Friday, November 2, 2007
"Controversial Camelback projects go to council vote"
The Business Journal of Phoenix - by Jan Buchholz Phoenix Business Journal

The Nov. 7 Phoenix City Council meeting could be one of the most contentious on record, with three controversial rezoning cases scheduled for consideration.

Coincidentally, all involve the intersection of 44th Street and Camelback Road.

"This will be a high-profile meeting, with hundreds of people in favor and hundreds of people opposed," said Councilman Greg Stanton, D-Dist. 6. The three proposals would be located in his district.

Shannon Johnson, an Arcadia neighborhood activist who opposes all three of the plans, expects a large crowd.

"My sense is that more than 200" opponents will be there, she said.

Johnson sent out a mass e-mail to fellow opponents earlier this week, urging them to attend the meeting and to call Stanton's office in protest. Although Stanton for several months has supported Johnson and other neighbors against the mixed-use developments, she is upset that the councilman changed his mind about one of them: 44th Street Village, proposed by Grace Communities for the southwest corner, behind the Londen Center.

"The developers in that case were much more willing to work with the neighbors," Stanton said. "Some heeded the call (to make changes). Others haven't."

Johnson is opposed to that project because of its height and the 125-room hotel -- a component she said will make the area a destination spot.

Stanton originally opposed all three of the developments based on density, height, historic preservation issues and neighborhood concerns. He sent a memo to Mayor Phil Gordon in August making his opinion clear and urging the mayor's support, which he received. That was before any of the cases had been heard by the Phoenix Planning Commission.

Now that the commission has heard all three cases and given each of them some level of support, the final votes will be cast by City Council members.

Stanton said he still opposes the other two projects: Arcadia Place, proposed by Opus West Corp. on the southeast corner, behind the Chase Bank building; and m3companies' CamelSquare proposal on the northwest corner, which would require demolition of the existing low-rise commercial structures.

The developers of those projects say they have bent over backward to accommodate the desires of neighbors and are frustrated by the endless series of hoops they've had to jump through.

"We kept asking, 'What's the big issue?'" said Jeff Roberts, vice president of real estate development for Opus West. "We finally got a list of demands, and we said, 'Let's see how many we can meet.'"

The costs associated with those changes, Roberts said, "are in the high six figures ... it meant redesigning the whole building."

The project itself is valued at about $50 million, he added.

Scott Schirmer, managing partner of m3companies, said his company also has made dramatic changes from what it originally envisioned. As a buffer for the surrounding neighborhood, he has proposed large estate homes on the perimeter, with the greatest density and height reserved for areas near the intersection. Schirmer said he has offered to do resort landscaping, spruce up the median, bury utility lines and do other upgrades beyond his property line on Camelback Road.

"I'm trying to bring back the elegance that Camelback once had," Schirmer said. "We've let it go downhill. It's the only street of elegance and luxury in the city of Phoenix."

Schirmer also said the $400 million CamelSquare development would include public open space along with a boutique hotel, offices and retail.

"This would be a real community upscale spot," he said.

Schirmer provided the Phoenix Business Journal with about 70 letters from local residents in support of his project.

An Arcadia resident since 1954, Dora Tsantilas said in a letter to Don Keuth, chairman of the Phoenix Planning Commission, that she was representing "those less-heard voices ... who side in support of thoughtful development" at 44th and Camelback.

"While a small group of opponents would have you believe that Arcadia as a whole is against progress, this is not the case," she wrote.

But despite what Schirmer describes as noble aspirations, he faces an uphill battle. The project was denied last month by the Phoenix Planning Commission. The Camelback East Village Planning Committee also opposed the project at its original height of 98 feet.

A subsequent vote by the Planning Commission gave approval for a development with a maximum height of 70 feet. The planning staff recommended denial of the plan unless substantial revisions are made.

Schirmer has the option of submitting modified plans to the council Nov. 7 that incorporate the 70-foot height restrictions, but hasn't decided if he will do so.

Meanwhile, Opus hopes support from both the Planning Commission and the city Planning Department will be enough to sway the council to disregard Stanton's stance and vote for the rezoning.

Although the Chase Bank building and several surrounding "mushroom" structures, all built in 1968, are separate from the proposed development, Stanton and others say preserving the bank and the adjoining open space is the main reason they oppose Opus' plans.

According to Roberts, Chase will commit only to a 10-year historic overlay in conjunction with the Opus proposal. Stanton, however, wants a permanent easement to protect the building.

"You can't expect the community to give up open space in a critical area," he said.

Neither Roberts nor Schirmer would say what they will do if their rezonings are denied. Roberts said Opus West is not obligated to close on the property if it cannot secure the rezoning. He said someone else could buy the parcel, "and the city could end up with something much worse."

Schirmer, who has owned the property with his partners since 2000, also wouldn't speculate on any contingency plans.

Get Connected

m3companies: 602-393-3240

Opus West Corp.: www.opuscorp.com

Grace Communities: www.gracecommunities.com

Phoenix City Council: www.phoenix.gov