Developer's project includes condos, office space, retail

By Doug Murphy
Staff Writer

If all goes well, an island of urban living, complete with art galleries and coffee shops, penthouses and underground parking could be on the horizon for Ahwatukee Foothills.

The development is called Parkhouse 50, and it would combine commercial, retail and residential on 35 acre at 50th Street and Chandler Boulevard.

"It affords a different kind of lifestyle," Larry Lazarus told the Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee on Monday night.

Lazarus, a Phoenix-based land-use attorney, is representing Parkhouse Companies of Tempe, which is developing the site.

The initial plans call for a gourmet market on the corner of 50th Street and Chandler Boulevard and six eight-story buildings, connected by plazas and open space. The development would include 550 condominiums along with 590,000 square feet of retail and commercial space.

The idea, Lazarus said, is to create a unique development with an urban feel, plenty of open space for customers and residents and flexible office space for small- to mid-sized companies.

"We believe a good percentage of the people who work there will live there," Lazarus said.

The presentation to the planning committee was to brief the panel before formally asking the city Planning Department for a change of zoning from the current industrial park to commercial.

Lazarus said he wanted to hear any concerns, now, before applying for the rezoning, and while the committee expressed support, there were worries about such an ambitious project.

One concern was that the eight-story buildings would be the largest in Ahwatukee Foothills, although Lazarus pointed out that the buildings themselves would buffer existing freeway noises from nearby residential areas west of 51st Street.

Another issue of concern was the traffic that the site would generate.

"I'm just very concerned about 50th Street and Chandler Boulevard," said Van Braswell, a member of the committee.

"It sounds real exciting," said Ronald Tompkins, also a member of the committee, "but what I worry about is traffic."

Lazarus said that a traffic study would be conducted before he brought the project back to the committee for the rezoning recommendation, which could be as soon as March.

The 35-acre lot was bought from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. earlier this year.

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