The city of Phoenix and a regional economic financing authority are hoping to redevelop the largest vacant piece of land in downtown Phoenix. It could end up being a 900-unit apartment or townhome development.
Some of the land is the former site of the Thomas J. Pappas School, which was torn down in 2011. The school for homeless children was caught up in accusations against former Maricopa County School Superintendent Sandra Dowling.
The Phoenix City Council is considering a deal to buy a 2.8-acre parcel at Fillmore Street and Third Avenue. The city and Phoenix Industrial Development Authority would buy the Maricopa County-owned parcel for $3.2 million under the proposed deal.
That land would then be combined with adjacent parcels totaling 4.6 acres already owned by the city and placed on the market for private development.
Scott Summers, the city’s deputy director for community and economic development, said marketing separate county- and city-owned land on Fillmore would be less attractive to developers.
“That would be very complicated, and I’m not sure we would get quite as good responses from the private sector, nor would the product at the end of the day be quite as good,” he told a council hearing.
Summers said the vacant downtown land could end up being a residential project, considering developers’ interest in multifamily projects.
