// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs the Arizona Center a hub? Center-ally located.
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| Arizona Center | |
|---|---|
 Tower One | |
 | |
General information | |
| Status | Undergoing redevelopment |
| Type | Mixed-use |
| Location |
|
Construction started | 1988 |
Completed | 1990 |
| Opened |
|
| Renovated | 2017–2019 |
| Owner | Presson Corporation |
| Operator | Presson Corporation |
| Height | |
| Roof |
|
| Technical details | |
| Floor count |
|
| Design and construction | |
| Architects |
|
| Developer | The Rouse Company |
| Main contractor |
|
Building details | |
 Tower Two | |
| References | |
| [1] | |
Arizona Center is a mixed-use development consisting of an open-air shopping center known as The Shops at Arizona Center, and an enclosed office complex located in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, opening in between 1989 and 1990, with The Shops originally serving as a festival marketplace. However, as of 2020[update], the mall portion has failed, and is being redeveloped into a community space. PALMTower, part of the redevelopment, was completed in 2024. The complex features The Gardens at Arizona Center in the courtyard.
Overview
[edit]Arizona Center features two office buildings, retail and AMC Theatres Arizona Center 24. One Arizona Center is 260 feet (79 meters) tall and has 19 floors. This tower houses various legal firms with Snell & Wilmer being the largest. Other tenants include the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitor's Bureau (Visit Phoenix) and ASU. Two Arizona Center stands at 290 feet (88 meters) tall and has 20 floors. It is the headquarters of local electric utility Arizona Public Service or APS. Retail once offered a variety of restaurants, boutiques and tourist shops, most of which are now closed as of 2020[update].
The large central plaza at Arizona Center includes richly landscaped courtyards and fountains designed by the SWA Group, which won a National Merit Award by the American Society of Landscape Architects for its work on the plaza.[2]
History
[edit]Late 1980s: Planning and construction
[edit]Downtown Phoenix was heavily suffering from urban decay as population flight to the suburbs, due to a lack of residential density, sports facilities, office buildings and retail centers.[3]
The Phoenix Community Alliance (PCA) found a 16-acre (6.5 ha) site (then known as the "Superblock"[4]) at the city's strategic core and assembling the necessary land parcels, selling it to the Rouse Company of Columbia, Maryland to develop the site into a mixed-use complex emphasizing office space, specialty restaurants, high-quality retail, and entertainment to attract visitors and tourists, aimed to save downtown Phoenix.[3] Rouse founded the subsidiary, Rouse-Arizona Center, Inc. for the development.[5]
1990: Opening and reception
[edit]Arizona Center had its grand opening on November 15, 1990, with great fanfare and high expectations, as it was considered one of the original components of the ongoing downtown revitalization efforts in Phoenix taking place since the early 1990s.
Arizona Center featured a second-story food court, boutiques, galleries, tourist-oriented shops, and restaurants including the first Hooters location at Arizona,[6] which opened on October 2, 1990, to draw visitors with casual dining options. The complex also included lush waterways, green spaces, and event areas like a garden grotto, supporting revitalization efforts of downtown Phoenix.[7]
Decline, ownership changes and attempted revitalization efforts
[edit]The expectations were high since Rouse also developed Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston and Harborplace in Baltimore, which Arizona Center was modeled after. The complex was expected to promote downtown redevelopment, but some critics felt suburban-oriented Phoenix was incompatible for a complex dependent on tourists and office workers. Critics have also pointed out the relative scarcity of permanent upscale apartment and/or condominium housing in the immediate vicinity as a factor in the lackluster performance of the complex.[8] Most of the residential districts surrounding the downtown area are middle-to-lower income, not adequate to support the middle-to-high-end marketing mix that Arizona Center set out to provide.
