One Central Park East Breaks Ground

The new $175 million high-rise downtown office tower in downtown Phoenix is planned to open in 2009.

The new $175 million high-rise downtown office tower in downtown Phoenix is planned to open in 2009.

26-Story Tower Begins Construction in Phoenix

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon joined developer Central Park East Associates LLC and nearly 200 guests to break ground on One Central Park East, the first state-of-the-art downtown office tower to break ground in Phoenix since 2001.

The new $175 million, 26-story office tower, located at 50 East Van Buren near the northeastern corner of Central Avenue and Van Buren Street, will offer 485,000 sq ft of Class A office space on 16 floors, resting atop a nine-level parking garage with 600 parking spaces and separate ground floor and lobby retail space. Mesirow Financial Real Estate Inc. is the managing member of the development team.

Upon completion in Fall 2009, the 700,000-sq-ft building will offer valley views and exclusive amenities such as floor-to-ceiling vision glass, column-free corner offices and advanced energy-efficient building systems.

The building's design reflects the unique requirements of large and growing businesses, including high-capacity floor loading to allow for planning flexibility and HVAC design criteria, and large floor plates of 30,000 rentable sq ft per floor.

One CPE represents the first phase of a potential mixed-use project on a prime downtown block offering immediate access to Copper Square and in close proximity to Phoenix's financial, government and entertainment districts. Future phases of the greater project may include office, hotel, and high-rise residential or institutional properties.

In addition to MFRE, Central Park East Associates LLC is comprised of A&L Phoenix Development LLC and the National Electrical Benefit Fund. Construction financing is in place with Artesia Mortgage Capital Corporation and Wachovia Bank, with CB Richard Ellis Group serving as the leasing agent. SmithGroup has been selected as the building's architect. Holder Construction is the general contractor.

CityScape Breaks Ground, Announces Tenants

The developers of CityScape announced new project details, including two major anchors, for the 2.5 million-sq-ft, mixed-use project in downtown Phoenix. Wachovia Corporation will anchor the 600,000-sq-ft Class A office tower at One East Washington. Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants will operate a 250-room, >> luxury boutique Hotel Palomar in the mixed-use tower at One South Central that also includes approximately 200 luxury residential condominium units, plus lower-level retail. Additionally, the developers announced plans for 65 for-rent, market-rate apartments.

In addition to the three floors of office space totaling 70,000 sq ft, Wachovia will receive building-top signage, open a retail branch in the building and distribute ATM locations throughout the project. Wachovia's plans for a regional headquarters at CityScape coincide with the financial service provider's expanded presence throughout Arizona.

CityScape will also incorporate the TWELVE Hotel & Residences, offering up to 1,000 upscale, urban condominium homes paired with a 150-room boutique hotel; 250,000 sq ft of retail including previously announced tenants AJ's Fine Foods, which will bring the first grocery store to downtown Phoenix in many years, and P.F. Chang's China Bistro; 3,900 parking spaces and more than 100,000 sq ft of open space, including the new Patriot's Park.

Construction on CityScape, which was originally announced in February 2006, began with the excavation of the parking garage on the middle block and the relocation of utilities near the site. The first phase of this multi-phase project is planned to open late 2009, with construction continuing through 2011. Phase one includes the Class A office tower, approximately 200,000 sq ft of retail, the apartments, underground parking on the middle block, renovations to the Patriot's Park parking garage and the new Patriot's Park.

CityScape encompasses three blocks at the core of downtown Phoenix. RED Development and the Barron Collier Company are co-developing CityScape, the largest private investment in the history of downtown Phoenix, along with Novare Group and CDK Partners.

Hunt Construction has been named the general contractor for construction for the middle block. The Phoenix office of CB Richard Ellis is leasing the office space, while RED Development will manage the retail leasing. The project architect for the west and middle blocks is Seattle-based Callison LLC, while the project architect for the east block is Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates of Atlanta. The landscape, hardscape and open space design firm for the west and middle blocks is Murase Associates of Seattle. David Evans and Associates is the civil engineer for both the off site and on site improvements related to the middle and west blocks. PK Associates LLC Scottsdale is the structural engineer for the middle block and KPFF Consulting Engineers is the structural engineer for the west block.

Major Water Resort Destination Planned in Mesa

Waveyard, a state-of-the-art water sports resort and national entertainment destination, received voter approval in a local Mesa election.

Waveyard is slated to become a first-of-its-kind tourist destination, featuring the largest surfing wave pool in the U.S., a multi-channel whitewater rafting and kayaking course, scuba diving and snorkeling lagoon, wakeboarding park, massive sand beach and a resort hotel with an indoor water park. Additionally, Waveyard will boast a special events conference center, a spa and wellness center, an amphitheater, numerous restaurants, a surf shop and paddle sports store, entertainment retail, office space and several unique residential opportunities.

Waveyard will occupy 121 acres on the southeast corner of the Loop 101 & 202 interchange in Mesa.

Waveyard developers say that the resort will conserve as much water as possible, claiming the estimated water use will be on par with an 18-hole golf course. Waveyard will require a one-time fill between 30 and 50 million gallons. Daily use, evaporation and the splash effect will require between 60 and 100 million gallons each year.

