The fight to save the Valley’s "mushroom bank," an Arcadia architectural icon built in the 1960s, doesn’t look like it will end anytime soon.
Both sides of the battle, a portion of the Arcadia neighbors and the would-be-developer, Opus West Co., refuse to budge over how to develop the land at 44th Street and Camelback Road in Phoenix.
Opus lost its first battle this week in its effort to obtain the zoning needed to build four-story condos and retail shops in the bank’s backyard. Unless a compromise can be reached between Opus and some Arcadia neighbors, the Phoenix City Council will have to decide who wins and who loses.
A subcommittee of the Camelback East Village Planning Committee voted 3-2 to deny Opus its zoning. The subcommittee’s vote will serve as a recommendation to the committee.
The development would house 57 high-end condos and 25,000 square feet of boutique shopping if zoning is approved. The two-acre space is zoned residential, which allows for a maximum height of 30 feet, or two stories. Opus requested that the land be rezoned for a mix of retail and residential property, which allows for a maximum height of 56 feet, or four stories.
JP Morgan Chase & Co., who owns the bank building and its adjoining open space, originally wanted to sell the entire plot of land to Opus but when some Arcadia neighbors jumped to protect the iconic building, Opus agreed to buy just the bank’s backyard. Opus initially planned to build an office complex where the bank is.
The Arcadia/Camelback Mountain Neighborhood Association, which has collected more than 700 signed statements from residents against the development, wants to make sure the bank and its parklike space go unchanged.
Chase officials told the Phoenix Historic Preservation Commission this week that they were willing to apply for a historic designation, a move that would protect the bank for a year, but only if Opus gets the zoning it needs to seal the deal with Chase. However, the neighborhood association and historic commission members aren’t satisfied, because the historic designation protects the bank for only one year.At this week’s village subcommittee meeting, some Arcadia residents wore T-shirts with the message "Save Our Neighborhood," while others said that Opus’ development is not something that the neighborhood needs to be saved from.
Colleen Don Dero, an Arcadia resident, doesn’t think it will hurt Arcadia. "I always like progress, and I think it (the development) will add to Arcadia, especially with the condos. And I think additional shopping is neat."
Opus President Tom Roberts said the development would revitalize the neighborhood by adding restaurants, retail stores and condos, which would in turn increase property values.
Valley National Bank, the bank’s first owner in 1967, purchased extra land to serve as a buffer from neighboring residences. Since then, those residences have turned into office buildings, and thus the purpose of the buffer has gone away, Roberts said.
Jennifer Price
The Arizona Republic
