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January 13, 2008 - 9:40PM
New Monti’s plan a winner for all involved
Comments | RecommendTribune Editorial
The Valley’s oldest continuously occupied building —and the airspace above it — has been saved from the bulldozer of progress. So we’d better get this right.
The Tempe City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a high-rise development which will surround Monti’s La Casa Vieja, but will not attempt to suspend a 300-foot tower directly over the one-story adobe building, as had been proposed in August.
We weren’t crazy about that approach to preserving the structure built on the bank of the then-flowing Salt River by Tempe founder Charles Trumbull Hayden in 1871, but understood the need to update the site, and the steakhouse that’s been there since 1956, to make them economically viable in the future.
At the time, we challenged Tempe city officials to protect the old adobe house by coming up with the money to buy it and lease it back to owner Michael Monti, rather than relying on regulation or emotional appeals.
They didn’t. But we’ve come out of this with a better plan, which puts the adobe structure at less risk for disintegration by backing the intent of developer 3W Cos. to build the towers away from it. We’re pleased at the unanimous council vote which effectively kills the legal protest filed by adjacent property owner U.S. Airways, allowing Monti to restore both the landmark and his business.
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