By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
No matter how hot the market, it sometimes takes years for the right mix of vision, team and timing for a project to come together, but a good location will almost always win out.
In March of 2007, Phoenix City Council approved a plan for a 23-story, two-tower condominium and hotel development west of the NWC of 11th Street and Van Buren. That 390-unit/260-room project was never started.
Now, developer Alliance Residential has submitted an Application for Planning Officer Action to modify stipulations attached to that approval from 15 years ago so it can build a 336-unit multifamily community on the site with maximum building heights of just 70 feet.
The new development – to be known as Broadstone Van Buren – will provide 40 studio, 169 one-bedroom and 127 two-bedroom units ranging in size from 595SF to 1,099SF.
The application from project representatives Snell & Wilmer says, “While the 2007 project was a grand vision, it reflected the time in which it was proposed. As evidenced by the project not being constructed, this vision does not reflect today’s market realities. Since there has been a number of new hotels constructed in Downtown combined with changes in leisure and business travel due to the COVID pandemic and resulting use of electronic meetings, this is no longer a location for a hotel use. Without the hotel, the concept of a mixed-use development where residents would have access and proximity to hotel amenities (such as restaurant and bar on site) does not work and a high-rise tower does not make market sense at this time.
“Today, the site is a great location for a residential development of a more neighborhood scale. Broadstone Van Buren is a ‘podium’ design, with the internalized parking garage underneath residential units and hidden by ground floor residential units and/or leasing and amenity spaces.”
Along with reducing the scale to fit in with similar developments nearby on Van Buren, Washington and Jefferson streets, the new design is intended to keep traffic out of the neighborhood by removing driveway access to Polk Street and to engage with the street through ground floor units that interface via direct access and patios to transition to the surrounding neighborhood.
Being such a markedly different plan from the one currently under consideration, the 2007 Council approval carried with it a number of stipulations that are no longer applicable to the new project’s intent. The application asks to have those stipulations removed or modified.
First among the requested changes is the removal of a townhome requirement for the north side of the development. The stipulation was put in place to provide a transition from the 23-story development into the surrounding neighborhood. The application argues that with the current seven-story plan’s more neighborhood- and pedestrian friendly-focus, the townhome component is no longer necessary, nor is it feasible with the podium design.
The original approval also had a requirement for “hanging gardens” on the façade. The request argues this element is no longer necessary because of the changes to the project’s design and construction type and points out that on-façade planters often have negative long-term impacts on a building due to leaking and causing structural damage to both the interiors and exteriors of buildings where they are deployed.
The next request looks to remove a requirement for a grade-level plaza along Van Buren that would have been a minimum of 1KSF, with one side of at least 20 feet in length. In the requested revision, the plan asks for enhanced pedestrian features instead, including decorative paving for on-site pedestrian paths, lighted seating nodes with art elements, and shade trellises or trees for 100% shading of the seating areas.
In summarizing the requests, the application concludes: “This is a request to approve several minor changes to the 2007 rezoning stipulations to reflect the modern concept for this site. The new plan is an improvement to the neighborhood both in its reduction of height, as well as its improved traffic circulation. Furthermore, activation of this site, with its visibility to Verde Park, will support the larger neighborhood by removing a vacant site, putting “eyes on the park” as well as along abutting streets and will support transit use and commercial uses along the Van Buren corridor.”
The stipulation changes are scheduled for a hearing on July 20th.
