COVID-19 Brings Change to Housing Planned Near Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix

Article originally posted on AZ Central on August 8, 2023

An artist's rendering shows the main entryway into the Central Park development from the corner of Central Avenue and Indian School Road.

A large-scale development planned next to Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix that had been put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic is back in the works, with a change in approach.

“We went from more of a commercial-dominated plan to more of a residential focus,” Julia Najafi, vice president of Phoenix-based Pivotal Group, said. The project, called Central Park, is planned on about 18 acres of land at Central Avenue and Indian School Road.

The parcel is adjacent to Steele Indian School Park but is not part of the park.

The project got zoning approval from Phoenix in 2019, but the pandemic took a heavy toll on some of the types of buildings planned, especially offices. The group submitted an updated plan to the city modifying some of the land uses in the development, adding more apartments, condominiums and assisted living space and removing some of the planned office space.

The new proposal calls for:

  • A 21-story apartment tower.
  • Two eight-story apartment towers.
  • An 18-story office tower.
  • A grocery store.
  • A 21-story condominium tower.
  • A 320-unit senior living complex.
  • 78,000 square feet total of restaurants and retail space.
  • A public open-space plaza.
  • 1,450 total residential units.

Najafi said no tenant has been announced yet for the grocery store site. None of the restaurants and retailers on the property has been named.

The open-space plaza is designed to be the nucleus of the development, surrounded by restaurants and patios, according to documents submitted to the city. A pedestrian entrance is planned at the corner of Central and Indian School, where people can walk from the intersection into the development to the plaza and businesses.

“We would like to be a great complement to the park,” Najafi said.

While Pivotal Group had “always envisioned” bringing plans for Central Park back after it was stalled, Najafi said the work began seriously this year. Looking at the growth of midtown and downtown Phoenix and the need for more housing, it seemed like a good time to proceed with the plans, she said.

The project is still in the preliminary stages, Najafi said. Construction will be phased, but it is too soon to know which pieces will begin first or when the project will break ground.

An artist's rendering shows some of the ground-floor retail and restaurants planned at the development, located at Central Avenue and Indian School Road.

Public hearings still needed

Jason Morris, the zoning attorney for the project, said it “could not have been worse” timing in 2019 for an office-centric project. Because the City Council already approved the zoning change, the matter doesn’t have to go before the council again.

However, there are other steps to take before the modifications are approved. The case will go before the city’s planning hearing officer on Aug. 16.

“This part of midtown has lacked a gathering place,” Morris said. “We want to create a reason to visit this area.”

Another major project across the street

The site is directly across Central Avenue from another development that is working its way through the city approval process.

Petree Development submitted plans to develop the roughly 15-acre site at Central and Glenrosa avenues, adjacent to the George & Dragon Pub. That project is also heavily focused on apartments, with plans for about 1,500 units to be built on the site over the course of about 10 years.

The tallest building on that site is planned to reach 22 stories.

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