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Mar 08

Dumb and Dumber: The City of Phoenix and ASU

By Yuri Artibise 28 Day Challenge, Opinion Comments

Phoenix is about to lose another historic gem.  It is a story we have heard dozens, if not hundreds of times before. This time however, the antagonist isn’t a greedy developer or out-of-state company, but our very own city government and state university.

Dumb and Dumber: The City of Phoenix and ASU

The Hotel in its Heyday

As a former ASU employee, I have long known about ASU’s take no prisoners approach to expansion that over ruled any stated interests in sustainability or community engagement.  I had hopes that the new city management and the City’s stated commitment to a vibrant downtown were more the mere window dressing. I was wrong.

Together ASU and the City of Phoenix are about to do something that would make even the most Machiavellian developer blush – raze a historic hotel in the middle of our city, and replace it with a parking lot. For more information on the back-story, and the history (and potential) of the site, please read this passionate post by my friend Rachel Dawn Luptak.  For a more concise overview, check out this post that Seth Anderson managed to sneak by the typically boosterish editors at DowntownPhoenix.com

Like Seth, I may have been sympathetic if it was to replace it with a vibrant new project, but no, in their infinite wisdom, ASU and the City of Phoenix have decided that what downtown needs is yet another parking lot. Sure, there are long-term plans to build a law school on the site, but there are no firm plans. Downtown is already littered with empty lots, razed to make way for well intended yet never realized projects. Why not use one of them instead?

Also, what is wrong with encouraging multimodal transportation such as light rail? There is a station less than a block away that to service the ASU downtown campus.  this system connected to hundreds of park & ride spaces, where people can park for free and ride into downtown for cheaper that a downtown parking spot.

Dumb

ASU is supposed to be committed to sustainability. They boast about the LEED certifications awarded to the new nursing and journalism buildings, yet want to destroy a landmark hotel for a parking lot. Surely with all the supposed sustainability expertise they have amassed they would have learned that the greenest building is the one already built.

Dumber

The City of Phoenix has listed ‘Dense City Core as one of it’s visions for their General Plan Update.  Why then are they allowing the demolition of an existing building when there are already plenty of empty lots in the immediate vicinity?  Are they really that siloed in their thinking?

What Can We Do?

While the City is telling us that this project is a done deal, I’m not giving up hope.  I’ll join the fight to get the city and ASU to reverse this asinine decision.  It may be late in the process, but until the wrecking ball dislodges the first brick, there is still hope. Please join me:

  • Start by leaving your ideas for adaptive reuses for this building. The most effective opposition contain reasonable alternatives.  Lets give them some.
  • Attend this Saturday’s (March 13th) meeting of the Downtown Voices Coalition, where there will be a discussion on strategies to reverse City Council and ASU’s decision and keep the building for more creative uses.  The meeting runs from 9:30-11:30 at the 9:30 a.m. at the Roosevelt Commons meeting room, 825 N. 6th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85003.
  • Stay tuned to this blog. I will keep you posted of further developments and opportunities to engage.
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Dumb and Dumber: The City of Phoenix and ASU

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Dec 30

DPJ Article: Three New ‘R’s: Rezone, Reuse and Revitalize — The City of Phoenix’s Adaptive Reuse Program

By Yuri Artibise Uncategorized Comments

Originally posted in the Downtown Phoenix Journal on December 22, 2009.

Over the past two years, amidst all the new buildings popping up, Downtown Phoenix has quietly become a leader in promoting adaptive reuse. Adaptive reuse is the process of tailoring old structures for purposes other than those initially intended. As old buildings outlive their original purposes, adaptive reuse offers a process to modify these buildings for new uses while retaining their historic features. As a result, an old warehouse may become an apartment building, or a rundown church may find new life as a restaurant.

10116 164053179049 83815914049 3736777 6036277 n 300x225 DPJ Article: Three New Rs: Rezone, Reuse and Revitalize — The City of Phoenixs Adaptive Reuse Program

A prime candidate for adaptive reuse: the city-owned (ca. 1909) Leighton G. Knipe House at 1025 N. 2nd Street.

By taking buildings that are either historical, dated or in older, established areas of the city and ensuring their presence long into the future, adaptive reuse is one of the ultimate expressions of sustainability. Not only does this take advantage of materials that are already there (which is environmental and economical), but it also respects a city’s history and plays an important role in community revitalization. Adaptive reuse also demonstrates that old buildings make great places for new ideas. As the famous urbanist Jane Jacobs said, “Old ideas can use new buildings, but new ideas need old buildings.”

The city’s Adaptive Reuse Program began as a pilot program in April 2008 to streamline the process of modifying older buildings for new business uses. In addition to adopting the International Existing Building Code, the city offers guidance, expedited time frames and reduced costs to individuals and companies looking to “recycle” older buildings for new business uses. Program participants can save between two weeks to three months time and $2,000 to $40,000 during the development process. In September 2009, the program won a “Crescordia” in the “Livable Communities” category at Valley Forward’s Environmental Excellence Awards. The Crescordia, named for a Greek term meaning “to grow in harmony,” is the highest honor awarded in each category.

This issue is important to the city, because as Mark Leonard, Director of the Phoenix Development Services Department explains, “Adaptive reuse preserves our history, helps small business owners be successful, creates unique restaurant and business settings for all of us to experience and it’s environmentally friendly.” Mayor Gordon concurs, noting in a 2008 speech, “Historic buildings are a critical part of what makes the Phoenix skyline truly our own, truly unique.”

The interior of the Lost Leaf:

The interior of The Lost Leaf

One example of adaptive reuse that will be familiar to many DPJ readers is modifying a historic, single-family residence for use as a restaurant or business. Some notable participants in the program include Tuck Shop (2245 N. 12th St. in Coronado), The Lost Leaf (914 N. 5th St. in Evans Churchill), The Paisley Violin (1030 NW Grand Ave.) and Hula’s Modern Tiki (4700 N. Central Ave. in Uptown). In total, the program has supported 30 total adaptive reuse projects in the past 18 months, although a few of them did not proceed past plan review due to the economy.

Earlier this month, based on the recommendations of a Development Services Ad Hoc Task Force, council unanimously approved expanding the Adaptive Reuse Program. During its deliberations, the task force looked at the existing program’s experience to date, as well as best practices from other cities, and came up with what may be the most comprehensive adaptive reuse plan in the country.

The expanded plan now includes buildings constructed prior to the year 2000, increases the size limits from 5,000 square feet to 100,000 square feet and allows for occupancy change flexibility. This expansion of the program provided increased opportunities to rezone, reuse and revitalize vacant strip malls, big box centers and other blighted community areas and keep them out of the landfill.

Special thanks to Jim McPherson (Arizona Preservation Foundation), Kimber Lanning (Local First AZ) and Denee McKinley (City of Phoenix Office of Customer Advocacy) for their assistance in researching this article.

DPJ Article: Three New Rs: Rezone, Reuse and Revitalize — The City of Phoenixs Adaptive Reuse Program
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