Now you feel our pain (possible demo of 44th/Camelback VNB)

[PixelPixie]

This meeting date has been changed by request of the developer and re-zoning attorney to October 10th. There is NOT a meeting Sept. 26th. Thank you for your patience and involvement.

[azpreservation]

Here's the latest from Paul Barnes of the Neighborhood Coalition of Greater Phoenix (pbarnes32@cox.net). As you know from past postings, the key word is "SCHEDULED" meeting (so be flexible, nimble, and patient)!

SUBJECT: Rezoning Cases – Chase Bank on SE Corner of 44th and Camelback, Camelsquare On NW Corner, and Grace Communities on SW Corner (behind and adjacent To Londen Center)

RE: Planning Commission Hearing on 10/10/07

Following is brief description of these projects which total approximately 1,400,000 SF:

• Chase on SE Corner – Will revise zoning from single family residential, surface parking, and commercial to all commercial. If approved, open space will be gone, some of the mushroom columns will be removed, surface parking will be reduced, and most all of the current mature trees and landscaping will be uprooted. Furthermore, Chase’s out of state parent has still not indicated acceptance of any long term arrangement to save the bank building itself.

• Camelsquare on NW Corner – Will replace current 283,000 SF of office space with 950,000 SF of retail, hotel and residential. Condo towers will be 110’ tall (40’ taller than Londen Center) including mechanicals.

• Grace Communities on SW Corner – Will replace current office, residential and retail with a 400,000 SF mixed use project that will include office, a 125 room business man’s hotel, residential and retail. Our objection is to the two four-story buildings planned to the west of the Londen Center, which we would like to see kept to three stories and the removal of 12 single family homes.

PLEASE attend the reference hearing and, if you can, WEAR A YELLOW SHIRT. While the Planning Commission has historically favored developers over neighborhoods, your attendance on 10/10/07 is critical. It will send a strong message to the City Council which is the next body to hear the subject cases. Details of 10/10/07 hearing are as follows:

Date: Wednesday, October 10

Time: 6 p.m. Try and be 20 to 30 minutes early to sign in and fill out position cards in opposition. There will be neighborhood representatives in front of the Council Chambers to assist you.

Place: City Council Chambers, round building at 200 W. Jefferson.

Parking: City garage on Southeast corner of Washington and 4th Ave. or at surface parking where available.

[modeddie]

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/1011phx-camelback1011-ON.html

What's up with this? Good news? bad?

[PixelPixie]

Approved with one dissent a retail and condo building on the southeast corner, with preservation of the Chase Bank building. Public opponents said the project would put up a wall between their neighborhoods and the intersection, agreeing with Commissioner Tom Awai.

? ? ?

[azpreservation]

The Planning Commission has "punted" to the City Council. My favorite line (I'm being facetious) was from Commissioner Gullett: "There have been some serious traffic issues brought up here tonight that we hadn't considered before...(blah, blah, blah)...it's a good project and I'm voting for it."

Now's the time to write, call, or e-mail Mayor Gordon and/or your member of Council to express your opinion.

To locate your city representative, visit http://www.phoenix.gov/citygov/electidx.html

The Honorable Phil Gordon, Mayor, 602-262-7111, phil.gordon@phoenix.gov

The Honorable Dave Siebert, District 1, 602-262-7444, council.district.1@phoenix.gov

The Honorable Peggy Neely, District 2, 602-262-7445, council.district.2@phoenix.gov

The Honorable Peggy Bilsten, District 3, 602-262-7441, peggy.bilsten@phoenix.gov

The Honorable Tom Simplot, District 4, 602-262-7447, tom.simplot@phoenix.gov

The Honorable Claude Mattox, District 5, 602-262-7446, council.district.5@phoenix.gov

The Honorable Greg Stanton, District 6, 602-262-7491, greg.stanton@phoenix.gov

The Honorable Doug Lingner, District 7, 602-262-7492, doug.lingner@phoenix.gov

The Honorable Michael Johnson, District 8, 602-262-7493, michael.johnson@phoenix.gov

[JC]

This took me by surprise.... one dissent huh.

Will mushrooms be preserved too or just the bank?

