Multiple high-rise apartment towers in the works for downtown Tempe. Projects will alter city skyline

A slew of skyline-altering projects is in the works in Tempe, with the aim to bring housing density and capitalize on high-value real estate in the city. But some individuals who were among the first to weigh in are tiring of the similarity of proposed buildings.

Hubbard Street Group, a Chicago-based developer that has a project under construction in downtown Phoenix, submitted plans to Tempe to redevelop a site in downtown, which is home to the Salvation Army’s Tempe location. Plans call for a 300-foot-tall apartment tower with ground-floor restaurant or shop space, Ryan Levesque, deputy community development director for Tempe, said.

The project is one of five high-rises proposed in the immediate area east of Mill Avenue near University Drive, and all are on small, infill parcels planning to bring a high density of people to these few blocks of downtown Tempe.

“We are dealing with a high volume of activity,” Levesque said. “It’s unusual to have five high-rises coming to us.”

The Hubbard Group project, called Skye Tempe, is planned to include 281 units, a mix of studios, one- and two-bedrooms and one three-bedroom unit. The ground floor is planned for restaurants or shops.

The apartment complex would not seek to appeal to students, but instead young professionals who want to live near where they work in a walkable neighborhood, said Nick Wood, zoning attorney for the project, at a meeting of the Tempe Development Review Commission in June.

Apartments cannot prohibit students from renting, but the offerings aren't what students typically seek, which is more bedrooms to split the rent between people, Levesque said. Demand in Tempe is high for studios and one-bedrooms.

The 27-story development is planned on a half-acre site and is just east of restaurant and music venue Shady Park. If approved by the City Council, the development would raze the existing Salvation Army building on the site.

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“The important thing to know is that The Salvation Army is not leaving Tempe and will continue to serve the community, so we are exploring short-term and long-term options,” said Major David Yardley, general secretary of business for the Salvation Army’s Southwest Division.

Levesque said the city’s downtown is a target area for housing density, but city leaders also want to preserve the historic character of Mill Avenue, so taller buildings require further set back from the street, where most structures are one to three stories tall.

“We want the right projects in the right locations,” he said.

In most areas of the city, 300 feet is the tallest that buildings can reach, Levesque said.

There is a taller tower in downtown Tempe, but that building did cause concern in case of an emergency of a plane landing or taking off at Sky Harbor, so the city is “cognizant” of the issue and limiting future building heights, he said.

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Several other towers approved, in the works

In addition to Skye, there are a handful of other, high-rise apartment towers in various stages of approval in the area, on similarly sized parcels.

One of those high-rises, a 25-story apartment building with ground-level commercial space, was approved by the City Council in May just to the west of Skye, on the other side of Shady Park. That project, a redevelopment of the Wells Fargo building at 16 E. University, plans to have 453 units on a 0.67-acre site. The development is proposed by a joint venture of Wexford Developments and CA Ventures.

Other projects in the hearing process include a similar-sized development near Seventh Street and Forest Avenue, where an apartment developer that already has a building is planning to build a second one, Levesque said. Another is proposed near Seventh Street and College Avenue. And a proposal for a project at Seventh Street and Mill Avenue already received approval, but the developer is considering adding to that plan, Levesque said.

A hotel tower also was approved but has yet to start construction as part of the 100 Mill development at Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway. An office tower that was part of that project is already open.

Committee members worry about traffic, building size

The surge of new apartment towers, and the vehicles and transportation needs that will come with the new residents, had some members of the city's Development Review Commission questioning whether they were a good idea.

Commissioner Barbara Lloyd said she had concerns with the project, and the many that are similar to it that either are proposed or are built. Lloyd said some of the buildings have a "lack of character," and the traffic and other congestion can have a negative effect on the area.

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"I understand we need the units, but at the same point, sometime we have to say, when is enough, enough with this product type?" she said.

At the June 13 meeting, some members of the commission expressed worry that the tall buildings on smaller parcels don’t leave much room for flexibility, like a food delivery driver parking or for a rideshare driver waiting for a passenger. While the commission was only considering the Skye project, members said the decisions could not happen “in a vacuum,” without considering the context of what already was approved.

Other members of the commission said the city’s downtown is the proper place for density, with easy access to public transportation like the light rail or the Tempe streetcar, and the area is walkable to many restaurants and places of employment.

Ultimately, the commission narrowly voted against recommending approval of the project to the City Council, with those voting against it citing concerns about increased traffic and the high volume of projects in a small geographic area.

The commission serves as an advisory body to the city council, and its recommendations are not binding. The council is scheduled to discuss the project at meetings later this summer.

Levesque said the number of new projects proposed at the same time could be a lingering effect of the pandemic, when proposals slowed greatly. But the demand for housing in Tempe remains high, and some of the developers planning new buildings already have projects in the city.

“People want to be here,” he said. “It’s always been a destination location.”

Reach the reporter at cvanek@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter @CorinaVanek.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: In Tempe, 5 high-rise apartment projects are slated for downtown