Tempe City Council approved a modification to a development plan review at its Oct. 1 meeting for Skye Tempe, a new mixed-use development that will create 306 units at 780 S. Myrtle Ave.
The development at the northwest corner of University Drive and Myrtle Avenue replaces the existing Salvation Army building at the project site, according to a staff report by principal planner Diana Kaminski.
Council first approved the development plan review for Skye Tempe in September 2023, providing for 281 dwelling units and 6,650 square feet for commercial uses. Kaminski wrote that the project had been updated “to reflect changes in market demand for unit types, resulting in changes to the development plan review.”
Snell and Wilmer’s Nick Wood spoke to council about the modification before their vote, going over the project history and what changes are being made with the development plan review.
His client, Myrtle and University LLC, started looking at this project in late 2021, and as Wood explained, the housing market has evolved quite dramatically since then in terms of demand. Because of this, they’ve had to make a few changes to the number and the type of units they plan to build.
“It changes a little bit of the dimensions and the geometry,” Wood said.
Compared to the approved development review plan, the new plan proposes 108 studio units instead of the 51 originally approved, removes all of the 170 one-bedroom units approved, increases its two-bedroom units to 144 from 59 and increases the number of three-bedroom units from one to 54.
In total, the modified version of Skye Tempe will create 558 bedrooms within the newly proposed 306 units. The building area also increases its square footage from 443,656 square feet to 445,418 square feet.
Skye Tempe also decreased its number of vehicle parking spaces from 271 to 251 and increased the number of bicycle parking spaces from 282 to 324 in the new plan.
Wood noted that other changes were made to accommodate the unit modifications such as reducing double balconies along one side of the building to single balconies and adding additional windows.
During council’s discussion of the item, Councilmember Jennifer Adams spoke in support of the project, noting that there is a need in Tempe for more market-rate housing in the area and that this project “really fits the bill.”
In contrast, Vice Mayor Doreen Garlid and Councilmember Arlene Chin shared concerns about the amount and types of parking available at the project.
Chin said she had previously expressed concerns about the potential for local traffic and the amount of available parking proposed negatively impacting surrounding businesses and residents.
“My concerns were not with density,” Chin said. “We have created an area within Tempe where that density can exist, so let me be clear on that.”
She went on to say that because the target resident audience is young professionals, it’s likely this will increase the traffic of delivery services like GrubHub. This poses a problem as there is only a very narrow alleyway to the north of this building to accommodate these deliveries.
Chin pointed out that when this project was first being considered there were limited areas designated for shared ride pickups and deliveries, and with the new modifications to the amount of parking, she wanted to know if the applicant had made any adjustments.
In response, Wood said that while there has been much discussion on this issue, the proposed plan will not create specific areas for deliveries and pickups as there is only a set amount of space for them to build the project.
“We have a project where the zonings have been approved, for the height and everything else that we have — all we can do is the best we can do with what we have to work with,” he said.
Council ultimately approved the modifications in a 5-2 vote, with Vice Mayor Garlid and Councilmember Chin voting against it. With this approval, the project will begin construction in the second quarter of 2025, according to Wood.
Reporter Caroline Yu can be reached at cyu@iniusa.org. To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Caroline Caroline Yu joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2020 as a summer intern covering Scottsdale. As an intern, she continued her coverage of Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Tempe. After graduating in 2022, Caroline became a full-time reporter for Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. She is currently reporting for the Tempe market.
Community: She is a supporter of the environment and tries to get involved with related community events.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications, with a minor in French.
Random Fact: She used to be a ballet dancer for 10 years.
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Chin said she had previously expressed concerns about the potential for local traffic and the amount of available parking proposed negatively impacting surrounding businesses and residents.
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