Apartment complex being built near closed Metrocenter Mall site
A 206-unit apartment complex under construction near the shuttered Metrocenter Mall will be one of the area’s first new housing developments in decades, ahead of the redevelopment that plans to bring thousands of housing units to the site.
Scottsdale-based MK Company is developing Metro Lofts, located near 29th and Dunlap avenues, just south of the mall. The four-story apartment complex will have one- and two-bedroom units, and residents will have the ability to rent a garage, which will come pre-wired for electric vehicles.
The development will also include an office that residents can book to hold video calls or meetings while they are working from home.
“This is such a central, great location that was poised to reinvent itself,” Keith Holben, president of MK Company, said. “I loved the location and there really is a need for new housing.”
Developing along the canal
The site is along the canal, and at the city’s request, Holben and his team have adjusted some of the units to face it. Phoenix has begun an effort to encourage development along its canals to add activity and public uses along the waterfront as Scottsdale has done.
“It was a stipulation from the city, but we think it’s a great idea,” he said.
When his company bought the site in September 2021, he knew there were plans to redevelop Metrocenter, but the specifics of the plans had not yet been decided, Holben said.
The site had contained about 100,000 square feet of vacant retail buildings, which were demolished to make room for the apartments, Holben said.
Framing is complete for the buildings on the site, and the company is in the process of installing plumbing and electrical systems, Holben said.
The first apartment building will open around August of 2024, with the second planned to open in December 2024.
Pre-leasing for the apartments will likely begin in the summer of 2024, he said. Rents will likely be around $1,400 for a one-bedroom and $1,800 for a twobedroom unit.
$850 million development on tap at Metrocenter
Economic development officials have said the $850 million redevelopment of Metrocenter Mall, which officially closed in 2020, will be a catalyst of development for the surrounding area as it has been for Metro Lofts.
A joint venture of Concord Wilshire Capital, TLG Investment Partners and Carl DeSantis’ CDS International Holdings Inc. bought the vacant mall and will partner with Hines on the redevelopment, which will raze most of the existing structure. The plan is to redevelop the site into an “urban village” with a focus on housing, both rental and for sale.
Other elements will include restaurants, bars, a park, and commercial and entertainment venues. The project will include more than 2,600 apartment units, 150,000 square feet of commercial space, and a parking garage.
Metrocenter is one of many spots to be redeveloped or planned for redevelopment in Phoenix.
Park Central, which has included adaptively reusing some of the department store space as offices and constructing new buildings in the parking lot has also been a spark for growth in the surrounding community, economic development officials have said.
Those officials hope Metrocenter’s redevelopment can have a similar effect, beyond the boundaries of the mall.
The former Paradise Valley Mall, now called PV, has been demolished and is being rebuilt with a variety of uses, including apartments, gyms, restaurants and other developments. In Mesa, Fiesta Mall is being demolished and will also be redeveloped into a mixed-use project, with a heavy emphasis on residential units.