Downtown Phoenix

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Phoenix's downtown area is a geographical area consisting of about two or three square miles, with axes running along Central Avenue and Washington/Jefferson Streets. About twenty-five mid-rise and high-rise buildings ranging up to 39 stories tall pierce the skyline. Only two skyscrapers reach over 400 feet tall (122 m), the last of which was constructed in the 1970s. Downtown attractions include the Arizona Science Center, Phoenix Museum of History, the Phoenix Art Museum, the Heard Museum and the Burton Barr Central Library. Downtown Phoenix is also a sports and entertainment hub with facilities including Chase Field, the US Airways Center, the Orpheum Theater and the Dodge Theatre.

Contents 1 Development and Re-development 2 Lack of development, historically 3 Copper Square 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Development and Re-development

Several new skyscrapers are under construction as of March 2006, with many more^[1] planned that will dramatically transform the skyline. These include:

• Under Construction:
  • 44 Monroe, a 34-story residential condo tower;
  • Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel, a 31-story hotel;
  • Summit at Copper Square, a 22-story residential condo tower
  • W Hotel, a 39-story hotel and condo tower
• Approved:
  • Cosmopolitan Lofts, a 17-story residential condo tower;
  • RO3 (Phase III), a 16-story residential condo tower;
  • Cityscape, four 30 to 40-story mixed-use towers, officially approved by the Parks Board on 2/22/2007;
  • Central Park East, a 40-story mixed-use project;
  • Park Place, Phase II, a 38-story mixed-use project;

There is a large number of high-rise proposals, some of which will likely not be built, due to the considerable amount of speculation occurring in Phoenix. Issues include skyrocketing land costs and ever-increasing construction costs, due to the shortage of concrete, steel and other construction materials. Other proposals not listed above include a third phase of Arizona Center, several "warehouse district" residential high-rises near the stadiums, several office projects and various other residential projects ranging from five to thirty stories in height.

A newly expanded convention center is under construction now, which will triple the amount of available space to nearly one million square feet. The name of the center was recently changed to the Phoenix Convention Center from Phoenix Civic Plaza, to reflect this $600 million investment.

A $1.2 billion light rail system called "The Metro" is also under construction. When the initial 20-mile (32 km) segment is completed in 2008, it will improve connections to downtown areas of Glendale, Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa. A downtown extension for Arizona State University opened in fall 2006, with about 3,000 students. A much larger campus is planned, with up to 15,000 students by 2015. Some coffeehouses, restaurants, nightclubs and shopping in the area continue to draw people downtown for the growing nightlife scene. Much more development is expected once the light rail line and downtown ASU are open.

[edit] Lack of development, historically

Unique among large American cities, downtown Phoenix is relatively small due to several factors. Phoenix's ranking^[2] as the 5th largest city in the country is misleading since cities such as Boston, Dallas, Washington, and Detroit are underrepresented by the de jure city limits, which had been set historically, though the cities continued to expand in area, population and influence. In comparing metropolitan areas these cities and five others have larger city sizes than Phoenix and larger populations as metro areas.

There is little historical housing stock precisely because Phoenix was so small—only 106,000 people in 1950. In addition, much was largely destroyed in the "urban renewal" movements of the 1960s and 1970s, for example, no equivalent of San Diego's Gaslamp District exists anywhere in Phoenix today. For comparison, in 1950, San Diego was more than three times as large as Phoenix. Dallas was more than four times as large, and Houston was almost six times larger. Even Kansas City, Missouri was over four times as large as Phoenix in 1950. As of 2007, Phoenix has three times the population of Kansas City, but Phoenix's skyline has not kept pace.

Much of Phoenix's growth during the 1950s and 1960s was low density suburban sprawl. Zoning at the time largely favored mass subdivisions of inexpensive cement block homes at the edge of the ever-expanding city. Land was cheaper and there were few neighbors and little red tape. As a result, developers gravitated to the edges of the metropolitan area.

"Growth is good for business"

"As urban growth continued in the 1960s and 1970s and spread from Phoenix into surrounding communities, the power base widened. Instead of a few private-sector leaders, there was the 'Phoenix 40,' a group of approximately 40 business leaders that included representatives from other industries, such as real estate and construction. The pro-growth bias broadened and became prevalent. In general, the perception of the bulk of the business community has been and continues to be that growth is good for business.

"An identifiable power hierarchy has been lacking since the 1970s. Charter government in the city of Phoenix was dissolved in 1975. The strength of the Phoenix 40 has waned without being replaced by a similarly powerful group. Yet the same pro-growth private-sector interests continue to wield considerable power. County government remains weak and no real regional government exists. Though city governments have become more important, some are as pro-growth as their private-sector constituency."^[3]

For years, Phoenix was an isolated, small outpost far from the centers of power. Phoenix's tallest building from 1929 to 1961 was the Westward Ho, a 17-story hotel that is now a retirement home for seniors. In 1970, Phoenix's entire metropolitan population was less than one million, and was considered largely a retirement and tourist haven. At the same time, Dallas had well over two million residents and Los Angeles had seven million. Thus, much of the skyscraper-building frenzy that marked the downtowns of sunbelt cities like Dallas, Houston and Atlanta never occurred in Phoenix. Phoenix was considered too small and too remote to attract much significant commercial high-rise development during the 1960s and 1970s. It is also possible that the growing leviathans of Los Angeles (and to a lesser degree, Denver, Houston and Dallas) siphoned off some of the high-rise development that might have otherwise occurred in Phoenix. All of these cities were much larger than Phoenix and were seen as being much more progressive at the time.

Phoenix was anti-urban and still is, to some degree. A comprehensive freeway plan was resisted until 1985. At that time Phoenix was the largest metropolitan area (with almost two million residents) in the United States without a completed freeway or beltway system encircling and crossing the city, which created busy arterial streets. Sightlines and mountain views are important to residents. Many still oppose high-rises because views of the mountains are considered sacred, as evidenced by the recent rejection in 2005 of Donald Trump's 15-story high-rise project in the Biltmore area. Many people that came to Phoenix in the latter half of the 20th century did so to escape "big city problems," so there is a natural tendency in Arizona to keep things small. As a result, much of the office space in Phoenix is located in low profile newer office parks in outlying areas of the city, and not in downtown high-rises like in other cities.

[edit] Copper Square

The one square mile area surrounding Central Avenue and Jefferson consists of a business district, housing many state and local government buildings, and is known as Copper Square. A growing center of activity, many locals refer to this area as "Downtown". Copper Square, despite the lack of city-center development over the years, has undergone a renaissance since the building of the US Airways Center (formerly America West Arena) in 1992 and Chase Field (formerly Bank One Ballpark) in 1998.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Phoenix Museum of History
• Copper Square - Downtown Phoenix Partnership
• Phoenix Convention Center