A 24-screen AMC Theater opened at Arizona Center on March 6, 1998,[9] as an effort by The Rouse Co. to revitalize it, but that was not enough.[4] Many of the initial retailers struggled to attract customers, and by 2003, The Rouse Co. announced that the large second-story food court, similar to those found in suburban shopping malls, would be closed and reconfigured into the Phoenix regional office of Detroit-based architectural firm SmithGroup.[10]
Rouse was acquired by Chicago, Illinois-based General Growth Properties (GGP) for $12.6 billion in November 2004. After going through bankruptcy and struggles from the Great Recession, GGP sold Arizona Center to CommonWealth REIT in 2011.[11]
2010s renovation
[edit]In December 2015, Arizona Center was acquired by a joint venture between Parallel Capital Partners and New York-based Angelo Gordon & Co. for $126 million.[12] The struggling complex then underwent a major $25 million renovation from 2017 to 2019, aiming to revitalize it and attract tourists and shoppers again. The renovation modernized the complex, such as the addition of creative office spaces, outdoor work stations and a 60-foot LED jumbotron.[13][12]
Despite being renovated, a major blow occurred when the COVID-19 pandemic happened.[14] The white collar office workers from One Arizona Center, the APS high rise, and other downtown Phoenix office buildings started to work from home during the pandemic, and have never fully come back. Arizona Center lost 12 restaurants and all retail establishments during that period, including major, previously highly popular tenants such as Starbucks, Hooters and Subway. The complex is now struggling as foot traffic fell to almost nothing. The local management office admittedly does not expect to see foot traffic revive for several more years. Following the pandemic, tenant vacancies exacerbated, including Kwench Juice Cafe, which closed permanently in November 2020 due to a lack of revenue.[15] In March 2022, Hooters permanently closed its doors.[6]
2023–present: Redevelopment
[edit]Arizona Center was acquired by local developer Presson Corporation in mid-2023 and is undergoing community-centered redevelopment.[16]
| PALMTower | |
|---|---|
| |
General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Mixed-use |
| Location | Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., 440 E. Van Buren St, 85001 |
Construction started | Early 2022 |
| Topped-out | June 2023 |
Completed | 2024 |
| Opened | Early 2024 |
| Operator | Mark-Taylor |
| Design and construction | |
Architecture firm | Will Bruder Architects and Lamar Johnson Collaborative |
| Developer | North American Development Group |
| Main contractor | Clayco |
| References | |
| [17] | |
Part of the Arizona Center redevelopment includes the PALMtower project, which represented a significant expansion of the Arizona Center's mixed-use offerings, introducing a 28-story residential tower with 352 luxury apartment units ranging from studios to three-bedroom layouts. The tower began construction in early 2022, was topped out in the summer of 2023 and opened in early 2024.[18][19][20] It is located at the northwest corner of E. Van Buren St and N. 5th St. PALMTower also features a 17,500-square-foot (1,630 m2) seventh-floor amenity level that includes an outdoor pool, spa, indoor-outdoor commons, fitness center, yoga studio, residents' club, and lounge spaces with panoramic views of the Phoenix skyline. PALMTower also includes a seven-level parking podium with space for 350 vehicles and a ground-level secure bike storage room for urban commuters.[18]
Pretty Decent Concepts, a restaurant development group known for winning two Foodist Awards (Best Signature Dish and Best Chef for the group's Wren & Wolf restaurant in Phoenix) for its creations, has announced that it is opening a pair of new restaurants and a martini bar in Arizona Center.[21] Cleaverman and Uppercut, which are both steakhouses, would open at the complex.[21] Fitness-related amenities, such as Jiu Jitsu gym and a roller rink, will also be added. A 31-story apartment tower, which is also known known as Palm Tower[a] has been announced to begin construction soon.[22][better source needed]
See also
[edit]
Explanatory notes and references
[edit]- ↑ Not to be confused with the 2024 PALMTower.
- ↑ "Arizona Center". The Rouse Company. Archived from the original on August 5, 2003. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
- ↑ "1999 ASLA Professional Awards Recipients". American Society of Landscape Architects. Retrieved March 8, 2010. [dead link]
- 1 2 "Shaping Our Urban Future: A Look Into PCA's Past & Future". DTPHX. July 23, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
- 1 2 "Downtown Phoenix's Arizona Center: Its history and future development". AZCentral. April 8, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
- ↑ "entity (Rouse)". Retrieved January 21, 2026.
- 1 2 "Hooters at AZ CTR closing" (PDF). HootersArizona. March 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
- ↑ "The Destination". Arizona Center.
- ↑ Kress, Adam (September 16, 2005). "Downtown retail may grow as ASU, light rail proceed". The Business Journal of Phoenix. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
- ↑ "AMC Arizona Center 24". Cinema Treasures.
- ↑ Padgett, Mike (September 26, 2003). "SmithGroup carves its own offices out of food court". The Business Journal of Phoenix. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
- ↑ Pelham, Victoria (March 22, 2011). "New ownership could bring changes to Arizona Center". Downtown Devil. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
- 1 2 "The Destination". Arizona Center official website.
- ↑ "Arizona Center completes $25 million renovations, readies for new hotel". KTAR News. March 27, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
- ↑ Major, Payton (November 24, 2020). "COVID-19 pandemic takes toll on Arizona Center in Downtown Phoenix". AZ Big Media. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
- ↑ "COVID 19 pandemic takes toll on Arizona Center in downtown Phoenix". AZBigMedia. November 24, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Arizona Center revamp plans". AZCentral. February 25, 2025. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
- ↑ "PALMTower". DTPHX.
- 1 2 "PALMTower". ClayCorp.
- ↑ "PalmTower". PalmTower.
- ↑ "PalmTower Amenities". MarkTaylor.
- 1 2 "Downtown Phoenix's Arizona Center Is the City's Newest Hotspot". Bizbash. May 2, 2025. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
- ↑ "What's coming". ArizonaCenter.
External links
[edit]- 1990 establishments in Arizona
- Buildings and structures completed in 1990
- HKS, Inc. buildings
- Hotels and office buildings developed by The Rouse Company
- Retail buildings in Phoenix, Arizona
- Shopping malls designed by ELS Architecture and Urban Design
- Shopping malls developed by The Rouse Company
- Skyscraper office buildings in Phoenix, Arizona