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Tempe, Arizona (3TV/CBS 5) — The Tempe Development Review Board held a special meeting tonight to discuss changes in the Arizona Coyotes’ efforts to create a new entertainment district near Tempe Town Lake.
The council voted unanimously to approve Coyotes’ proposed zoning changes, a key one of which would be to convert much of the proposed area from commercial zoning to mixed use. “In terms of the valley itself, this is the perfect location to serve the valley,” said Coyote attorney Nick Wood.
When Wood laid out his proposed plans for the Coyotes’ new $2.1 billion entertainment district, he cited everything from sharing parking spaces with nearby businesses to the location of the arena, living spaces and other amenities.
But most importantly, Wood expressed the vision of Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo that this will change Tempe Town Lakes and the city as a whole. “Create something very unique, very special,” Wood said. “Something that doesn’t exist in Arizona.”
The proposed entertainment precinct will be divided into two phases. One includes an arena, practice facility as well as smaller hotel, residential and office space. Another phase includes most of the retail, living space and opportunities that come with it.
“Our current forecast is that there will be 6,900 permanent jobs,” said Coyotes President and CEO Xavier Gutierrez. “One of the things we’re excited about about this is the scope of work is very important. You’ll have service jobs, we’ll have retail workers, we’ll have food workers. There’ll be a mix.”
That’s why Coyote is pushing to change the way the land is used from commercial to mixed use, including nearly two thousand residential units. The City of Phoenix says making the area a residential area violates a nearly 30-year-old intergovernmental agreement between the two cities as well as Sky Harbor airport flight patterns. They’re not the only ones concerned with developing this space.
“We’re going to be horribly affected in so many ways,” said Tempe resident Philip Yates. Phoenix resident Andrew Marwick added: “When there’s activity, the afternoon rush hour in Tempe is going to be worse, worse than it is now.”
The Coyotes will submit their project proposal next Tuesday. Then, a week later, on November 29, the Tempe City Council will vote to bring it up for a May 16 referendum. If approved, the public will ultimately vote “yes” or “no” on the district.
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