[azpreservation]

Sources tell me that a lot of phone calls, emails, and 1:1s were held today to come to some sort of compromise on the southeast corner of 44th Street and Camelback. Word has it that OPUS came down to two floors on the open space, but Chase Bank wouldn't budge on setting any significant protections on the bank itself (i.e., some sort of deed restriction or conservation easement). So, stalemate.

Which means the action goes to City Council tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. at City Council chambers (200 W. Jefferson St., round building). All Modernists are welcome to attend, sign a card, or send an e-mail (directions on how to do in previous posts).

This may be it folks.

[PixelPixie]

I sent my letter, have you guys sent yours?

Please let them know how much our heroes they will become for setting a MCM conservation-friendly precedent.

[azpreservation]

Three separate developers are pushing rezonings on the SE, SW, and NW corners of the subject intersection. According to the Neighborhood Coalition of Greater Phoenix, these proposals break current plans and past promises.

The neighborhoods that are under attack need your help. Please attend the reference hearings and voice your opposition. These cases are first on the agenda so it is important to be on time. Since the cases are first, it shouldn't be a late night.

We realize many of you have attended past meetings dealing with the subject cases. We apologize that we must ask you to turn out one more time, but it is essential we do so. This is it. The City Council is where we win or lose. Your presence can help make a difference.

Bus transportation to and from the Arcadia area to the City Council Chambers will be available. Please call Paul Barnes at 602-840-1579 for details and to make reservations.

Background on projects which total approximately 1,400,000 SF:

• Chase ("mushroom") Bank on SE Corner – Will revise zoning from single family residential, surface parking, and commercial to all commercial. If approved, open space will be gone, some of the mushroom columns will be removed, surface parking will be reduced, and most all of the current mature trees and landscaping will be uprooted. Furthermore, Chase’s out of state parent has still not indicated acceptance of any long term arrangement to save the bank building itself.

• Camelsquare on NW Corner – Will replace current 283,000 SF of office space with 950,000 SF of retail, hotel, and residential. Condo towers will be 110’ tall (40’ taller than Londen Center) including mechanicals.

• Grace Communities on SW Corner – Will replace current office, residential and retail with a 400,000 SF mixed use project that will include office, a 125 room business hotel, residential, and retail. Our objection is to the two four-story buildings planned to the west of the Londen Center, which we would like to see kept to three stories and the removal of 12 single family homes.

Date: Wednesday, November 7

Time: 5 p.m. Try and be 30 minutes early to sign in and fill out position cards in opposition. There will be neighborhood representatives in front of the Council Chambers to assist you. We have been promised by Mayor Gordon our items will be first on the agenda so it is critical you are on time.

Place: City Council Chambers at Jefferson Street and 3rd Avenue.

Parking: City garage on SE corner of Washington and 4th Avenue or at surface parking where available.

Please attend this meeting and support our position of opposition. Bring friends and associates.

Thank you,
B. Paul Barnes
Neighborhood Coalition of Greater Phoenix
602-840-1579
602-376-6446 (cell)
pbarnes32@cox.net

[YuriArtibise]

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/1031phx-arcadia1102.html

Passion high over 44th/Camelback proposals

Michael Clancy
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 31, 2007 12:02 PM
The Phoenix City Council will tackle three of the most controversial zoning cases in years next week, when proposals for three corners of one intersection come up for a decision.

The intersection of 44th Street and Camelback Road is in the heart of Arcadia, one of Phoenix's most established neighborhoods. Large numbers of residents have been showing up at meeting after meeting to criticize the projects.

"These cases are particularly high profile," said Councilman Greg Stanton, whose district covers the area. "People are passionate. My office has received hundreds and hundreds, maybe thousands of calls, e-mails and letters."
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The projects include:

• A major redevelopment on the northwest corner, where the CamelSquare office complex now sits. Developer M3 Companies hopes to build what it calls "a residential resort" that would be home to 100-foot-tall buildings and hundreds of residents in single-family homes, townhomes and condos.

• On the southeast corner, Opus' project consists of a three-story building with retail and condos on vacant land behind the Chase Bank branch.

• On the southwest corner, Grace Communities plans a mixed-use development with buildings as high as four stories.

Criticism of the projects has focused on building heights, number of people they would house, and amount of traffic they would generate.

