Downtown construction is booming, but can the area keep up with development? – Downtown Devil

Development in downtown Phoenix has been on the rise, with $6 billion spent on redevelopment since 2005. These projects are continuing to grow but there are still issues creating a more livable, walkable city, according to a development expert.

There are over 3,500 housing units and 290,000 square feet of retail space being built, and many will be finished by the end of 2020 and early 2021.

According to Downtown Phoenix Inc., there are 19,500 downtown residents. In just over a year, they expect a 13% increase to 22,000 residents by 2022.

Most of the 13 housing developments under construction will include ground floor retail, expectantly bringing more services downtown and add to the existing restaurants and bars. The Arizona State University campus is also continually expanding, attracting more people as well as light rail expansion and scooters to provide accessible transportation.

But these projects might not support the city as well as it seems. With the market shifting and ASU expanding and bringing more students, people need accessible amenities to create a life central to downtown and balance the number of restaurants with other essential services.

The city of Phoenix has done a really good job of putting the investment like the light rail in, working and partnering with ASU to get that development going, Thomas Maynard, vice president of Business Development at the Greater Phoenix Economic Council said. The capital markets are now trying to deploy capital projects all across the U.S., and Phoenix is top of their list in terms of new investment.

Downtown typically caters to millennials, business professionals and college students, Maynard said and that younger people want to live downtown.

With the apartments that have their future rates available, most have a baseline of upwards of $1,200 a month.

Theres not enough diversity in the kinds of units being built you dont have units that can accommodate families because we didnt have a big supply of rental units ahead of these current higher-priced units coming online, Dr. Meagan Ehlenz an assistant professor at the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at ASU said. Its not like we have a supply of affordable housing downtown to create a balance, its really shifting the mark, selling everything at a higher price point.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Planning, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Phoenix is $1,200 $1,400. Most of the housing currently downtown fits into this market rate, but more luxury accommodations are being built above the market rate.

A thriving community has a mix of income and a mix of experiences. But what youre seeing built is very cookie cutter, Shannon Scutari, President of Scutari and Co. and expert in sustainable growth and development said. Its ironic, because we used to have a really hard time getting developers to even look at the urban environment here in Arizona.

In the past decade, the ASU downtown campus stimulated a massive spike in development and population with the expanding campus bringing over 15,000 students and staff downtown weekly.

The latest project is the ASU-Innovation Dorm, expected to be complete by Fall 2021 and is a 16-story dorm building, on the corner of Fillmore Street and First Avenue, with 400 new student housing units that are in high demand for the growing campus.

Some of these new apartments may also help fill that demand with new floor plan designs.

They are offering whats called co-living space where you, as an individual, would have your own room, own bathroom, you share amenities, like a living room and a kitchen. Its almost like a graduated dorm room, Maynard said.

Kenect, a 23-story apartment building just south of the ASU campus on Polk Street and Central Avenue, will offer these floor plans. These units are three bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. The rooms rent individually for over $1,200 a month, according to the website.

These co-living spaces could help young professionals out of college have more housing options downtown.

Maybe (college graduates) cant afford to have a one-bedroom apartment, right in the middle of downtown But they can still take advantage of the downtown amenities. That shared experience of life, which ultimately is what the younger professionals are striving for, Maynard said.

In order for the city to thrive, there has to be a connection between street access, walkability and residents having a connection to the products and services nearby, Scutari said.

How are the developments hugging the corner, because if theyre not hugging each other at each corner, then the personal experience is not of connectivity, which is one losing track of time and wandering through this store and then getting lost in the moment because Im in my little bubble and Im spending my money at the same time, Scutari said.

Although there are many places to dine, there are fewer retail options within walking distance. According to Downtown Phoenix Inc, there are over 200 restaurants in the greater downtown area and over 40 coffee shops.

The potential retail space under construction could fill over five football fields. There is an opportunity to fill some of the communitys needs.

Currently, there are no distinct public plans as to what will be put in the retail spaces. Maynard projected that services-oriented businesses, such as salons and casual eateries, could cater to the buildings occupants.

Scutari said that many of these developers do not account for how their space will be accessible to the residents or how it will add real value to the area. There is a lot of retail space but once it is filled it may not play well with each other.

Both Scutari and Ehlenz noted Roosevelt Row as a good example of a connection between retail, housing and transportation.

With the development along Roosevelt came many bars within walking distance. Ehlenz said this creates a center of gravity for nightlife and allows for walkability and a place where people can go bar hopping very clearly and easily.

But despite this, there is a lack of shopping and services available within walking distance.

Its really still very car centric, its still not connected to how that [retail] can be vibrant and people can experience it, Scutari said. A lot of people drive by all of that [retail].

The Arizona Center and CityScape make up most of the shopping in the core of downtown. Amenities accessible to residents include dry cleaners, salons, grocery stores and more.

These shopping centers still do not have the connection to the city and each other that Scutari said is needed in order for downtown to truly become a hub of shopping.

The way they were designed it was almost as though they could have been plopped down in any intersection. Regardless of whether there was a transit connection or rail connection, Scutari said.

Frys Signature Grocery Store had a huge impact on the livability downtown. Until its opening in the fall of 2019, there was only one grocery store accessible to residents, and it was north of the core of downtown.

Taylor Bishop, 24, is a communications specialist at Downtown Phoenix Inc. and lived downtown for six years.

When I started as a student at ASU, I had to either shop at CVS or Safeway and I literally walked, there wasnt even a trolley or anything. I walked to Safeway from the dorms, and I remember dropping my groceries, Bishop said.

The Frys was a flagship for large retail downtown and helped eliminate food desert problems downtown. The stores success could provide a clue as to whether other large retailers would put a location in the walkable area, Maynard said.

To have such an urban grocery store with all of the amenities that it has, shows that theres a need for and there are even more residents coming, Bishop said.

There has been a steady growth downtown since the 2008 recession, the same year the city added the light rail.

I think that in terms of the light rail coming to downtown, and then ASUs campus, really created this new momentum and this new market that has been developing ever since, Ehlenz said.

The city of Phoenix began a program in 2016 named the Transportation 2050 plan. This plan will help expand the light rail, bike lanes and improve streets. Funding comes from a 0.7% sales tax, which is expected to generate $16.7 billion over time.

By 2050, this plan will expand the light rail in every direction and add more park and rides, connecting downtown to the rest of Phoenix, creating more of a commuter train.

I certainly think that we have a transit infrastructure that we need to continue to support, Ehlenz said.

While most of the current development is happening in the core of downtown, some are going on in the warehouse district just south of the stadiums like The Battery apartments and The Alta Warehouse District.

Maynard said in the future, the warehouse district is the next place for development.

If you look at some of these other cool cities that have kind of these old retrofitted areas of their downtown, we have all of the bones and the infrastructure for that. So thats something that me personally, Im very excited to see next, Maynard said.

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Downtown construction is booming, but can the area keep up with development? - Downtown Devil