The City of Phoenix has awarded the 2018 Central Station RFP to Electric Red Ventures LLC, a subsidiary of Houston-based Medistar Corp. The RFP was issued in June this year to solicit proposals to redevelop the 2.6-acre bus & light rail transit center located on the Northwest corner of Central & Van Buren.
Phoenix has been looking to redevelop the Central Station for several years. A previous proposal to revamp the site was awarded to Chicago-based Smithfield Properties in 2014, however the deal fell apart owner Bill Smith passed away. The Smithfield proposal had envisioned a single 34-story project for the site at the cost of $72m.
Above: 2014 rendering of the original Smithfield plan
The new proposal features three structures including two high-rise towers with rooftop terraces. The first tower will be about 300 feet in height and will house 300 market-rate residential units along with a 150-room hotel. The second tower, about 200 feet tall, will consist of 217 student-housing units with a capacity of 600 students. An early rendering obtained by the Phoenix Business Journal also shows a third structure roughly 50 feet tall; the plan calls for 35,350 square feet of office space which is likely to be housed in this building. Additionally, the proposal includes 47,350 square feet of ground-floor restaurant/retail space.
Central to the City’s RFP was that the existing transit center be included into the project. The rendering shows how the proposed facility will be flanked on the East and the West sides by the Metro Light Rail, with bus access on the North side along an upgraded Polk St.
The proposal must still be approved by the City council and is subject to design review by the City’s Historic Preservation Office due to its proximity to the old Board of Education building. If everything goes right, the project should be completed around March 2023.