A new city rises.
That is the theme CityNorth officials are using to describe the energy of their 144-acre, 5.5 million-square-foot mixed-use development project bringing a varied range of shopping, dining and entertainment options to Northeast Phoenix residents’ backyards.
Residents and project workers received a sneak peak of the new development, north of Loop 101 at 56th Street, adjacent to the Desert Ridge Marketplace, during a Nov. 15 groundbreaking ceremony, which featured a small-scale model of the planned community, as well as a presentation by co-developers John Klutznick of Thomas J. Klutznick Co. and Kenneth Himmel, CEO of Related Urban.
“This is an exciting day for us,” Mr. Klutznick said. “We rarely get the opportunity to launch one of the most compelling projects in the nation.
He added the CityNorth project will be the “brass ring” of Phoenix and Desert Ridge.
Developers plan on constructing CityNorth in phases.
Phase one of development, which begins this month, includes 290,000 square feet of retail, 230,000 square feet of office and 264 condominium units.
Developers will construct 11 three- to four-level buildings on High Street, at the northern most end of the property.
High Street will have local and national retail and restaurants at street level with offices and residences above.
Planners estimate phase one to cost more than $1.2 billion and expect its completion by spring 2008.
Phase two features 975,000 square feet of retail, 235,000 square feet of office, 571 residential units.
Two hotels — a 250-room 4-star anchoring the west end of High Street and a 250-room 5-star near the main plaza — are also slated for phase two.
Phase two will extend retail and mixed uses south of High Street along 54th Street and around the main plaza and boulevard areas.
According to a CityNorth press release, the main plaza and boulevard areas will feature two separate public gathering spaces with specially-designed landscaping, fountains and sculpture gardens.
Phase two is slated for fall 2009 completion.
Mr. Himmel commended Mayor Phil Gordon and District 2 Councilwoman Peggy Neely for their help in getting a project of this size approved.
“There are very few places in America today where anyone would have the chance to create something this exciting, comprehensive and impactful, and it’s a tribute to the work you all have done here over the last 5, 10, 15 to 20 years,” Mr. Himmel said. “Someone has done a remarkable job at setting the stage for this kind of growth and that doesn’t happen by accident.”
Mr. Himmel pointed out businesses are attracted to the setting and climate Phoenix officials have created and the impact will be felt.
“When you attract the kind of businesses you attract, and you attract the kinds of talent you attract, then you’re able to attract the capital,” Mr. Himmel said. “That is an incredible formula for the recipe here that allows us to do what we do well, which is working at the top of the market.”
Mayor Gordon said it was overwhelming to finally see the CityNorth project start to become reality and he pointed out CityNorth is one of the largest single projects ever undertaken in Arizona.
Mayor Gordon said the project will create thousands of jobs and will boost Phoenix’s economy and viability.
“Phoenix was recently recognized as the No. 1 city in the country for creating jobs,” Mayor Gordon noted. “If it wasn’t for projects like CityNorth, we wouldn’t be able to keep that job growth growing. We wouldn’t be able to attract the people and the companies. Now we’ve opened up a whole new area of the Valley and a whole new area of this city to this phenomenal lifestyle that’s being created in this unprecedented project.”
Councilwoman Neely said many concepts and designs from the District 2 planning committees — Desert View Village and the Paradise Valley Village — have been copied nationally and she fully expects the CityNorth project will also serve as a model for other cities.
“You hear people say ‘we want the Desert Ridge mall, we want another Kierland. Now they’re going to say ‘we want another CityNorth ,’” Councilwoman Neely said. “But there won’t be another CityNorth. Why? Because it is going to be the most incredible experience you’ve ever seen.”
She added she expects CityNorth to be a destination for the southwest region, as well as the state.
Desert Ridge resident Jim Davis is excited to see the project get underway and noted he has been waiting for this moment for the past two years.
“I think it brings a lot to the community,” Mr. Davis said. “It will be higher density, but nothing that was already not planned. It’s been on the books for a long time and I’m kind of looking forward to it.”
Mr. Davis explained CityNorth will resemble something similar to Desert Ridge since it was originally part of the adjacent marketplace’s design concept.
CityNorth officials will release further news about the project in January.
By Dave Casadei, Independent Newspapers
