The Arizona Daily Sun is reporting that a developer is planning a $70 million project that includes residential, retail and combinations of the two in an area around the new Fourth Street bridge and Route 66 in east Flagstaff.
AZ North is one of five companies vying to develop the 28-acre parcel. The city of Flagstaff envisions a multi-storied, mixed-use development stretching all the way to East Huntington Drive and the new city aquaplex.
AZNorth, the only local bidder, plans roughly 150,000 square feet in commercial space and a range of housing opportunities, including roughly 70 affordable rentals and 70 units offering both living quarters and a work area.
The president of AZNorth, Tom Brewster, says his project would be compact, pedestrian-friendly and will incorporate green building technologies.
It wouldn’t surprise me if a few old Route 66 businesses get pushed out by this development. It’s a sad fact of gentrification, which Flagstaff has been going through for years.