High-rise could go above Monti’s on Mill Ave.

Plans to redevelop the historic Monti’s La Casa Vieja call for building a 24-story tower directly above the downtown Tempe landmark.

Monti's sells Tempe property; restaurant to stay

Watch mulitmedia presentation on Monti's La Casa Vieja

The restaurant is one of the state’s most treasured landmarks - and a place history buffs have feared could be bulldozed to make way for a high-rise building.

Restaurant owner Michael Monti said constructing a building on top of the restaurant is the only way to preserve the beloved adobe building. Monti has struggled to make money in recent years as his loyal customer base ages and is turned off by downtown’s urban transformation.

The high-rise proposal would let Monti keep the restaurant while allowing redevelopment of a property at the gateway to downtown.

“I view this project as saving that building by making that corner economically viable,” he said.

Monti recently inked a deal to sell the La Casa Vieja building and about 2.5 acres of land to Scottsdale-based 3W Companies. The company’s plans call for the new building above Monti’s and a 26-story building to the west, with a total of more than 1 million square feet of available space. They’d each stand about 300 feet tall.

The high-rise concept got a less-than-welcome reception from the state’s historic preservation officer, James Garrison. While historic building advocates generally acknowledge economic forces demand additions and changes, historic buildings are supposed to remain a dominant feature in a development, he said.

“It’s hard to imagine that this would be compatible with the historic property,” Garrison said.

The building is a rare - and perhaps the best - example of an adobe building from that era, Garrison said. He considers it the Valley’s most important historic structure.

Downtown merchant Vic Linoff questioned why one of the towers needs to be built above the historic building.

The property is about 109,000 square feet, while the restaurant is just 13,000 square feet. The lot should be big enough to reconfigure the towers so they sit behind La Casa Vieja and frame the adobe building, said Linoff, who closely follows historic issues in Tempe.

“Why would you go over the top of it?” Linoff asked.

“Then you have no sense of context for that building at all. To me that is quite disappointing.”

The chairman of Tempe’s Historic Preservation Commission said he was initially shocked by the idea.

But Bob Gasser said he became more comfortable after talking with Monti.

Gasser, who dines at the restaurant and often sits at the same table, said he believes Monti genuinely wants to preserve the history of the place. The historic integrity could improve in some ways, Gasser said, by tearing down modern additions to it.

Still, he knows why Linoff and others won’t want a building on top of Monti’s.

“I can see why Vic would make that comment and I think a lot of people will,” Gasser said. “But the idea of keeping a one-story building there is just not remotely realistic as much as we might like it.”

La Casa Vieja was built in 1873 by Tempe founder Charles Trumbull Hayden, who also built the Hayden Flour Mill across the street. Carl Hayden was born in the house, going on to become a senator and one of the state’s most important figures.

It’s the Valley’s oldest surviving building.

The home evolved into a hotel, store and a boarding house. It’s been a restaurant more than a half-century, bought in the 1950s by Leonard Monti, Michael’s father.

Monti figures the tower of condos and a hotel are just another chapter in the site’s evolution.

“That is completely consistent with its use from the time that Carl Hayden built it,” Monti said.

Some of Monti’s oldest customers recall living in the building decades ago - and they’ll still be able to see features from that era after the new building goes up, Monti said.

He’s working to preserve the walls and the historic elements of the building, while replacing some homely fixtures. Two additions from the 1960s and 1970s, which make up about half the building, will be torn down.

He expects to keep his restaurant open at for at least a year before shutting it down while the tower is built.

Monti expects to open a more upscale restaurant that will better cater to the increasingly high-end offices and condos downtown. He plans to display many of the historic items he now has, only in a better way.

“Some people think a historic building should just stand alone like a historic display,” Monti said. “A historic building is alive. It needs to be used and it needs to be experienced by the public.”

The project faces several hurdles. The plan calls for putting 14 pillars inside the historic structure to support the tower, and their construction could cause significant damage.

But a newer plan is being drawn up that could reduce the number of columns or place all of them outside the building, Monti said.

Also, the tower above the restaurant is in an area where Tempe has called for buildings of 75 feet or less. The Federal Aviation Administration will also consider whether the buildings would be a safety hazard for airliners.

The city can’t prevent property owners from altering historic buildings or even tearing them down. But the city will consider the history and the property’s key location as it evaluates the proposal, said Chris Anaradian, Tempe’s development services director.

“It’s the gateway to our downtown,” he said. “We’re keeping that in mind as well and expecting a really excellent project here.”