Tempe is spending $22 million to revamp Mill Avenue. Here's what to expect.
Tempe is gearing up to revamp the city's historic Mill Avenue, a $22 million venture that's expected to include everything from new trees and landscaping, to updated lighting, to pedestrian seating in Tempe's historic downtown core.
The projects will run along Mill Avenue between Rio Salado Parkway and University Drive. They're part of a broader initiative called Refresh Tempe, which began last year and includes a slew of other citywide projects such the overhaul of Clark Park and a new fire station near the intersection of Fairmont Drive and Hardy Drive.
Along Mill Avenue, most of the larger-scale additions are still in the design phase and won't begin construction until at least next year, so many of the specific additions aren't yet set in stone. But when the plans are finalized, the upgrades could include:
At least 23 new trees to replace those that have died or are missing from the Mill Avenue streetscape. That's about 15% of the street's total tree space, according to Kate Borders, the former executive director of the Downtown Tempe Authority.
New brick sidewalks, painted concrete accents across the sidewalks — which look like small paths and largely decorative — and other sidewalk artwork, such as concrete portraits of historical Tempe figures, to "reflect Tempe history and culture"
"Urban living rooms," which are expanded sidewalk areas with tables and seating along Mill Avenue that will be barricaded from the road using new landscaping planters or railings. A city memo states, "studies have shown that these features can increase pedestrian activity and additional sales of the surrounding businesses."
A variety of shade structures where Fourth, Fifth and Sixth streets intersect with Mill Avenue.
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"Mill Avenue is famous ... It's an amazing destination," Tempe Spokesperson Kris Baxter-Ging said about the street, which dates back to the 19th Century. "But like anything else, you have to take care of what you have. You have to invest in the things that you want to preserve ... That's part of what this is."
Tempe has already completed some of the smaller Mill Avenue projects. Three new murals have been painted in the area, for example. Staffers have also installed new landscaping between Fourth Street and Rio Salado Parkway, as well as more efficient string lights along the Mill Avenue Bridges.
The city is also locked in on two other minor upgrades for the coming months. They include the installation of string lighting on Fourth and Sixth streets and raised landscape planters along Mill Avenue that will house extra shrubs and trees.
The Mill Avenue initiative will also involve a significant amount of work under the surface. Tempe is targeting the "aging infrastructure" such as the electrical system that powers streetlights, according to Tempe's Deputy Engineering and Transportation Director Julian Dresang.
"It's just old and is at a point where it needs to be replaced," he told The Arizona Republic. "It makes sense that if we're going to be impacting the sidewalks that we go in and we put in new infrastructure in there at the same time that we're doing the other street improvements."
The city is also taking steps to prevent the newly planted trees from dying, which includes replacing the underground irrigation system and installing new underground units for tree roots. Dresang said it's part of "making sure that anything that we put in there has the infrastructure to allow it to grow in the future."
Tempe staffers are expected to finalize the design of Mill Avenue's larger-scale improvements this month, which will then be passed to the City Council for approval on Sept. 28. Construction will begin between February and December of 2024.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tempe's Mill Avenue is getting a $22 million upgrade
