01/07/2023
We need letters sent to the Central City Planning Committee about the MercyHill Church development at Fillmore and 9th Avenue and/or attend the Monday, January 9th zoom meeting at 6pm to speak. You can go to this City of Phoenix link (cut and paste) which will show you how to sign up in advance to attend the zoom meeting: (https://www.phoenix.gov/cityclerksite/PublicMeetings/230109004.pdf).
A letter needs to be sent by tomorrow night (Sunday, January 8th) and addressed as Bob Graham has in his letter posted below. The church has been on the site for almost 80 years and parts of it were designed by Lescher and Mahoney. It is a unique contributing character structure in the Historic Grand Avenue district. We are asking for a partial preservation (see below).
The Grand Avenue Members Assoc. letter, written by GAMA President Bob Graham, succinctly lays out the background and main issues surrounding this case. If you write a letter you can send it to the Central City Village Planner Anthony Grande to have it included in the packet for Monday night ([email protected]). Also, send a copy to
Councilwoman Ansari ([email protected]):
Anthony Grande
Central City Village Planning Committee City of Phoenix
Planning and Development Department 200 W. Washington Street, 2nd Floor Phoenix, AZ 85003
RE: Z-61-22, SEC 9th Ave. & Fillmore St. Mercy Hill Church Redevelopment Hearing Date Jan. 9, 2023
Mr. Grande and Members of the Village Planning Committee:
The Grand Avenue Members Association (GAMA) represents the area within 1⁄4 mile of Grand Avenue from Van Buren Street to McDowell Road. Our threefold purpose is to preserve the unique character of Lower Grand Avenue; to support elimination of blight and promote the revitalization of the neighborhood’s core and surrounding areas; and to encourage social and economic development that promotes sustainable practices. The subject property lies within our area of representation.
We have been in communication since July, 2022 with Trumont Development regarding their plans for the redevelopment of the Mercy Hill Church site. We were encouraged that they reached out to us early in the design process. From the beginning of our discussions, we alerted them to various neighborhood concerns, the most important of which was preservation of some portion of the history and character of the site as part of their new apartment design. The concern was raised by stakeholders at a neighborhood meeting conducted by GAMA on September 20 and at open GAMA regular meetings in October and December. We provided formal comments to Trumont in a letter dated October 2, 2022.
Our request, in brief, was that the most visible and significant parts of the existing church building be incorporated into the building design. The portion in question included the main Sanctuary, the arcade extending along Fillmore, and the iconic, and unique, bell tower. These features encumber about 7,000 square feet of a roughly 106,000 square foot site, and thus we do not believe this to be an unreasonable request.
As examples, we pointed out to Trumont that successful projects that incorporate elements of earlier neighborhood character include “The Logan at Osborn” (3rd Ave. & Osborn) which incorporated a part of the Stewart Title Building, and “The Governor” in the Miracle Mile area which will incorporate parts of the old Safeway store. Other examples include “The Stewart” at Central & McKinley and the pending redevelopment of the City Center Hotel site.
We contend that retaining elements of earlier construction as part of a new development promotes creative placemaking and contributes to the sense of place and history of a neighborhood. The “scrape and rebuild” approach proposed by Trumont erases all trace of any history on the site and does not embed the design into the existing context.
Trumont justifies their plan by claiming the church is “not historic” and has gone to some pains to describe why they come to this conclusion. Please note two points. (1) The above argument does not hinge on whether or not the property is historic; it is about preserving “sense of place” using any positive and highly visible part of the built environment that is available. And (2) numerous credentialed historic preservation consultants, myself included, question the conclusion that the building is not historically eligible. This is not a settled question.
Rezoning the site to WU-T5:5 will be providing this developer with a radical increase in property entitlement and value. We believe such a windfall to the developer should come with the responsibility to give back to the community. That is, through the rezoning, the City is creating value, and that value should be shared by all, not just the property owner.
Therefore, we request that the Central City Village Planning Committee continue this zoning case and request that the developer modify their design, making a good-faith attempt to satisfying the neighborhood desire to incorporate significant elements of the church.
Signed: Bob Graham, President
Grand Avenue Members Association
GAP advocates for the arts and preservation of Phoenix's Historic Grand Avenue and connects like-mind
