Construction of a new Westin hotel at the Freeport-McMoRan building is nearing completion.
The hotel, which will have 242 rooms, is expected to be finished by March 3 or 4, according to Eric Johnson, redevelopment program manager at the City of Phoenix Community and Economic Development Department. The Westin will occupy the middle of the building.
Much of the work left to be done is landscaping, shading and sidewalk work.
The hotel cost somewhere between $30 and $40 million to build, said Dan Klocke of the Downtown Phoenix Partnership.
It has been under construction since Freeport-McMoRan moved to its new 26-floor office space at Central Avenue and Van Buren Street in August of 2010.
But as hotel construction finishes in the Civic Plaza area, it is set to begin in CityScape. The foundation for Hotel Palomar, a five-star hotel that will be located in the complex, is already laid, but workers will begin construction in about two months.
More changes are taking shape around the downtown area as well.
Renovations at Central Station are in their second phase and will be completed by May, Johnson said. This refurbishing is part of a $5 million project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, said Marie Chapple, a spokeswoman for Phoenix Public Transit.
The station, now a stop for both Valley Metro bus and Metro light rail, was built in 1997.
These latest efforts, conducted by the City of Phoenix Public Transit, will focus on making the area more comfortable for public-transit users, including options such as adding shade.
“It is going to be much more usable for our transit passengers – that includes bus and rail passengers,” Chapple said.
Construction in the area around Civic Plaza has temporarily shifted some bus stops but routes should return to their prior location, Johnson said.
“We’re getting done with some of the impacts,” Johnson said.
Other downtown construction includes the health and science education building at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus which began in May.
“There are numerous projects moving forward that are just high-impact, high-dollar projects that show people are confident in downtown and moving forward to the future,” Klocke said, adding that downtown is lucky to have this economic activity. “Stay tuned.”
Contact the reporter at vpelham@asu.edu
