Stucco siding fell like cardboard Monday and Tuesday with each swipe of an excavation truck’s clawed arm.
Chunks of building, shelving and retaining wall clattered to the ground, relegating the old Gentle Strength Co-op buildings to organic food fans’ memories.
The aging structures at the intersection of University Drive and Ash Avenue are being ripped out to make way for a 21-story condo complex and a corporate health food store.
The demolition taking place this week is the first visible sign to the community that the Mosaic project is on its way to becoming a reality.
"Its kind of sad to see it go," said Chris Corwin, who was working at the new Gentle Strength Co-op location at Mill and Southern avenues Tuesday morning. "But it’s a dual thing. Everyone is trying to focus on our new future here."
Developers also are scheduled to rip out at least three smaller buildings near University Drive and Forest Avenue in the coming weeks.
The work will clear land for a massive mixed-use building with three towers, called University Square.
One of the Arches buildings will be torn down, as will the building that housed the Trophy Den, said Tony Wall, one of the project’s developers. The entire block could be cleared as early as February, Wall added.
"Change is change," said Roy Hoyt, a neighborhood activist who lives near the demolition sites.
Hoyt said he remembers patronizing the shops and restaurants in the Arches when he was a student at Arizona State University, and when the Gentle Strength buildings housed a lumber yard.
"I’m afraid we’re going to see the same phenomenon in Tempe as in central and north-central Phoenix where buildings are being torn down and all of the sudden the land becomes too valuable to build on," he said. "We’re seeing it happen all over. Developers pay big bucks and now the market is no longer there, and we get to see vacant land for a decade or more."
That won’t be the case at the Gentle Strength site, said Justin LaMar, the land’s developer.
LaMar said sales on homes are planned for this winter and construction is slated to start in the summer, LaMar said.
"We’ll start building as fast as we can," he said. "It’s a function of the process with the city. I’d love to start tomorrow."
Mosaic is scheduled to have 215 homes on nearly two acres. The first two floors are designated to be a home for Whole Foods Market. Flats, townhouses, condos and penthouses and residential amenities will occupy the rest of the space. Yet, demolition has to happen before any of that can take place.
"Look at that come down," said LaMar, while watching the work Monday. "You’ll have to excuse us. We’re like boys with Tonka trucks here."
Katie Nelson – The Arizona Republic
