By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
The City of Phoenix has released a request for proposals looking for a developer to convert the site of the Regency Parking Garage at the SWC of 2nd and Adams streets downtown “into a dynamic, mixed-use project that will include a full-service hotel.”
The RFP was issued July 31, and responses are due Oct. 28. A pre-proposal meeting and site tour are scheduled for Aug. 20 at 8:30 a.m.
The site is currently home to the six-story, 202.5KSF Regency Parking Garage, which includes 22KSF of ground floor retail, four parking levels and a rooftop that was previously used for the HVAC systems and tennis courts. There are currently two long-term parking leases in place that will expire in 2026 and 2028, as well as 13 month-to-month parking leases and a month-to-month tenant lease for 8KSF of the commercial space.
Surrounding uses include:
- Two full-service hotels to the north across Adams Street;
- The Phoenix Convention Center and Symphony Hall to the east;
- High-rise office and low-rise retail and commercial to the south, and
- An adaptive reuse historic building and office tower across 1st street to the west. Further west on Adams Street, a full-service hotel is under construction. The DATABEX project database identifies the hotel as Denū, which is planned for 17 stories and 236 rooms, with completion expected in fall 2026.
The Project Vision
The City wants a developer to replace the garage with a full-service hotel that will support the long-term expansion needs of the nearby Phoenix Convention Center and Phoenix’s convention industry. Key components of the Convention Center expansion plan include expanding exhibit hall space by 150KSF by 2033, increasing the area hotel room count by between 800 and 1,200, and identifying “opportunities to create a walkable 24/7 district near the PCC.”
While there is not a maximum or minimum number of rooms set for the Regency project, the City hopes to see at least 400 rooms as part of the plan for the site.
The site design should be “innovative” and “create functional and appropriate transitions” to adjacent buildings. The plan should focus on creating pedestrian-oriented amenities, activating ground-floor uses along Adams and promoting walkability with direct connections to transit stops, bicycle facilities and pedestrian links.
Key guidelines and planning considerations include the Downtown Phoenix Strategic Vision and Blue Print, the Adams Street Activation Study, Complete Streets Program, the Active Transportation Plan, the Tree and Shade Master Plan, and the Accessibility Requirements for Residential Occupancies Guideline.
Project Terms
Every proposing team must have at least one member who has completed at least one vertical development of at least seven stories in the last five years, and the proposed project must include a hotel.
The chosen proposal must include an offer to pay the City an annual ground lease payment of at least $750K for the first year of the lease, with a minimum 3% annual increase for the term of the lease, which may not exceed 99 years.
Each proposal will require a proposal guarantee in the form of a cashier’s check to the City for $100K. Unsuccessful proposers will have their guarantees refunded after Phoenix City Council formally awards the project or after all the proposals received are rejected.
Process Timeline
As noted above, the pre-proposal meeting and site tour will take place Aug. 20 at 8:30 a.m. Other key dates and times are:
- Deadline to submit written questions: Sept. 5, 2 p.m.;
- Responses to written questions: Sept. 16;
- Proposal deadline: Oct. 28 at 2 p.m.;
- Short listing (if applicable): Nov.-Dec. 2025;
- Proposer interviews (if applicable) Nov.-Dec. 2025, and
- Negotiations with recommended proposer: Q1 2026.
