Roszak/ADC
Fiesta Towers condos seek zoning OK
10-20 stories would include retail 1st level
The Arizona Republic
03/16/2006
Jim Walsh |
 |
The ambitious Fiesta Towers project announced in November is expected to reach the Planning and Zoning Board next week.
The project, Mesa's most futuristic private development in many years, features four high- and mid-rise - 10 to 20 stories - glass and steel condominium towers that would rise southeast of Southern Avenue and Alma School Road.
"Everything is going very well," said developer Tom Roszak, an Evanston, Ill., architect. "They're very helpful. They're very hands on."
Planning and Zoning Chairman Richard Adams said he has not reviewed the project but is receptive. Adams said high-rise condominiums have been successful throughout the country.
"In some ways, we're not very progressive. We need to look at these new concepts," Adams said. "The bottom line is, why not? What do we have to lose?"
Roszak is seeking a zoning change from high intensity office to mixed use on 4.9-acres at Grove Avenue and Westwood just east of Fiesta Mall. The area was planned for high rises nearly 20 years ago but none materialized beyond the Financial Plaza building, the city's tallest at 16 stories and commonly referred to as the Bank of America building, at Southern Avenue and Alma School Road.
Ellsworth said the shortest towers would be about the size of the nearby Hilton Phoenix East/Mesa hotel.
The towers are viewed by some as a catalyst for reinvigorating the Fiesta Mall area, which is also slated for renovations since its acquisition last year by Westcor.
A site plan filed in February with the city shows Fiesta Towers would feature 110 units per acre and would be built in four phases, with the two 10-story towers first.
As presently configured, the 10-story towers would be 124 feet tall and the 20-story towers would be 213 feet tall.
The taller buildings would serve as bookends for the huge project, which would have 540 condominiums but could grow to 850 if the buildings were to reach 25 stories tall, a possibility the developers have discussed.
Units range in size from a 600-square-feet efficiency to 1,810 square feet with two bedrooms and a den. There would be two to three levels of underground parking.
The ground floor is reserved for retail, but the 42,840 square feet of retail space is dwarfed by 824,985 square feet of residential space.
One potential issue is the lack of parking for retail purposes - 68 spaces where city regulations call for 113.
Ellsworth said the developer believes fewer spaces would be needed because most customers would live in the towers.
|
|
|