Jeffrey Gustin will serve as vice president of construction management. Groundbreaking is currently slated for mid-2009, with opening scheduled for 2012.

Life Care Services Launches Construction of Sagewood

Three months ahead of schedule, Sagewood has officially broken ground on the senior living community being developed by Life Care Services LLC.

Sagewood's phase I-A, which features casitas, villas, lofts and apartment homes ranging from 760 to 2,350 sq ft, is 90% sold with pre-construction sales of 181 homes since January 2007. Phase I-B (113 homes) was recently released for sales.

Sagewood is a LifeCare community, which combines resort-like, maintenance-free residential living with unlimited access to on-site assisted living, memory and skilled nursing care.

Located near the intersections of Mayo and Tatum boulevards in northeast Phoenix, the community touts signature LCS programs which focus on fitness, nutrition and promote overall well-being.

Southwest Family Services Center Breaks Ground

The city of Phoenix broke ground for the 21,000-sq-ft Southwest Family Services Center at the northwest corner of 51st Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road.

The new one-story family services center, located on four acres of land, will include a 3,000-sq-ft multipurpose community room, client lobby, conference rooms, two Head Start classrooms and a playground, computer lab, food bank and parking for 120 vehicles.

The 21,000-sq-ft facility will provide a comprehensive array of on-site services to meet the emergency needs of low-income Phoenix residents, including food, shelter and clothing, rent and utility assistance, programs for the homeless and services to meet the needs of special populations. The two Head Start classrooms will serve up to 20 children per classroom.

The construction budget for the 2001 Capital Improvement Bond project is $5.8 million with an estimated completion date of early 2009. The project architect is Gabor Lorant Architects. Additional acreage at the location is reserved for the construction of a 12,000-sq-ft senior center funded by the 2006 Capital Improvement Bond Program due for completion in 2011.

Veritas @ McCormick Ranch Construction Underway

Summit Builders has commenced construction on Veritas @ McCormick Ranch, an urban condominium development located at 8333 N. Via Paseo Del Norte in Scottsdale for International Capital Builders (ICP) of Phoenix.

The development will provide 36, two and three-story units within nine buildings. The mission style residential villas range in size from 1,500 to just over 2,000 sq ft. Each condominium unit will feature a two-car garage. Amenities include a pool/spa area with outdoor fireplace.

Vincent/Goldstein Architects serves as project architect. Construction is expected to be completed late 2nd quarter 2008.

Groundbreaking Celebrates New Combs High School

Officials from the J.O. Combs Unified School District broke ground on the first high school for the quickly growing Queen Creek district. This was the next growth step following the community vote in 2006 to unify and allow the school district to educate K-12 students rather than being limited to K-8.

The new Combs High School site is located east of Ironwood and north of Pima Road on 50-acres and was designed by DLR Group. The approximately 233,740-sq-ft facility will accommodate 1,700 students in grades 9 through 12 and features a two-story classroom building, a gym/cafeteria/performing arts building, library, administration offices and various sporting fields.

The architectural concept was developed around Mondrian’s art. The site is master-planned for the following future buildings: a separate 1,200-seat auditorium building, a separate public pool and restroom/concession/athletic field house buildings.

Pinnacle One, General Contractor D.L. Withers and DLR Group are also teamed to work on the next elementary school for the district just west of the high school campus.

Meram Building Company Makes Plans for Two Projects

Olive 95 LLC, a subsidiary of Scottsdale-based builder and developer Meram Building Companies, closed on 3.4 acres on the northwest corner of 95th & Olive Avenues in Peoria as the future site of a retail development. Situated near the Loop 101 Olive exit, the new Meram development will offer 23,752 sq ft of available retail shop space and an additional 4,000-sq-ft pad building.

The proposed development will include a .9-acre pad lot and shop space between 890 and 23,752 sq ft.

The Town of Gilbert approved the plans for a new mixed-use lifestyle center on the southeast corner of McQueen and Warner Roads to be named Villages at the Islands. The project includes space for retail outlets, offices, a bank and several retail pads.

Currently, space is available for four one-story offices ranging from 6,000 - 12,000 sq ft per building; two retail shop sites at 13,398 sq ft per building; two pad sites on up to 1.47 acres each and a banking pad. Meram Building breaks ground on the Villages at the Islands in early 2008 and anticipates that all the retail shop space will be ready for move-in by September 2008.

CityNorth Places Last Steel Beam on Tenth Building

The ceremonial last steel beam was placed on top of the tenth and final building of the High Street portion of the project, signaling a construction milestone for phase one. A brief ceremony with remarks by Don Larsen, CityNorth project manager was followed by a congratulatory lunch for the construction workers in attendance. Hensel Phelps and Sundt are the general contractors on phase one.

CityNorth is situated along the intersection of Loop 101 and 56th Street. When complete, the development will comprise 5.5 million sq ft of space on 144 acres.

High Street, slated to open next year, will feature ground-level shops and restaurants that will be crowned by luxury condominiums and office space. Signed tenants include national restaurants and retailers such as Daily Grill, Cameron Mitchell's Restaurants, Kona Grill, Blue Martini, Il Fornaio, Lindsay Lou, Pumpkin Patch and Verde Maison. An on-site sales gallery will open this month. 

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