In addition, preservation of the bank building, with its distinctive design, is a key aspect of opponents' demands.

Proponents of the projects point to rundown buildings and underused land.

The Phoenix Planning Commission approved the projects on the south side of Camelback without changes, but recommended the top heights of the M3 project be lowered to the height of the Londen Center across the street.

The City Council will take up the proposals at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

[azpreservation]

Paul Barnes with the Neighorhood Association of Greater Phoenix noted that he talked to Council Member Greg Stanton at 8 am on October 31 and again at 3:10 pm. It looks like seven members of council will be in attendance (that's a quorum...which is important of course!). Stanton asked that Paul ensure there's a BIG turnout at the meeting, and Paul assured him that he would do his best. If you can wear a yellow shirt (to show solidarity), that would be great.

November 7, 5 pm, City Council Chambers... details in previous posts.

Any questions, write to Paul at pbarnes32@cox.net

[YuriArtibise]

I find the editorial spin a little disturbing. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it seems to portray those of us who want to preserve history are against creating live/work/play hotspots... Leaving aside that 'resort style complexes' hardly lend themselves to 'hotspots,' the question I have is: Why can't we have both

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/1107biz-aracadia1107.html#

Phoenix City Council to vote on high-profile Arcadia plans

Andrew Johnson
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 7, 2007 12:00 AM

The image of one of east Phoenix's most high-profile intersections could change from a low-key, low-rise area to a live-work-play hotspot depending on a City Council decision tonight.

Phoenix council members are scheduled to vote on three mixed-use developments proposed for separate corners at the intersection of 44th Street and Camelback Road.

The site has been the epicenter of a months-long debate in which neighborhood groups have squared off with developers over the building's heights and their compatibility with the surrounding area.
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Here are the proposals:

• Scottsdale-based Grace Communities wants to build office buildings, restaurants, retail and a boutique hotel on the southwestern corner.

• Phoenix developer Opus West Corp. wants to build a luxury condominium and retail development where Chase Bank has its famous mushroom-shaped bank. This is on the southeastern corner.

• M3 Cos. wants to redevelop an office buildings on the northwestern corner into a resort-style complex with single-family homes, condos, retail, office space and a hotel.

The meeting will be held at 5 p.m. in City Council chambers, 200 W. Jefferson St.


Reporter Michael Clancy contributed to this article.

[YuriArtibise]

The Chase Bank and surroundings have been given a stay of execution , at least for a year. Only the proposal for SW corner was approved tonight.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/1107arcadiaON.htm

Controversial Arcadia project gets approved

Michael Clancy
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 7, 2007 07:33 PM
One redevelopment project at a controversial Arcadia neighborhood intersection got the green light, but two others were curbed by decisions of the Phoenix City Council on Wednesday evening.

The council decisions end for now a long and argumentative process for redevelopment of three corners at Camelback Road and 44th Street.

The council approved the project proposed for the southwest corner, where Grace Communities wants to erect nine buildings topping out at four stories that would house 175,000 square feet of retail and office, as well as 42 condominiums and a 125-room hotel.

The project will wrap around the Londen Center, a four-story building, and replace an aging strip mall, two office buildings and a handful of single family homes.

On the southeast corner, the council denied a proposal from Opus Corp. and Chase Bank for a three-story building with retail on the ground floor and condos above, on vacant land east of the bank building, widely recognized for its unusual design. But failure to win an agreement to preserve the bank building for longer than 10 years led to the denial.

On the northwest corner, M3 Companies withdrew its proposal for the CamelSquare site after the council rejected a request for more time that M3 said it needed to redesign the project in conformance with the Phoenix Planning Commission's recommendation a month ago that the buildings go no higher than 70 feet.

New proposals can be filed with the city after a year from the original filing.

[PixelPixie]

That is remarkable news. THANK YOU everyone for your diligent efforts on behalf of the bank building and its (our) future.

[JC]

http://phoenix.gov/PLANNING/camsite3.pdf

There was the proposal if anyone is interested...
http://phoenix.gov/PLANNING/camelev3.pdf

Glad it got denied.... for now... hopefully Opus will end up having to have the bank preserved indefinitely....