Feb 13, 9:15 AM EST
Condos planned for blighted area of Tempe
PHOENIX (AP) -- A 10-story condominium complex may be built in a desolate area of Tempe, along the same street where police see the highest concentration of prostitution and blight.
The portion of Apache Boulevard that straddles the Loop 101 is lined with empty lots, trailer-home parks and businesses that are boarded up or run-down.
City leaders and residents have long stewed over how to rejuvenate the area, but nothing concrete has come to fruition until now.
Developers are proposing the Tempe Union State Lofts, which would need approval from the Tempe City Council.
If it materializes, the project would take up three lots and replace Tradewinds, a batch of tiny apartments and trailer homes.
The new buildings - one 10 stories and the other five - would include more than 400 condominiums, underground parking and retail space.
The design is aimed at recent college graduates, baby boomers in the market for a second home and anyone else looking to shun suburbia for an urban lifestyle, said Steve Barduson, the project's architect.