By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
The Phoenix Planning Commission is scheduled to hear cases involving a proposed three-building 366KSF commerce park from Trammell Crow Company in south Phoenix and a potential 63.9KSF Tesla repair center in the Deer Valley area of north Phoenix at its Sept. 9 meeting.
Trammell Crow 12th St. & Elwood Commerce Park
Trammell Crow is proposing its new commerce park on a 28.32-gross-acre site at 12th and Elwood streets. The proposal requests a rezoning of the site from a Multifamily Residence District with a Commerce Park Option to Commerce Park District, according to the staff report. There is a concurrent General Plan use map amendment request to change the map designation from Residential to Commerce/Business Park.
Planned uses for the proposed development include industrial, warehouse and office space.
The current site is mostly vacant and includes one single-family home. Surrounding uses include vacant property, auto repair and salvage yards, and single- and multi-family residential. The site lies within a half-mile of the Salt River, and the San Franciso Canal (Encinas Lane alignment) runs along the northeast of the property.
The plan consists of three buildings of 143.4KSF, 147.3KSF and 75.6KSF with 34, 32 and 20 interior-facing loading docks, respectively. Base building heights will be 40 feet, not including parapets. An open space area on the northwest corner of the development includes pedestrian pathways connecting to a pedestrian network that circles the property and runs along the San Francisco Canal and connects to sidewalks along 12th Street.
To comply with various City of Phoenix guiding plans and principles, the development will feature bicycle-focused and multimodal transportation infrastructure and connectivity, as well as enhanced landscaping and shading.
Planning staff has recommended approval of the requests, and 18 letters of support had been submitted by neighboring companies and groups at the time the staff report was compiled. The South Mountain Village Planning Committee recommended denial of the request at its Aug. 8 meeting.
Trammell Crow Company is the developer. The design firm is DLR Group, and the project is represented by Withey Morris Baugh, PLC.
Deer Valley Tesla Center
Tesla Motors, Inc. has proposed a 63.9KSF sales and repair center at the SWC of 19th Avenue and Quail Avenue in the Deer Valley area of north Phoenix. A rezoning request from Industrial Park to General Commercial has been submitted to facilitate the project.
The 7.91-acre site lies within the Deer Valley Major Employment Corridor. Surrounding uses include office, industrial and warehouse operations. An office/warehouse facility was developed on the planned site around 1980. According to the staff report, “The building remains today as an office building while additional surface parking has been added to the western portion of the site. The proposal is to maintain the existing building and convert it into an electric vehicle sales and repair business. The use is not allowed in the Industrial Park zoning; therefore, the applicant seeks to rezone the property to C-3, which allows the use.”
Since the site is smaller than 10 acres, an accompanying General Plan amendment is not required with the rezoning.
Media reports say the site was formerly occupied by consumer electronics warranty and service company Asurion, which has transitioned to a remote work model and no longer occupies the space. The existing building will be modernized, including an exterior overhaul, and minor site improvements are planned to accommodate vehicular traffic and to provide additional landscaping.
Staff has recommended approval of the requests subject to stipulations, which include removing an existing access point from 19th Avenue and providing a traffic impact study.
Tesla Motors, Inc. is the developer. The property is currently owned by Aztec 19th Ave LLC. ArcVision Incorporated is the design firm. The project is represented by Tiffany & Bosco, PA.
