By Roland Murphy | AZBEX
Arizona Housing, Inc. is seeking a rezoning from the City of Phoenix to convert a former hotel property at 2900 E. Van Buren St. into a 66-unit affordable multifamily development.
The 1.61-acre site near 30th Street and Van Buren is surrounded by a church, a motel, an auto sales lot, a live adult entertainment venue and vacant land and lies within a mile of the 24th Street / Washington Street / Jefferson Street light rail stations. Consequently, the request falls under the Walkable Urban Code Transect 5:3 District, Transit Gateway Character Area zoning. This portion of Van Buren is envisioned to have a high degree of walkable and bikeable street level activity.
The existing building will undergo adaptive reuse into apartments, and a new four-story apartment building will also be built on a vacant portion of the site. The City staff report finds the multifamily use consistent with the site’s designation.
Staff also reports the Gateway Transit Oriented Development District says the site is a suitable location for an adaptive reuse and retrofitting project, and that that portion of Van Buren is suited for a mix of compatible uses, such as retail and restaurant, which a residential use would support.
“The Gateway TOD Policy Plan envisions that in the year 2040, the motels along Van Buren Street have been revitalized and draw on Van Buren’s history to restore a positive character and rich sense of place,” the report says. “The Van Buren Corridor portion of the plan for 2040 identifies the adaptive reuse of old motels on Van Buren Street as potential catalyst projects, stating that ‘the numerous vintage motels that once defined the character of the street may be rehabilitated as affordable housing for seniors, artists or innovative co-housing communities. This combined with additional mixed uses in the form of restaurants, retail and office space, has the potential to bring new life back to the once-thriving thoroughfare.’”
