Centerpoint to fall, rise anew in downtown Tempe

One of Tempe’s first and biggest redevelopment projects is going to be demolished and rebuilt once again.

Graphic: See the area to be redeveloped

The owner of Centerpoint on Mill has plans to raze many of the buildings, including the Harkins Theatres, an office building and a row of single-story shops that includes the Coffee Plantation. Centerpoint also would get a new plaza to replace the often empty area in front of the theaters.

Scottsdale-based DMB broke ground on the project in 1987 but wants to reconfigure some areas that haven’t worked well to take advantage of the high-rise condo and hotel market. Existing leases will complicate the renovation. The first new building might be years off, and it could take more than a decade to complete everything, said Karrin Kunasek Taylor, a DMB vice president.

“Nothing’s going to happen immediately,” she said.

The major work is so far off that DMB is doing a minor face-lift of buildings that will be torn down to attract new tenants and more shoppers. That includes changing the awnings and metal trim from teal green — a wildly popular color at the time — to black.

“The ’80s are going away,” said Manjula Vaz, a zoning attorney who represents DMB.

DMB plans to replace the theaters with a 200-foot hotel tower. A 150-foot condo tower would sit closer to the street, and single-story shops would still line Mill Avenue.

The buildings will feature some red brick, but also lots of glass to reflect the modern architecture of the adjacent 30-story Centerpoint Condominiums. Each building will have a different look, a departure from the uniform 1980s design.

“It’s not going to look like one homogenous, big corporate thing,” said Chris Anaradian, Tempe’s development services manager. “They’re probably going to have a little bit more going on architecturally.”

DMB doesn’t have specific designs yet. It’s seeking city approval for building heights and uses and expects to work on specific buildings over the next decade.

When it opened, Centerpoint quickly became one of downtown Tempe’s biggest attractions and was one of the biggest projects in a decades-long effort to revive Mill Avenue. The theaters were especially popular, but new Harkins megaplexes at Arizona Mills cut into foot traffic at Centerpoint. And the just-opened Harkins at Tempe Marketplace could draw even more moviegoers.

Harkins is on a short-term lease and isn’t being kicked out, Kunasek Taylor said, so DMB likely will wait to replace that with a hotel until the company decides to end its lease.

Several stores and restaurants have closed at Centerpoint in recent years, and DMB intentionally didn’t recruit new tenants, thinking it might move on the redevelopment project sooner.

Now DMB plans to fill the shops. It expects it will get locally owned and startup businesses. The deals could prove complex because some merchants would prefer a long-term lease — something DMB can’t do because it will eventually tear down the buildings.

“It’s a difficult thing to pull off,” Kunasek Taylor said.

The empty storefronts had frustrated some downtown merchants and city officials.

“It never looks good when you’ve got empty storefronts,” said Pam Goronkin, executive director of the Downtown Tempe Community. “The impression it leaves is people don’t want to be in the Mill Avenue District, which is not the case.”

Goronkin would like things like a florist shop, clothing stores, a bridal shop and other businesses that appeal to groups beyond the college crowd. She likes DMB’s basic plan but did lament downtown won’t have a theater complex anymore. She would like to ask Harkins owner Dan Harkins if it’s possible to create a smaller cluster of theaters for art-house films, much like the Harkins Camelview in Scottsdale.

One popular Centerpoint feature will remain — the giant jackrabbit sculpture. The rabbits are featured in tourist literature and often used as a backdrop for family photos. DMB knew it couldn’t get rid of them.

“The jackrabbits – they have to stay there,” Kunasek Taylor said. “There would be an uprising.”