By Alexa Chryssovergis | The Republic
For the third time in 15 years, Phoenix will seek a buyer for the historic, city-owned Knipe House and some vacant land in the Roosevelt Row arts district surrounding it.
During that span of time, the neighborhood has grown from an austere collection of few businesses to a popular center of local art and culture. The transition has not always been smooth, and this project could once again expose divisions about competing visions for the area.
Longtime Roosevelt Row entrepreneurs want to see the house and acre-and-a-half of land developed, but some are fearful the proposals could bring more gentrification and hurt local artists.
For the city, the rehabilitation and reuse of the Knipe House itself, which was built in 1909 and occupied by a prominent local architect, is the first priority in choosing a buyer.
