Tempe may be a landlocked city, but residents will see an enormous amount of growth over the next few years.
The high-rises under construction downtown will take growth vertically, for both condos and offices.
New hotels will grow the city’s tourist numbers. Retail opportunities continue to grow citywide.
In the past nine years, private property within the 743-acre Town Lake area increased in worth to $93.6 million, from $15.4 million, according to county records.
An estimated 5,000 condos are expected to be built in downtown Tempe in the next few years, many of them near the lake. There are plans for a number of luxury hotels, and companies are swapping cushy digs in established areas such as Phoenix’s Camelback Esplanade for lake views.
There are plans for nine new hotels around the city. Today, Tempe has 5,369 hotel rooms, spread out among 44 hotels. New construction and expansion of two existing hotels could add 1,750 rooms.
"Tempe certainly has emerged as a destination in the market," said Robert Hayward, a lodging consultant with the Scottsdale-based national firm Warnick and Co. "Right now, they don’t have any upscale boutique hotel. They (developers) recognize there’s a niche there that hasn’t been filled."
Tempe is not even close to running out of space for new restaurants and stores.
It has lots of neighborhood centers, the new 395,000-square Emerald Design Center east of Ikea, an estimated 2 million square feet of retail space coming to ground floors of downtown high rises, and an undetermined amount of space to be built into nine light-rail stations.
Tempe Marketplace, which is opening this year southwest of the Loop 202 and 101 freeway interchange, also has 1.3 million square feet and is 95 percent leased. Nine businesses are expected to be open there by July.
It could land the state’s first H&M clothing store, a popular Swedish chain. The center will feature a green laser-light canopy over the parking lot and an entertainment district with an area for live performances and block parties.
"Lucille Ball meets the Jetsons – very, very fun" is how Jim Brennan, the center’s general manager, described Tempe Marketplace’s retro architecture and signs.
Republic staff
