The Phoenix City Council is expected to decide today whether a developer can build a mid-rise condominium along the Seventh Avenue curve.
The zoning meeting is 5 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 200 W. Jefferson St.
Last Wednesday, the Phoenix Planning Commission recommended that a developer be allowed to build 120-foot buildings along a stretch of Seventh Avenue.
The project, Melrose Point, proposes to bring a mix of condominiums, retail and office space to the flourishing urban community along Seventh Avenue between Camelback and Indian School roads.
Some area residents expressed concerns about the proposed height of the buildings and the further traffic congestion it would generate. Others have praised the project for the new businesses and residents it would bring the area.
The Melrose Point towers could be as high as 10 stories, or about 120 feet, and each is expected to have three stories of underground parking. The land is already zoned to allow buildings as tall as 56 feet. But the developer is asking the city for a waiver to go higher.
Bill Sandweg, president of the Seventh Avenue Merchants Association, which represents the businesses along Seventh Avenue, is excited about the project and the blight that it would replace.
Seventh Avenue, a main artery that moves traffic in and out of downtown Phoenix, is one of only two remaining streets in the city with a reversible lane.
During peak morning hours the center lane becomes southbound only, and at the end of the workday, drivers can head only north.
Monica Alonzo-Dunsmoor The Arizona Republic
