Chaz Smith of CB Richard Ellis Inc. in Phoenix tells GlobeSt.com that the last dwelling was set to topple yesterday as crews prep the site to build a 367-unit apartment community designed around a parking structure. Completion is set for mid-2003.
The beauty of Camelback Square, says Smith, is its location in a submarket with 4,000 to 5,000 office workers and just a handful of multifamily projects to keep their home addresses close to their work addresses. He says only five complexes have been built in the past decade along the prestigious Camelback Corridor.
The multi-building Camelback Square targets young professionals working in the 24th Street and Camelback-Biltmore district. Units will range from 550 sf to 1,500 sf. Amenities will include three swimming pools, attached garages, gas fireplaces and state-of-the-art business and fitness centers. Jim Ternosky and Bruce Gray, both of Phoenix-based Gray Olson Meyer Investments, designed the complex for the developer-builder.
The single-family development was constructed in the early 1960s, but was severed in the late 1980s by construction of Squaw Peak Parkway. Homes on the parkway's east side flourished while those on the west found themselves flanked by retail and office projects. The upshot was the west side became isolated in terms of a neighborhood presence, Smith explains.
Residents started their exodus in June, but the 5.5-acre project didn't get its final clearance until a week ago when the developer closed on his construction financing, according to Smith. The most difficult part of the deal, he says, was satisfying 22 property owners "with different desires" and the typical financing delays stemming from Sept. 11 and a nationwide economic slump.
Gray Olson Meyer has developed several multifamily complexes in the region, including a 56-unit project at 36th and Camelback. Camelback Square is bordered by 17th and Colter Street and within walking distance of power centers, restaurants, office buildings as well as easy freeway access. "We expect Camelback Square to become one of the Valley's most prestigious address," says Smith.
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