site in locations central to community residents,” according to the narrative.
The Site and Development Standards
The location is currently partially occupied by a two-story 97.4KSF office building developed in 2003 and previously used as a call center. The narrative says, “By reimagining the site for residential purposes, there will be improvements to the surrounding community by removal of a high traffic generating use (office/call-center), completion of the vacant site (which, as vacant land, tends to attract less than desirable activities), improvement of the abutting streetscape (modernizing the pedestrian experience along 7th Street with detached sidewalks and additional shading) and providing a new housing choice option for those that want to live/work/play in this part of the City.”
The development standards laid out in the PUD narrative are for a C-2 General Commercial Zoning District, which permits a maximum residential density of 825 units (44.2 units/gross acre) with minimum setbacks of 100 feet on the east perimeter, 50 feet on the south and 20 feet on both the north and west perimeters.
The site is adjacent to existing single- and multifamily residences. Consequently, the narrative makes a point of addressing how the development will be sensitive to existing uses, saying, “To achieve a balanced transition between neighboring uses, the Project utilizes a stepped down design, gradually decreasing the buildings’ height from its tallest elevation of 65’ and five (5) stories along the 7th Street and Beardsley Road frontages to the shortest elevation of 38’ and three (3) stories where the property is more proximate to existing homes.
“This stepped-down design results in a building massing that is contextually appropriate while also providing a transition in height ensuring the Project’s compatibility with its surrounding neighbors. Significant building setbacks (up to three (3) times greater than those required by the current zoning adjacent to the east property line and over sixteen times greater than those allowed by the current zoning adjacent to the south property line) further provide a buffer and separation between the Project and adjacent existing residences.”
Development is planned in two possible phases, with Phase I consisting of Building A with the parking structure, 407 units, swimming pool and core amenities spaces.
One of Metro Phoenix’s Largest Communities
Given the extent of multifamily development in metro Phoenix in recent years and the number of outlets and resources covering the sector, it is surprisingly difficult to find definitive information on community sizes around the area.
The DATABEX project database was started in 2016 and, for obvious reasons, does not include communities developed before its launch. Yardi Matrix is a standard resource for apartment development research, but it includes some surprising omissions and inconsistencies in its reports.
A Yardi Matrix market composition report shows 47 communities with more than 500 units completed between 1980 and 2023 in greater Phoenix, totaling 30,388 units, or 10.1% of the total market.
A March 2022 article in GlobeSt lists the largest market-rate community as the former Del Mar Terrace apartments on West Indian School Road. The 1,012-unit development was purchased by CIM Group and Tides Equities for $255M and rebranded as Tides on 71st.
When first proposed, Camden North End at 6800 E. Mayo Blvd. in Phoenix would have been larger. The development was originally planned for three phases and a total of 1,069 units. Phases I and II were built, with Phase II delivering in 2021 for a total of 784 units for the entire project. The Phase III location was sold off to another developer.
It is believed Optima McDowell Mountain Village in north Scottsdale is the largest community under development in the Phoenix metro area. Currently in the pre-construction phase, the project is planned for 1,330 apartment and condo units to be built in three phases over a 10-year development cycle.
At 817 planned units, North 7th residents will easily land among the top planned and, if built as proposed, the largest completed development projects in the metro area.
Toll Brothers Apartment Living is the developer. The design firm is CCBG Architects, with landscape planning by Collective V Design Studio, Inc. Hubbard Engineering is the civil engineer, and Lokahi is the traffic engineer. The zoning attorney/project representative is Snell & Wilmer. As of press time on Aug. 28, no hearings or meeting dates have been set.
