Chandler soon to see apartment, restaurant boom

Hundreds of new apartment units are coming to downtown Chandler in the next few months, and one building, which could be the downtown’s tallest, is working its way through the approval process.

“We are starting to see a lot of people moving to downtown,” said Lauren Koll, Chandler’s downtown redevelopment program manager.

Two new apartment complexes, called DC Heights and Encore Chandler, are completing construction and expected to open by the end of the year, she said. The two will bring about 360 new apartment units to the city center.

New building plans office, apartments and restaurants

In late July, the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommended that the City Council approve a rezoning for One Chandler, a proposed mixed-use building planned at Arizona Avenue and Chandler Boulevard.

The building is planned to be seven stories tall, which would make it the tallest in downtown, Koll said. The project is planned to include ground floor restaurants and retail, 13,000 square feet of office on the second floor, and floors three through seven will be apartment units.

The building is planned on a site that is mostly vacant, except for a Jack in the Box restaurant built midblock on the western portion of the site. The Jack in the Box will remain open, and the One Chandler building will be built around it, surrounding it on three sides.

The One Chandler development does not have final City Council approval yet, but if the project were OK’d, construction likely would take about 18 to 20 months, Koll said.

“The property presents an extraordinary opportunity for a vibrant, walkable, visually stunning mixed-use development that will become an iconic landmark for the area and complete the northern gateway to downtown Chandler,” the development team for Jackson Dearborn Partners wrote in the submittal to the city for One Chandler.

Food hall planned, new restaurants opening

Koll said a focus of the city has been growing its unique offerings. Along with One Chandler, Koll said a planned new food hall is on that list.

The food hall, which could include about 12 different restaurant concepts in one building, is planned to be built on a one-third acre lot at the southwest corner of Chicago and Oregon streets. The food hall still needs to go through the planning and zoning approval process before it can be built.

“What we are starting to see is more unique concepts for downtown, and the majority of businesses in downtown are owned locally,” she said.

In August the City Council approved a development agreement with developer Spike Lawrence to expand the Hilton Garden Inn hotel in downtown, which Lawrence developed along with office space and restaurants near the northeast corner of Oregon and Chicago streets. The addition will include about 69 hotel rooms, a new conference space and a new restaurant.

At an event hosted by the Chandler Chamber of Commerce, Koll said a handful of new restaurants and dessert spots have opened or are nearing opening in downtown.

Crispy Cones, a European-inspired ice cream shop, opened in mid-August. Buqui Bichi Brewing, a Mexican brewery, opened in July, and Elliott’s Steakhouse opened in July in a building that used to be a movie theater.

“We see a lot of people come to downtown Chandler for our uniqueness, and we still have the historic aspect,” she said.