Improving the creative culture of Phoenix and revitalizing different areas of downtown dominated the discussion at a Tuesday panel organized as part of Phoenix Urban Design Week.
The panel, hosted by downtown Arizona State University professor Dr. Carol Poore, focused on the latest general plan for the city of Phoenix, which Poore said is much different from the city’s past plans.
Poore was part of the team that wrote the plan, and she said the direction of this latest plan was developed after a series of surveys conducted among business-class citizens of Phoenix found that while the majority of them ranked creative culture as a vital amenity to have in a city, they ranked the creative culture of Phoenix as “vanilla” and “mediocre.”
Poore moderated the panel which included Jim McPherson, Mike Oleskow, Marcia Karasek, and Joseph Benesh. Each of the panelists and their respective organizations are working toward enhancing the creative arts culture of Phoenix or fighting to preserve what already exists.
McPherson, president of the Arizona Preservation Foundation, spoke of the triumphs Phoenix preservationists have had — such as the salvation of the A.E. England building and the warehouse district — as well as some of the heartbreaks. McPherson said the fibers of Phoenix’s culture are torn apart with the demolition of every historic building.
“We have so few historic buildings left in this city that every one needs to be fought for,” McPherson said.
Oleskow, cultural curator of the FOUND:Re Phoenix Hotel, is working to unite new Phoenix culture with the old, starting with the city’s various buildings.
The Found:Re, formerly the Lexington Hotel located on Central Avenue, is a boutique art hotel that has been designed and furnished by local talent. Community spaces in the hotel are used to feature and sell local art.
Related: FOUND:Re Hotel to open on Portland Street along Central in spring 2016
“We want community to mean not only the guests of the hotel but also local residents,” Oleskow said. “We want a whole intertwining of what the whole downtown experience is all about.”
Phoenix is a hotbed for potential revitalization projects, including the 32-acre plot that makes up Hance Park. Recently, urban developers and landscapers have come up with a plan to connect the park with the surrounding downtown community.
Karasek, executive director of the Hance Park Conservancy, is working to get the necessary funding to bring this plan to fruition. Her hope is that Hance Park will become a gathering place for people across various generations and backgrounds, contributing to the lively downtown that all the members of the panel are working toward.
“The student body of ASU Downtown is really important for Hance Park,” Karasek said. “Many people still don’t know there is a park right down the street, but that’s what we’re working with ASU to fix.”
Benesh, director of Phoenix Center for the Arts, emphasized that the art of downtown is ingrained into the culture of downtown Phoenix.
“Would any of these developers even be here if it weren’t for the artists?” Benesh said. “It’s great that people want to monetize the art culture, but I’m here to remind the artists that they are responsible for developing the downtown that we know right now.”
Contact the reporter at Ava.Montoya@asu.edu.
