Efforts to keep downtown Phoenix “urban” continue through historic preservation of buildings and advocating for an urban landscape.
The Downtown Voices Coalition held its monthly meeting to discuss ways to incentivize historic building owners to keep from demolishing their buildings.
A participant at the meeting, who voiced concerns about historic building preservation said the historic building bond does not give enough money to historic building owners.
“$100,000 is not enough incentive for an owner to not demolish a building and preserve it,” the meeting attendee said.
The coalition aims to push for The Warehouse and Threatened Building Program to offer $500,000 instead of the $100,000. The program, run by the city of Phoenix, uses 2006 Historic Preservation Bond funds to assist historic building owners in the rehabilitation of a building or to acquire buildings and use them for public use.
Historic preservation is one of its main priorities including aesthetics, mobility and accessibility, diversity and community, according to the coalition’s website.
For a building to be considered historic in Phoenix it must be at least 50 years old, it must demonstrate historical significance, and it must possess historic integrity. Some notable historic buildings are the First Baptist Church and the sixth avenue hotel.
Jeff Sherman, the chairman of the coalition, said that preserving historic buildings tells a story of the city.
“Cities derive character from their history and typically the only physical reminders of that history are in the buildings that remain from each era of city growth,” Sherman said. “Each city and neighborhood gains their uniqueness from the buildings that remain, if you demolish them all you are left with is a monoculture of the same. That tends to make for a miserable place to live.”
With the priority of historic preservation, the coalition also focused on maintaining the urban aesthetic and mobility of downtown by discussing the development of a double drive-thru Chick-Fil-a that would be constructed on Seventh Avenue and McKinley Street.
Ryan Boyd, a member of the coalition said the development would not fit into the landscape of downtown.
“Whenever you add a drive-thru it’s not very urban,” Boyd said. The urban environment relies on walking around and getting to where you need.”
The buildings on Fourth Avenue were also a topic of discussion and why they should not be demolished even though a request had been made. The request to demolish, if approved, would have included two apartment buildings.
Boyd said that the city wants to build a 10-story and six-story underground parking building where the apartments are but that this is a guise.
“There’s a belief that the plan used to justify the demolition is speculative, meaning it isn’t going to get built,” Boyd said.
Boyd said that a building with six-story underground parking would be difficult to construct and extremely costly.
With one of the main priorities of the coalition being communication, it offers members of the community a chance to attend meetings to voice their concerns about issues and to advocate for things they want to be accomplished. The coalition meets every second Saturday of each month.
“Our hope is to always be a participatory community voice within the overall development of downtown Phoenix,” Sherman said.
The purpose of the Downtown Voices Coalition was to counteract larger institutions that do not include local businesses in the development of downtown Phoenix.
“Our goal would be to de-amplify the voice of the larger institutions so that community members feel they have some say in the overall development of our downtown. Downtown Phoenix is still unique among large cities in that individuals can still have their voices heard,” Sherman said.
Editor’s Note: Aside from being an active member of the Downtown Voices Coalition, Ryan Boyd was previously an author with Downtown Devil. Boyd was a two-time finalist in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence Award for his work with Downtown Devil on the Phoenix Rising opinion column centered around development and community in downtown Phoenix.
Contact the reporter at dherre15@asu.edu.
