A parking garage that sits along 25th Avenue, and two office buildings behind it, are being considered for adaptive reuse to create multi-family residential units (photo by Kathryn M. Miller).

Just north of the northwest corner of 25th and Dunlap avenues, a developer is seeking a zoning density waiver to create market-rate multi-family housing out of two existing office buildings and one multi-level parking structure that sit on a 13-acre property. The proposed adaptive-reuse project would bring approximately 400 units to the site, which is adjacent to the Valley Metro Light Rail and the Arizona Canal.

With regards to the parking structure, which sits next to 25th Avenue, the developer’s narrative states, “To help satisfy the City’s desire for urbanized development along the streets and along light rail lines, this proposal seeks to add new residential units within and on the top floor of the existing northern parking structure. These units would be located inside the footprint of the existing parking structure but would be pushed to the perimeter (inside) of the structure, to allow for windows and external views from the units.”

Following a presentation by project representative Taylor Earl, Earl & Curley, P.C., at the Dec. 18 meeting of the North Mountain Village Planning Committee (VPC), questions by committee members helped flesh out the Canyon Village project.

The converted parking garage would include one-bedroom units that would be roughly 560 square feet, according to developer Ken Losch, Trillium Residential. A unique feature would be an optional three- four-car garage add on, which could accommodate, for instance, a resident who has both a motorcycle and a truck and who also wants some workshop space. An estimated cost is $1,650/month, depending on the market at completion.

The plan for the office buildings is to convert them into market-rate, class-A multifamily residential. The respective existing 181,805 (north) and 142,666 (south) square-foot buildings would be converted into units ranging from one to three bedrooms, some with an additional flex space. The largest size is anticipated to be 1,500 to 1,600 square feet.

A rendering shows how a developer proposes to modify the exterior of an existing parking garage as it is converted to multifamily housing (submitted photo).

New amenities will be added as part of the residential conversion, such as a pool, spa, seating and gathering spaces, BBQs, ramada, firepits and others. The community also would be gated.

One stipulation included in the staff report by the City of Phoenix Planning & Development Department is a minimum 10,500-square foot area “provided as publicly accessible open space, located in the northwest corner of the subject site.” The city is also stipulating further enhancements/connections along the Arizona Canal and public access to a pedestrian footpath once the city has completed its own upgrades to the area.

Those city of Phoenix upgrades include a bicycle/pedestrian bridge over the Arizona Canal Trail between 25th Avenue and the I-17 Freeway; public park space over the Arizona Canal Diversion channel between 25th Avenue and the I-17 Freeway; and bicycle/pedestrian bridge over the I-17 Freeway between the Arizona Canal and the Light Rail line.

The VPC voted unanimously to recommend the project. It is scheduled to be heard by the Phoenix Planning Commission Thursday, Jan. 2. It will go to council Feb. 5.

Visit www.phoenix.gov/cityclerk/publicmeetings/notices to find information about upcoming public meetings. The staff report for this case (application #Z-129-24-3) can be found at www.phoenix.gov/pdd/planning-zoning/pzservices/pzstaff-reports.

Author

Hello, North Central neighbor — thank you for visiting!

Sign up to receive our digital issue in your inbox each month.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.