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New, Upscale Hotel Set for 175-200 Rooms, Possible 2007 Opening
April 02 , 2005 by EditorMajor construction projects, related to the visitor industry, and recently approved in Copper Square – Downtown Phoenix have now eclipsed the $1 billion mark. This milestone was reached on March 9, as Phoenix City Council reached an agreement that will allow a group of private investors to build a 175-to-200-room upscale hotel in Downtown Phoenix.
The hotel will be built just a few steps east of America West Arena, and across the street from the expanding Phoenix Convention Center. The hotel will be financed in large part by two recognizable names on the Phoenix sports landscape: Robert Sarver (majority owner and managing general partner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns) and Jerry Colangelo (chairman and CEO of the Suns). Although a manager/brand has not been established for the hotel, plans call for high-end condominiums on the top floors of the hotel, with ground-level retail, restaurant and entertainment space.
“It has been my experience that a project like this can be a tremendous catalyst for a downtown,” said Sarver, the project’s developer. “It’s my hope that this hotel project will serve as a symbol of my personal commitment to Downtown Phoenix and its long-term success.”
Colangelo, also a developer of the project, said, “Copper Square has long desired and needed a project like this. The completion of the hotel will not only add an attractive lodging option, it will enhance the overall appeal of Downtown Phoenix as a destination for visitors and local residents alike.”
The new boutique hotel – paired with the $600 million expansion project at the Phoenix Convention Center, and the approved 1,000-room Sheraton hotel slated to open in 2008 just a block away from the center – brings the total cost for these downtown development projects to more than $1 billion.
“In the last two years, our community, as well as our public and private partners, have come together to dramatically accelerate the widespread growth in Downtown Phoenix,” said Steve Moore, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We couldn’t be more excited about the ongoing and planned development downtown, and the positive impact this brings to our central core, and for our customers.”
Assistant City Manager Sheryl Sculley said the boutique hotel could provide the city with as much as $15 million in revenue over 15 years, with more than $6 million of that total generated through sales taxes.
Downtown Phoenix is becoming a destination unto itself thanks to several other multi-million-dollar projects that have generated life into the heart of the nation’s fifth-largest city. Some of these projects include:
- The groundbreaking was recently held for the METRO light rail project, which will begin service in December 2008 and provide visitors with convenient access from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to the downtown area.
- An extended Arizona State University – Downtown Phoenix – campus will be utilized by 7,500 students by 2008 and 15,000 students by 2015. ASU is expanding its research infrastructure and moving several college programs downtown.
- ASU and the University of Arizona have agreed to develop the Downtown Phoenix Biomedical Campus of the Arizona University System. Plans also include at least one future downtown hospital on the site.
- The Translational Genomics Research Institute building, a state-of-the-art bioscience research facility, is now fully staffed. The new, six-story facility provides administrative and research laboratory space for the Translational Genomic Research Institute and the International Genomics Consortium, plus two future tenants.
- The Bud Light Paseo, a key feature of the $67 million expansion and renovation recently completed at the 18,422-seat America West Arena, includes state-of-the-art audio and video technology in order to perform impressive light shows. It serves as a premier venue for outdoor meetings.
- At least 1,200 new housing units are under construction or are planned in and around the Copper Square area, part of 10,000 additional units included in a strategic vision for downtown, by 2015.
- In addition to the above projects, downtown offers everything a visitor or resident would want. Numerous cultural venues provide captivating exhibits, including the Arizona Science Center, Phoenix Art Museum and the Heard Museum. The performing arts can be experienced at the historic Orpheum Theatre, the Herberger Theater Center and the Dodge Theatre. Also, Phoenix Symphony Hall is undergoing an $18.5 million renovation in association with the Convention Center expansion project.
- Bank One Ballpark, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team, and America West Arena, which hosts the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, provide sports fans, concert-goers and special-event patrons with more than 100 annual events.
- Copper Square is also home to more than 95 unique restaurants and bars, including Majerle’s Sports Grill, Alice Cooper’stown, Jackson’s On Third, Hard Rock Café, The Matador, Copper Square Grill, il Palazzetto, as well as numerous specialty shops.
