[Source: Barbara Stocklin, City of Phoenix] — City of Phoenix Historic Preservation Office staff met with representatives of the historic Hotel Westward Ho and the State Historic Preservation Office about the possibility of removing the 1949 tower from the roof of the building due to liability concerns and new safety requirements that will trigger additional stairways/landings on the rooftop. The owner is also interested in removing the 1949 penthouse addition on the north and south sides, reactivating the historic neon signage, removing the front non-historic canopy, and rehabilitating the historic storefronts for new retail uses.
The project will need approval from the National Park Service and SHPO first given that federal historic preservation tax credits were recently used on the building. The city historic preservation office would need to approve any changes as well, and is willing to consider a matching grant application for the proposed rehabilitation work other than the tower removal.
Downtown Voices Coalition 