Roosevelt Row’s cultural and business diversity continues to grow with the addition of a new yoga studio early next year.
Sutra Midtown, located near Seventh and Oak streets, is bringing the ancient form of exercise and its massage therapy services to a building just north of Roosevelt Street on First Street.
Owner Matthew Fritz, 42, said the expansion allows Sutra to contribute to the cultural aspects of Roosevelt Row.
“We’ve been downtown residents for 12 years, and it’s just exciting for us to get into another one of the creative little pockets of the city,” Fritz said.
The new location will be opening next to Lux Coffee’s proposed new Downtown location.
Greg Esser, vice president of the board of the Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation, said new businesses are finding a lot of success in the area.
“I think that we’ve seen a fantastic increase in new businesses opening,” Esser said.
Esser said service businesses like Sutra are “an essential part” of fulfilling the community’s goals of creating a densely populated, diverse and walkable area.
Fritz, a former real estate developer, opened Sutra Midtown in 2009 with his wife. Fritz said he is looking forward to moving into the downtown core.
The studio’s current location has many aspects designed to create a feeling of peace for its guests. Paintings of Hindu symbols and deities fill the walls outside the studio spaces, and there are some lounge spaces for people to sit and relax.
“It’s kind of our own little selfish hideaway,” Fritz said. “It’s all the stuff that we love: yoga, massage and Pilates.”
The new studio will be opening in the midst of Roosevelt Row’s continued transformation from an arts community into a robust center of commerce and creativity.
Recent residential development projects like Roosevelt Point and Roosevelt Square and the creation of ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus have increased foot traffic in the area, which, in turn, has created an environment for Sutra to succeed, Fritz said.
Residential development in downtown has been a strong suit in recent years, said Dan Klocke, vice president of development for the Downtown Phoenix Partnership. For example, the downtown area added around 460 residential units in 2013, according to a DPP report.
Some businesses, most notably restaurants, have experienced tremendous growth in conjunction with the rise of residences as 19 new restaurants opened last year, Klocke said. But, service businesses like Sutra have not caught on to the same level.
Klocke said he thinks that will change as more residential projects are completed in the future and foot traffic increases.
Fritz said the Roosevelt area has a lot of potential for future growth. He said the influx of students from ASU has brought a new life to the area.
“I think the city itself sometimes has struggled to keep up with the population down there because they have really good ideas,” Fritz said. “They’re not quiet. They’re going to give you their input, and they’re going to be involved. I definitely think (the Roosevelt Row area) is going to be a role model for some of the other neighborhoods.”
Contact the reporter at agnel.philip@asu.edu.
