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Renting an Apartment in Downtown Phoenix
What You Should Know
Downtown Phoenix is the central business district for the Phoenix
metropolitan area. In a more formal way, it is called Copper Square. The Arizona
State Capitol and related offices are located here.
Phoenix's downtown area is called Copper Square, although most locals still call
it Downtown. Incorporating the themes of Phoenix's early history with culture
and local events, Copper Square is the name for the one square mile area
surrounding Central Avenue and Jefferson. This is a slowly growing hotspot for
activities and action. Downtown attractions include the Arizona Science Center,
Phoenix Museum of History and the Phoenix Art Museum. Also downtown is the
Burton Barr Central Library. Downtown Phoenix currently features about
twenty-five mid-rise and high-rise buildings ranging up to 39 stories tall. Only
two skyscrapers reach over 400 feet tall (122 m), the last of which was
constructed in the 1970s. Unique among large American cities, downtown Phoenix
is rather small and short due to four important factors:
1. There is very little historical housing stock precisely because Phoenix was
so small—only 106,000 people in 1950. In addition, much of what little there was
largely destroyed in the "urban renewal" movements of the 1960s and 1970s, for
example, no equivalent of San Diego's Gaslamp District exists anywhere in
Phoenix today. Thus, few historical structures remain, and today some of
downtown Phoenix is pockmarked with vacant, dusty lots and unremarkable,
under-utilized, one-story buildings. For comparison, in 1950, San Diego was more
than three times as large as Phoenix. Dallas was more than four times as large,
and Houston was almost six times larger. Even Kansas City, Missouri was over
four times as large as Phoenix in 1950. Today, Phoenix has three times the
population of Kansas City, but Phoenix's skyline has not kept pace.
2. Much of Phoenix's growth during the 1950s and 1960s was low density suburban
sprawl, like that of most other American cities. The difference is that Phoenix
had no real core of taller buildings. Zoning at the time largely favored mass
subdivisions of inexpensive cement block homes at the edge of the ever-expanding
city. Land was cheaper and there were few neighbors and little red tape. As a
result, developers gravitated to the edges of the metropolitan area. This still
continues today. Zoning favors large setbacks and ample parking requirements,
with the result that parking in downtown Phoenix remains relatively easy and
inexpensive. Wide streets and narrow sidewalks form the predominant nature of
Phoenix's urban environment today.
3. Phoenix was an isolated small outpost far from the centers of power.
Phoenix's tallest building from 1929 to 1961 was the Westward Ho, a 17-story
hotel that is now a retirement home for seniors. In 1970, Phoenix's entire
metropolitan population was less than one million, and was considered largely a
retirement and tourist haven. At the same time, Dallas had well over two million
residents and Los Angeles had seven million. Thus, much of the
skyscraper-building frenzy that marked the downtowns of sunbelt cities like
Dallas, Houston and Atlanta never occurred in Phoenix. Phoenix was considered
too small and too remote to attract much significant commercial high-rise
development during the 1960s and 1970s. It is also possible that the growing
leviathans of Los Angeles (and to a lesser degree, Denver, Houston and Dallas)
siphoned off some of the high-rise development that might have otherwise
occurred in Phoenix. All of these cities were much larger than Phoenix and were
seen as being much more progressive at the time.
4. Phoenix was anti-urban and still is, to some degree. A comprehensive freeway
plan was resisted until 1985. At that time Phoenix was the largest metropolitan
area (with almost two million residents) in the United States without a
completed freeway or beltway system encircling and crossing the city, which
created busy arterial streets. Sightlines and mountain views are important to
residents. Many still oppose high-rises because views of the mountains are
considered sacred, as evidenced by the recent rejection in 2005 of Donald
Trump's 15-story high-rise project in the Biltmore area. Many people that came
to Phoenix in the latter half of the 20th Century did so to escape "big city
problems," so there is a natural tendency in Arizona to keep things small. As a
result, much of the office space in Phoenix is located in low profile newer
office parks in outlying areas of the city, and not in downtown high-rises like
in other cities.
Copper Square, despite these shortcomings, has undergone a renaissance since the
building of the US Airways Center (formerly America West Arena) in 1992 and
Chase Field (formerly Bank One Ballpark) in 1998. Several new skyscrapers are
under construction as of March, 2006, with many more planned that will
dramatically transform the skyline. These include:
* Under Construction:
o 44 Monroe, a 34-story residential condo tower;
o Phoenix Convention Center Hotel, a 31-story hotel;
o Summit at Copper Square, a 22-story residential condo tower
* Approved:
o W Hotel, a 39-story hotel and condo tower, breaking ground in summer, 2006;
o Cosmopolitan Lofts, a 17-story residential condo tower;
o RO3 (Phase III), a 16-story residential condo tower;
* Proposed:
o Cityscape, four 30 to 40-story mixed-use towers;
o Central Park East, a 40-story mixed-use project;
o Park Place, Phase II, a 38-story mixed-use project;
For a list of other buildings in Phoenix, go to Emporis Phoenix.
There are a large number of high-rise proposals, some of which will likely not
be built, due to the considerable amount of speculation occurring in Phoenix.
Issues include skyrocketing land costs and ever-increasing construction costs,
due to the shortage of concrete, steel and other construction materials. Other
proposals not listed above include a third phase of Arizona Center, several
"warehouse district" residential high-rises near the stadiums, several office
projects and various other residential projects ranging from five to thirty
stories in height.
A newly expanded convention center is under construction now, which will triple
the amount of available space to nearly one million square feet. The name of the
center was recently changed to the Phoenix Convention Center from Phoenix Civic
Plaza, to reflect this $600 million investment.
A $1.2 billion light rail system called "The Metro" is also under construction.
When the initial 20-mile (32 km) segment is completed in 2008, it will improve
connections to downtown areas of Glendale, Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa. A downtown
extension for Arizona State University is opening in fall 2006, with about 3,000
students. A much larger campus is planned, with up to 15,000 students by 2015.
Some coffeehouses, restaurants, nightclubs and shopping in the area continue to
draw people downtown for the slowly growing nightlife scene. Much more
development is expected once the light rail line and downtown ASU are open.