The massive CityScape proposal in downtown Phoenix has four buildings nearly 40 stories high with 800,000 square feet of office space, 1,200 residential units and 150 hotel rooms, all with a price tag of $900 million, according to a development team's proposal filed Friday with the city.
The high-dollar proposal was filed by RED Development LLC in Scottsdale and Barron Collier Co., which is based in Naples, Fla.
The residential component of CityScape would be the responsibility of the Novare Group, which has developed high-rise mixed-use, residential and hospitality projects in Austin, Texas; Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Tampa, Fla.
The massive urban project in downtown Phoenix, covering up to three city blocks and 2.5 million square feet, would take about five years to complete. It includes 100,000 square feet of public plazas and 170,000 square feet of retail space. The retail space could be increased to 280,000 square feet, depending on development restrictions on an adjacent block.
The city's financial involvement in the project, according to the proposal, consists of constructing underground parking with 4,500 spaces and leasing the parking back to the developers.
The proposal was filed Friday, before the noon deadline. The city's review of the details with the developers will begin as early as April 11, said Acting Deputy City Manager David Cavazos.
The goal of the project is "to create a new, cohesive urban core for the city that provides day and night activities and uses for residents, tourists and conventioneers," RED Development Principal Michael Ebert and Barron Collier Chief Executive Paul Marinelli co-wrote in their proposal.
Ebert and Marinelli also called their proposal "the largest project of its type ever constructed in the Phoenix metropolitan area."
They said the timing is right for their development because of Arizona State University's plans to open an expanded downtown campus in August, the current $600 million expansion of Phoenix Convention Center, the March 28 start of construction of a $350 million, 1,000-room downtown convention hotel, and the ongoing construction of the $1.3 billion light rail system between Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa.
The CityScape concept is proposed for the two blocks between Central Avenue and Second, Washington and Jefferson streets. West of those two city blocks is Patriots Square, which could be included in the proposal if the city resolves existing commitments on the square's underground parking.
The first phase of CityScape, starting late this year, would consist of constructing about 170,000 square feet of new retail and commercial space on the first two blocks.
The first residential tower would include a 150-room boutique hotel designed and built by Novare Group, which currently owns and operates a 101-room hotel in Atlanta called TWELVE Atlantic Station. The residential component in Phoenix would be built above or adjacent to retail and commercial space.
Although financial details are not included in the proposal, the residential units - ranging from 600 to 1,200 square feet - would be priced "to appeal to urban office workers, young professionals and ASU-affiliated individuals," including students, according to the documents.
Larger units of up to 2,000 square feet would be on the top floors of the building.
The office towers could reach 500 feet in height, the limit under current city regulations. That is about 38 floors, with 13 feet between each floor.
"The significance of the project to the revitalization of downtown Phoenix cannot be overstated," Ebert and Marinelli wrote. "This is the project that will punctuate future photographs of downtown Phoenix."
They estimated that CityScape will generate $170 million in tax revenues for the city over 20 years and that the project will employ 2,700 workers, excluding construction.
RED Development and Barron Collier submitted a separate but related proposal to redevelop Patriots Square, which is between Central, First Avenue, and Jefferson and Washington streets. That proposal includes participation by The Pauls Corp., a Colorado company that in 2005 bought the One Renaissance and Two Renaissance buildings at Central and Washington.
Two or three levels of residential units, for a total of 60 residences with from 1,000 to 1,500 square feet, are proposed above 75,000 square feet of retail space at what is now Patriots Square. In addition, the developers propose repairs or reconstruction of the underground parking used by workers in the Renaissance office buildings.
Depending on market conditions, "an additional mid-rise or high-rise element (residential, hospitality, office or mixed-use) might be added to the project at the southwest corner" of Patriots Square, according to the proposal.
