This week's Arizona Republic story about moving historic buildings, such as the Morin House on Second Street, had me wondering if the Sun Mercantile building could be transported to another site, settling the W Hotel/Sun Merc controversy once and for all. Unfortunately, there's no such compromise available. In this case, the site of the building is at least as important as the building itself (as the last building standing in Phoenix's second Chinatown), and regardless, the City of Phoenix Historic Preservation office doesn't believe the building would even survive a move.
So we'll continue to wait and see what happens with the ongoing litigation. If I had to bet on the outcome of the lawsuit, I'd guess the city and Suns are going to win. The legal case boils down to whether the city council exhibited an improper bias when it had ex parte contacts with constituents via e-mail, and whether that bias materially affected the outcome of the "case." That's going to be really tough for the Sun Merc plaintiffs to prove, even though their lawyers have done a great job thus far. (The case itself is approaching month number 18, although the city has another motion for summary judgment well in progress).
But looking even further beyond that, is the W Hotel another phantom project? The developer has clearly been content to ride out the litigation and the soft real estate market-- and has not been too interested in a settlement-- not the behavior of a guy who wants to get his project going. At the very least, I wouldn't be too surprised to see the Suns and the city win the lawsuit and the project continue to sit idle.
Showing posts with label Sun Mercantile. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sun Mercantile. Show all posts
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
Updates and links
Odds and ends:
New Residents. Central Phoenix's population will swell a little bit more as closings just occurred in the second building in Tapestry on Central (the portion of the complex facing Central). Meanwhile, closing is supposed to take place in mid-July in the first phase of Portland Place.
Sun Mercantile/W Hotel suit. The lawsuit filed by various groups in an effort to save the Sun Mercantile building is now rolling into its fourteenth month of existence, and still going strong. The case is now in the discovery phase. I'll say it again: developers, do quality urban projects and respect the buildings and parks that are already in place, or you will face some powerful resistance. (See 44 Monroe as an example of doing it right.)
Light rail as economic development tool. Even light rail advocates like myself will admit the project is partly about economic development. Read a libertarian response (starting on page 4).
Fellow bloggers. After perusing the sites of various downtown Phoenix-related bloggers, I have to wonder: am I the only one who's not a real estate agent?
New Residents. Central Phoenix's population will swell a little bit more as closings just occurred in the second building in Tapestry on Central (the portion of the complex facing Central). Meanwhile, closing is supposed to take place in mid-July in the first phase of Portland Place.
Sun Mercantile/W Hotel suit. The lawsuit filed by various groups in an effort to save the Sun Mercantile building is now rolling into its fourteenth month of existence, and still going strong. The case is now in the discovery phase. I'll say it again: developers, do quality urban projects and respect the buildings and parks that are already in place, or you will face some powerful resistance. (See 44 Monroe as an example of doing it right.)
Light rail as economic development tool. Even light rail advocates like myself will admit the project is partly about economic development. Read a libertarian response (starting on page 4).
Fellow bloggers. After perusing the sites of various downtown Phoenix-related bloggers, I have to wonder: am I the only one who's not a real estate agent?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)