Phoenix businesspeople, architects and local innovators joined in a collaborative effort Tuesday to brainstorm ways Phoenix can both attract and retain potential downtown residents.
The Phoenix Community Alliance hosted the gathering, which focused on issues including housing, entertainment, construction and community involvement in downtown Phoenix.
Alliance Chairman Mo Stein began the discussion by emphasizing the importance of such collaborative meetings.
“I think it is a good premise that the power of us working together is better than the power of us working on our own,” Stein said.
The alliance’s goal is to create an enticing urban core in Phoenix that centers on downtown.
Adrienne Gill, a member of the board of directors for Tutor Perini Building Corp., said the city can turn downtown’s visitors into residents by giving the area a distinct identity.
“Downtown needs a sense of place and community as well as a brand,” she said. “When you see pictures of Denver, you know it’s Denver. When you see San Antonio, Los Angeles, New York, those places have brands. Phoenix is a young city, and it needs to decide what brand or personality it wants as it grows up into a great city.”
In order to retain these visitors, the city must make more housing options available, said Steven Schnoor, senior vice president and regional director of Concord Eastridge.
Concord Eastridge working on the construction of the Roosevelt Point apartments on Roosevelt and Third streets. The project will contain 325 units and is intended to attract students at the ASU Downtown campus and Phoenix Biomedical Campus.
Alliance President Don Keuth was optimistic about recent developmental progress in downtown Phoenix.
“There is a lot of activity in Phoenix, and there are people interested in Phoenix,” Keuth said. “I want you all to know it’s OK to invest in Phoenix again. People are already investing, and that’s a good thing.”
Contact the reporter at amelia.goe@asu.edu
