Tempe Urban Living

The proposed mixed use high rise condo, hotel, and retail development, 100 Mill Avenue in Tempe, has hit yet another snag. After getting beat up but ultimately winning a battle with the Tempe Historic Preservation Committee over a preliminary design (the committe had felt that the design overwhelmed Tempe’s historic Monti’s La Casa Vieja) 100 Mill Avenue is now “getting it” from Tempe City Development Staff and Tempe based US Airways who say the revised high rise design is too tall for Mill Avenue and the Tempe Town Lake area. The developers want two towers of 320 and 300 feet while US Airways and ... Read Full Story

In my mid twenties I moved to 83 rd Street between Lexington and Park Avenue in New York. This area is home to some old buildings, newer buildings, many retail stores, great restaurants, the Metropolitan Museum, and beautiful brownstones. I used to walk by these brownstones and think to myself that I could never afford to live in one of these homes. That opinion changed when my wife and I went to Tempe earlier this year and saw the Brownstones at Tempe . Tempe is slowly but surely starting to resemble my old neighborhood in Manhattan. For as long as I have been here, ... Read Full Story

One needs only to see the construction cranes on the horizon to know that the city of Tempe is serious about going vertical.  Downtown Tempe and the Tempe Town Lake areas have surpassed downtown Phoenix and the Biltmore area as the urban hotspot in the Valley. Now the City of Tempe is putting it's attention on the redevelopement of Apache Boulevard.  For decades this stretch has been the bane of Tempe with blighted apartment buildings and trailer parks and a lot of crime.  Over the last ten years or so, Tempe has been slowly buying up land with the effort of taking back the area.  Now, by ... Read Full Story

The owner of Monti's La Casa Vieja Restaurant in Tempe has revised his plans to build two high rise mixed use buildings adjacent to and over his business. Michael Monti had recently been criticized for proposing that one of the two towers (tenty five stories and 300 feet tall) actually straddle the historic restaurant (originally built in 1871).  Critics felt it would demean the historic value of the restaurant and possibly jeopardize the historic status of the building.  To his credit Monti is not fighting the issue and has instead elected to redesign the plan.  He will present his new plan to the Tempe Historic ... Read Full Story

Wikizines are interactive magazines that anyone can create or edit - and this one is called "Tempe Urban Living". Here you can find fresh voices and respond in real time. Some members write articles about recent news and trends related to the wikizine's topic, others recount relevant personal stories or share their favorite pictures and video clips. Got an interesting idea or story to share with other members of this wikizine? Well, then put on your journalist's cap and add your own article! Read Full Story