A Phoenix-based developer is one step closer to building a $450 million residential resort that would include condominiums, restaurants, a 40-room hotel and offices at 44th Street and Camelback Road.
The M3 Companies submitted official plans to the city this week for Camel-Square at 44th, a mixed-use project that would sit on 17 acres at the intersection’s northwest corner between Biltmore Fashion Park and Scottsdale Road.
The project — which was first proposed last fall — has raised concerns among neighbors about building heights and designs, as well as traffic congestion.
Phoenix has been working with residents and the developer on dealing with those issues for months, city planner Jane Bixler said.
“This is a major location in Phoenix. There’s a whole lot of interest there,” Bixler said. “It just made sense to put as much into it as we possibly could.”
Meanwhile, M3 has launched a community outreach program of its own and has incorporated buffer zones on the north and west sides of the property next to existing homes. Taller buildings will also be clustered toward the southeastern portion of the property.
“We’re committed to making CamelSquare at 44th a model of responsible development for years to come,” managing project partner Scott Schirmer said in a statement.
The developer also commissioned a traffic study of the area, which shows that the proposed development would generate slightly less traffic than the existing office complex at the site.
The current development generates an estimated 8,354 trips per weekday, while the planned project would produce 8,316 trips in the same period. Also, the proposed development is projected to reduce morning rush hour trips by 18 percent and reduce evening rush hour trips by 23 percent. Mixed-use projects typically reduce the amount of vehicle trips, the city’s Bixler said.
CamelSquare is still in the early planning stages.
The project must first be reviewed by numerous city departments before heading to the Camelback East Village Planning Committee. Large developments like this one also generally go on to be heard by the Planning Commission and City Council, Bixler said.
A Web site dedicated to the development states that construction is slated to start later this year or early 2008. Project plans also include an orange grove, estate homes, town homes, two banks, boutique shops and a 40,000-square-foot wellness center with building heights ranging from one story to nine stories.
It would replace an aging office complex — totaling 12 buildings and 300,000 square feet — at the site.
Misty Williams, Tribune
