Manzana, An Eye-Catching Mixed-Use Project, Coming to Phoenix’s Roosevelt Row

Article originally posted on KTAR News on December 1, 2023

PHOENIX — An eye-catching mixed-use project called Manzana is coming to the Roosevelt Row Arts District in Phoenix.

Architect Lev Libeskind designed the eight-story building to be a landmark of urban renewal in downtown Phoenix. Construction is expected to begin near Roosevelt Street and First Avenue in early 2025.

“With each project we take on, we aim to create a meaningful space that enhances the community around it,” Libeskind said in a press release Monday. “Honoring the urban context is crucial to making a building everyone enjoys and recognizes as a respectful contribution to the neighborhood.”

Manzana, which means apple in Spanish, will have 68 residential units, 10,000 square feet of ground-level retail space and 38 parking stalls.

What inspired the style of Manzana mixed-use building in Phoenix?

Renderings of Manzana show a distinctive angular grid feature covering the building’s brick exterior.

The design incorporates Phoenix’s midcentury architectural style with touches of Mexican wood elements that echo the neighborhood’s Latino and Indigenous artistic presence, according to the release.

“People want to live in a place that is notable for its beauty and the community around it,” Libeskind said. “Manzana allows people to have both, contributing to the local culture of the arts district for years to come.”

Libeskind’s firm, Libeskind Design Studio, is based in Italy. It opened its first U.S. office in Phoenix earlier this year.

In February, Libeskind announced plans for a Mario Kart-inspired Roosevelt Row apartment building called Rainbow Road.