Donald Does Phoenix

Since I hope to be a real estate developer someday, I have mad love for Donald Trump. As I shared earlier this week, I nearly soiled myself when I saw him at the NBC Pre-Emmy Party last Saturday night.

It turns out that this has been a very good week for "The Donald," not only because the fourth season of his hit show, "The Apprentice," premiered last night. On Wednesday the Phoenix City Council approved a controversial plan by Mr. Trump and partner Bayrock Group to erect a massive condominium-hotel on East Camelback Road in the city's posh Biltmore district. Props to Momz for keeping me informed of the doings in my hometown.

Link to article here (text follows below)

I'm not surprised that fast-growing Phoenix has attracted Mr. Trump's attention, and there's no better location for his "International Hotel and Residences" than East Camelback Road, the city's answer to L.A.'s Wilshire Boulevard. I'm also not surprised that his towering ambitions were unevenly recieved in a young metropolis known for its low-density character, wide open spaces, and expansive desert views. However, the reality is that Phoenix will continue to "grow up" (figuratively and literally) regardless of whether Mr. Trump gets a piece of the action.

I understand the arguments made by some on the City Council that their "yes" vote on the project was a "no" vote on urban sprawl. Phoenix is Sprawl City, U.S.A. -- considering that the metro area's population is expected to double to 6 million people in only 20 years, it makes sense to increase density in the existing urban core in order to slow the city's rapid consumption of the surrounding desert. I can also appreciate the arguments made by the residents of nearby single-family neighborhoods that the ongoing densification along the "Camelback Corridor" is a threat to their quality of life. Furthermore, it's distressing for professional planners like myself to see land use plans and regulations favored by the community easily subverted by politicians.

While the Trump proposal has garnered most of the attention, it's important to note that Wednesday's vote also allowed Westcor to add condominium towers to the company's Biltmore Fashion Park mall. The addition of residential uses to existing shopping centers is an innovative and logical idea and has become a hot trend in recent years as mall owners seek ways to derive more value from their "mature" properties. Even if the raging housing market in Phoenix and other cities subsidies, I expect this trend to continue. The Federated-May merger will lead to some store closings at several of Westcor's Phoenix malls and the company has publicly floated the idea of replacing the shuttered anchors with housing. (More to come in a future post)

Momz also forwarded another article concerning questionable tactics that Trump and Bayrock may have employed in their two-year-long battle to get the project approved. (begin sarcasm) What? No developer is capable of using underhanded techniques in such a manner...certainly not "The Donald"! (end sarcasm)

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Phoenix OKs high-rises for Trump, Biltmore

Monica Alonzo-Dunsmoor and Glen Creno
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 22, 2005 12:00 AM

Saying they had the city's overall economic interests in mind, Phoenix leaders sided with high-profile developers who want to build high-rises in the posh Camelback Corridor despite intense protest from nearby neighborhoods.

After a three-hour meeting Wednesday that included testimony for and against the towers, the city council did little more than chop a few a feet off a proposal by Donald Trump and development partner Bayrock Group to build a 140-foot $200 million condominium-hotel near the 24th Street and Camelback Road intersection. The developer was asking for 150 feet.

The 5-4 vote also granted zoning changes to allow mall developer Westcor to put 140-foot towers at Biltmore Fashion Park.

"If we don't start looking at the big picture and taking advantage of the developers . . . we'll find ourselves in a situation where retail is moving out, our residents are following that retail out and we're facing more sprawl," Councilman Claude Mattox said.

Added Councilwoman Peggy Bilsten: "We continue to cut police, fire and library services . . . we have to do something to encourage our city to grow, to have good development."

The decision angered many in the crowd who packed council chambers. City officials had to set up TV screens and chairs outside City Hall and in the basement to accommodate the hundreds of people who showed up.

Despite the divisive vote, it likely won't be the end of the protracted two-year battle, which has pit developers against residents and neighbor against neighbor. Resident groups say they will consider other options, such as forcing a public vote on the issue. It would take nearly 10,000 signatures to get the matter on a ballot, which could be as soon as March 14 when the city plans to ask voters to approve $850 million in bonds for citywide capital improvements. They would have 30 days to collect enough signatures.

Councilman Greg Stanton, who represents the area and voted against the zoning change, said the vote set a bad precedent. Mayor Phil Gordon, Vice Mayor Mike Johnson and Councilman Tom Simplot also voted against the change.

"The corridor is a special place to the city of Phoenix," he said. "It's unique because there's a delicate balance between retail, restaurants, office and residential."

Wednesday's vote will upset that balance, he said, adding that he fears the "high-rise creep" will spread to other areas.

Many area residents oppose the projects, saying they will bring more traffic, mar mountain views in their upscale neighborhoods and tax the area's already overburdened water system.

Other residents and developers from across the city spoke in favor of the projects because of the economic benefits they would bring.

Jason Morris, a Phoenix zoning attorney for Trump/Bayrock, called the vote, which came after 10 p.m., a victory.

"Five years from now, we'll be reaping the economic benefits and we'll see the vitality of the urban core and the truth that Phoenix can build up and not just out," Morris said.

Dana Johnson, a member of the Central City Village Planning Committee, said the council essentially disregarded all the work done by the Camelback East Village Planning Committee.

"Show us the respect that we deserve," he said angrily as he held up planning documents related to his village. "Show us that these documents are worth the paper they are printed on."

Throughout the day Wednesday, both sides worked to hammer out a last-minute compromise, reportedly at the urging of city officials.

Residents said negotiations failed after Trump and Bayrock refused to accept the neighborhoods' proposal for an 86-foot limit on their project. The attempted compromise also reportedly included a complex set of rules for planning in the area.

Morris said that they couldn't live with those restrictions.

"At the end of the day, we couldn't agree to their design," he said.

Alex Tauber, another Camelback resident, presented the council with more than 1,500 signatures opposing the projects Wednesday. His voice cracking at times, he told officials that their vote would not be about city procedures or planning.

"This is about good versus bad," he said, adding that the neighborhoods waged an honest, grass-roots campaign, alluding to allegations that Trump-paid petition circulators misrepresented their cause when gathering 10,000 signatures also presented to council. The Trump camp denied that charge.

After the vote, Tauber's wife, Suzette Tauber, said: "They didn't listen to the community and that's a shame. They listened to money, and the developers won out over the voices of the community."

Morris said his group did its best to work with neighborhoods, noting that some residents support their plans.

He said the site they want to build on is under-utilized and practically vacant. "It represents a black hole in the center of the city's urban core."

The Trump project would be the area's "flagship," he said.

With their decision Wednesday, city leaders reconciled conflicting recommendations from the city's Planning Commission and the Camelback East Village Planning Committee. The commission voted in favor of developers last week. The village committee, tasked with updating the area's growth plan, essentially sided with residents and decided to maintain the 56-foot limit in that area while granting more height farther west along Camelback, closer to Arizona 51.

Westcor was essentially caught in the middle of the fight.

Dave Scholl, Westcor's development chief, said they could have asked to pack the mall site with buildings right up against Camelback Road. Instead, they proposed tearing down buildings on the east and west ends of Biltmore Fashion Park and replacing them with 165-foot condominium towers that would have retail on the ground floor.

The City Council gave them 140 feet Wednesday but said they could ask for up to 165 feet later.

"I'm sad about what happened tonight. I'm scared I'm going to get pushed out of my home," said Camelback resident Fran Baumgartner. "But everyone was treated so much better than at the Planning Commission last week."