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A Potential Tenant for Vacant Cronkite Space in Downtown Phoenix
[Source: Caitlin Cruz, Downtown Devil]
Evie Carpenter/DD
ASU expects to finalize a lease with an undisclosed tenant who would occupy a vacant retail space in the southwest corner of the Walter Cronkite School building’s ground floor within a week, a university official said on Wednesday.
Negotiations have been in progress since November, and the potential tenant hopes to open his eatery during the spring 2011 semester, said Patrick Panetta, associate director at the University Real Estate Development Office.
Panetta did not disclose the identity of the potential tenant as the deal is not yet official, but he said one of the specifics preventing the completion of the agreement has been the inclusion of ASU’s Maroon and Gold Dollars program.
“We would like him to take M&G Dollars,” Panetta said. “That’s one of the finer points we’ve included in the lease.”’
Recently, downtown businesses have voiced concerns over the high fees associated with M&G, but many students still feel the M&G program has merit.
“These shops (around the Cronkite School) are convenient, and I would like it if they would use M&G, not just Sun Dollars,” said Aly Galt, a freshman kinesiology major.
The retail space, one of two currently vacant in the building, was occupied by Sbarro Italian Eatery until August 2010, and despite the equipment that is already in place for making pizza and similar foods, the potential tenant wants to execute a different restaurant concept, Panetta said.
Panetta said one possibility that has been considered is a salad and smoothie eatery.
However, he said, “that is not the main thrust of the project. There will be other facets.”
Kate Rosenberg, a graduate social work student, said she would welcome a salad and smoothie alternative. Rosenberg said she spends one day a week on the Downtown campus and eats at Subway.
“Only Subway,” she said. “Nothing else is good.”
According to Panetta, the tenant hopes to make a few changes to the equipment and layout of the space. Depending on how quickly the changes can be made, the new restaurant could be opened as soon as late March, Panetta said.
The potential tenant “wanted to get open this semester to announce to the ASU community that he was there,” Panetta said. “This is what he’ll be offering and will see everybody when they are back from summer.”
In addition to filling the spaces in the Cronkite building, the University Real Estate Development Office is responsible for finding tenants for the empty spots on Taylor Place’s ground floor.
“We’re still actively looking for tenants for all the spaces,” Panetta said. “There have been some tentative interest from some local restaurants, but it hasn’t gone very far yet.”
A relocation of Wells Fargo Bank, currently at the Arizona Center, is “potentially in the future” for an open-retail space in Taylor Place, Panetta said.
“They would have to approve the space,” Panetta said. “That is kind of why it isn’t a done deal yet — they haven’t agreed on anything yet.”
Contact the reporter at caitlin.cruz@asu.edu
Viewpoint: New growth, new promise for downtown Phoenix
[Source: Andrew Conlin, Special for The Republic] — For nearly two decades, we’ve heard confident predictions that downtown Phoenix was on the brink of a crucial “tipping point,” when public investment would no longer be needed to generate new development that was both vigorous and self-sustaining. A term like “tipping point” is a kind of mental shorthand, useful in summarizing complex ideas but sometimes misleading when it comes to making decisions or drawing conclusions.
In reality, we won’t see the beginning of a significant shift from public to private investment until downtown achieves the requisite critical mass. This will be the moment when the collective energy generated by the diverse collection of downtown businesses, retailers, residences, entertainment venues, and academic and cultural institutions fuses into the nucleus of an energetic and growing community. Private investors will be drawn to this energy, creating new businesses and helping to further enrich the downtown scene. This will inspire more people to live and work here, generating new opportunities that will draw new investors. This development “chain reaction” will, we hope, be self-sustaining and transformational. [Note: To read the full opinion piece and comments, click here.]
