Here’s How Canal Development Will Change Landscape of Phoenix

Article originally posted on AZ Big Media on December 19, 2023

Canal-oriented development is a tricky thing. In the past few years, our firm has had two rezoning projects approved along the northern bank of the Arizona Grand Canal in the City of Phoenix between Central Avenue and 7th Avenue. The first of those two projects, Aura Uptown at the southeast corner of 3rd Avenue and Coolidge Street, is a multi-family residential project with open space areas and amenities (both public and private) oriented toward the canal.  More recently, the City approved Forty600 in October of this year – a seven-story mixed use development with both live/work units and a first-of-its-kind restaurant space with its front door facing the canal.

In both instances, our goal was to showcase the Arizona Grand Canal as a regional amenity for biking, running, and walking by providing project elements and amenities that enhance the experience along the canal and attract more people to use it. The City of Phoenix has made a significant effort to beautify the Arizona Grand Canal and encourage new development to orient itself toward the canal rather than turn its back to it.

The City of Phoenix recently broke ground on the third phase of its Grand Canalscape project, a continuous multi-use recreational trail system along the Arizona Grand Canal which starts near Tempe Town Lake and will ultimately terminate at the border of the City of Glendale. The Grand Canalscape incorporates enhanced landscaping, lighting, and bike/pedestrian safety infrastructure to provide a safe and enjoyable off-street pathway.

In conjunction with the Grand Canalscape infrastructure and beautification, in 2015 the City of Phoenix began to encourage canal-oriented development and redevelopment along the portion of the Grand Canal between 7th Avenue and 7th Street via the Uptown Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Plan. The Uptown TOD Plan envisions a revitalized corridor of canal-oriented development along the Arizona Grand Canal, offering a mix of residential and commercial uses with art, lighting, landscaping, and pedestrian pathways.

For both of our projects in this area, the single most challenging aspect of canal-oriented development is the restrictions placed upon the types of improvements that can occur within Grand Canal right-of-way controlled by Salt River Project (SRP), most notably a prohibition of any permanent vertical structures within the right-of-way along the banks – including the Arizona Grand Canalscape trail.

SRP utilizes the banks of the canals for canal maintenance, particularly in the winter months when the canal is drained to allow maintenance crews to scoop the accumulated silt out of the canal with heavy equipment. SRP is notoriously protective of these areas, and getting the public utility to allow additional community amenities or private development to encroach into these areas is a slow process.

The Scottsdale Waterfront is the blueprint for successful canal-oriented development in the Valley, a 1.1 million square-foot mixed-use development that lines both sides of the Arizona Canal from Scottsdale Road to Goldwater Boulevard. The realization of Scottsdale’s vision took years of planning and coordination with SRP and over $30 million in City funding for improvements to the canal and canal banks.

With two canal-oriented developments in the pipeline and more surely on the way, the time is right for the City of Phoenix to pursue a similar process with SRP to find common ground that will allow more significant public improvements and amenities along the Arizona Grand Canal. With the leadership of Councilmember Laura Pastor, this effort is already underway. The Forty600 development was the catalyst for renewed discussions with SRP about the possibilities and potential surrounding the Arizona Grand Canal between 7th Avenue and 7th Street, ultimately resulting in the developer committing to a significant investment in future improvements along the Arizona Grand Canal.

Canal-oriented development has been successfully executed not only right here in the Valley, but in cities across the country including San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Chicago, and many other cities around the country. The City of Phoenix, in partnership with SRP and private development, has the opportunity to become the next major municipality to develop a riverwalk-style corridor and turn this portion of the Arizona Grand Canal into something truly special. All of the pieces are here to make it happen.