Wood Partners will break ground in early 2014 on Alta Tempe, a 296-unit luxury apartment complex at University Drive and Dorsey Lane near the new Marina Heights, which will be the state’s largest office park when it is completed. Construction of the 270,000-square-foot apartment building, situated on 7.1 acres, should be complete by June 2015. Alta Tempe will begin pre-leasing in third quarter 2014.
The contemporary four-story apartment complex, designed by Womack and Hampton, will be built by Wood Partners. It will include 180 one-bedroom units, 104 two-bedroom units and 12 three-bedroom apartments averaging 892 square feet. The units will have granite countertops, upgraded appliances and vinyl plank flooring; entrances will be buffered by conditioned corridors for energy efficiency. Residents will have access to cutting-edge amenities, including a fitness center, resort-style pool, 8,000-square-foot hospitality-style clubhouse with a living wall system (vertical garden), a four-story observation deck with views of Camelback Mountain and all of northern Phoenix, as well as a few other amenities that cannot be disclosed at this time.
“Other projects in the area are being constructed at bases 40-60% higher than this development and the rents will reflect this disparity as the value proposition at Alta Tempe will be off the charts,” said Todd Taylor, Phoenix developer for Wood Partners. “Its location near downtown, Arizona State University and the new Marina Heights office development—a big game changer in Tempe—is certainly an important part of the story, and residents will be within walking or biking distance to two metro transit stations.”
According to the National Association of Home Builders’ formula to determine the local impact of multifamily housing in typical metro areas, adding nearly 300 rental apartments will generate $23.7 million in local income, $2.5 million in taxes and other revenue for local governments, and 366 local jobs in Tempe.
When it is complete in 2017, Marina Heights will include two million square feet of office space and 40,000 square feet of service retail. State Farm Insurance will locate one of its four nationwide operation centers there. Project developers expect the first buildings to be occupied in mid to late 2015.
