Downtown Tempe Arizona Reaches For The Sky

The East Valley Tribune reports Tempe is poised to reshape the East Valley's skyline with buildings of 30-stories or more.

Centerpoint Residential Towers will have three 30-story towers in the downtown area as part of a luxury condo development. "People are starving for that urban lifestyle," said Ken Losch, a principal at Avenue Communities, developers of the Centerpoint project. "We've been behind the curve on this whole urban living thing."

Losch and Tempe planners envision a city where 10,000 residents or more will live in a vertical urban setting. They'll give up their cars most of the time and walk or take light rail. They'll eat at bistros and quirky restaurants. They'll shop at gourmet markets.

Chris Salomone, who oversees downtown development efforts, says tall buildings have exploded in other communities as people clamor for urban life. "I saw it happen in San Diego and it blew me away," said Salomone. "I think it's going to blow people away here." More...