Phoenix City Council members agreed unanimously Wednesday night to let two of the Valley’s most influential businessmen build a luxury high-rise hotel and condominium tower in the downtown area, despite objections from historic preservationists and Asian-Americans.
But the city also hit the Southwest Value Partners development team, which includes Robert Sarver, Jerry Colangelo and other members of the Phoenix Suns management, with a host of demands designed to make the project more palpable to opponents.
It didn’t work.
Both sides appeared angry by the decision. And it’s not even clear, at this point, if the project will go forward in its current form or at all.
Sarver and Colangelo left the meeting without commenting on the decision, and former State Rep. Barry Wong, who rallied more than 150 people to the hearing to oppose the project, said he didn’t trust Sarver’s group to adhere to the decision.
At the crux of the issue was the fate of the historic Sun Mercantile Building, a 1920s-era structure located next to the America West Arena. The building is the last vestige of Phoenix’s Chinatown.
Sarver’s development team plans to build a 39-story hotel and condo project on the block. But their proposed design also includes a second, 11-story condo and mixed-use office space tower to be built directly on top of the Sun Mercantile.
Historic preservationists and Asian-Americans who attended the meeting pleaded with the city not to let that happen, saying that tearing off the roof to build the additional floors was equal to destroying the building’s integrity.
"This town, this city, is full of glass and cement," said Edward Yue, president of the Chinese United Association of Greater Phoenix and of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. "Where is our history? I don’t want to see it buried by Robert Sarver and his development group."
But Sarver and Colangelo, who up until last night had been very quiet about their project and its proposed design, also came out swinging.
They said that without the 11 stories on top of the Sun Mercantile, the project wouldn’t be financially viable, and they reminded the council that their proposed development represented a $200 million investment in downtown.
Colangelo also pointed out that the Sun Mercantile’s roof has been reconstructed twice since the warehouse was first built in 1929, which, he said, rendered the opponents’ arguments moot.
"This is a unique, unique development," Colangelo said of the project, which would include 225 hotel rooms and at least 130 condominiums, as well as retail and meeting space, restaurants and a bar.
After nearly three hours of discussion, the council agreed.
But city officials also said that all development plans, designs and other proposals will need to be reviewed by Phoenix’s Historic Preservation office, and that Sarver’s team must gift $75,000 over the course of two years to a non-profit group started by Wong.
That money could be used to create exhibits showcasing Asian-American history.
City Councilman Doug Lingner also told the developers that 1,000 square feet of exhibit space needed to be located inside the hotel project, and that an additional 1,000 square feet should be located near the development, either inside the America West Arena, or on the paseo surrounding it.
That’s where things got ugly.
Mike Curley, one of Sarver’s legal advisors, said the developers couldn’t "commit" to the exhibit space inside the high-rise tower, because they hadn’t yet gotten approval from W Hotels, the company that will manage the space.
Curley also suggested that Lingner put some restrictions on the money so that Wong’s organization, the Arizona Asian-American Museum Foundation, couldn’t spend it however they see fit.
The comments drew boos from the assembled crowd.
Both sides say they plan to meet with their legal advisors to determine whether they will accept and adhere to the City Council’s ruling, or appeal the case to Maricopa County Superior Court.
Ginger D. Richardson
The Arizona Republic
