An important cultural and community gathering space, Danelle Plaza in Tempe is moving forward in its revitalization.
Tempe City Council recently approved its conveyance to developers at a meeting where residents provided input on how the city should develop the space at 3400 S. Mill Ave.
At the Jan. 18 meeting at Tempe City Hall, council held the second and final public hearing regarding the conveyance of the city’s property at Danelle Plaza to Guina Affiliated Developers LLC and Desert Viking-Danelle Plaza.
The contract was approved in a unanimous vote, 7-0, with Councilmember Doreen Garlid participating virtually.
The city has no official design plans or concepts for the space. Potential additions to the community space could include affordable housing, new art, EV charging stations and more.
With the fate of the project still to be determined, many residents spoke at the final hearing to express their concerns for how the project will be handled and to suggest ideas for how the space should be used.
One of the issues discussed was the lack of conceptual plans for the project. Brian DePorzio, owner of the proposed Emerald Door property, and the architects for his project spoke about how the lack of designs has disrupted their design process.
“I understand that these meetings aren’t further enough along for the development plans and site plans, however, it’s affecting our permit because we don’t have the answers to some questions that we need,” DePorzio said.
They said without a solid plan, there’s confusion on their end for how shared parking will be determined with the city-owned portion of the plaza and the possibility of a right turn lane being added on Mill Avenue impacting their work.
Without concrete answers, the Emerald Door team says that they’re uncertain of how to proceed with their own redevelopment efforts.
In response to the initial comment from the Emerald Door’s architects, Assistant City Attorney Sam Arrowsmith explained that the agreement being approved at the meeting simply authorized the conveyance of the property at the agreed upon value of $2.75 million.
“It’s not finalizing any plans for the development at this point. It’s just starting the process by which those plans will ultimately be formed,” Arrowsmith said.
Once designs have been created, the city has stated it will be engaged with the public on potential changes to the plans.
Tempe is moving forward in the process of redeveloping Danelle Plaza.
Courtesy City of Tempe
(Courtesy City of Tempe)
Further discussion
Other commenters during the hearing brought up the lack of design plans for Danelle Plaza, with one speaker suggesting that there were plans and that the city was being untransparent about the process by not sharing those with the public.
City staff and members of city council assured residents that they have not seen any designs for the plaza at this point, and if such plans did exist they would be the developers’ internal plans that have not been shared.
“Frankly, we’re too early in the process for anything meaningful to be put together to spend money on, because until the assemblage of all of the related parcels are done, you don’t really know what you’re working with,” Economic Development Director Mike DiDomenico said.
Aside from the issues with the design concepts, other residents spoke about how the project team should go about revitalizing Danelle Plaza in a way that honors its history as an important cultural place in Tempe for residents and businesses alike.
Speakers during the hearing proposed a number of ideas for the city to consider, including the preservation of Danelle Plaza as a safe space for artists and local culture, focusing the project on the community rather than developer and how to work with the existing tenants at the plaza.
Tempe resident and Arts and Culture Commission member Jacqueline Swan urged council to consider their unconscious bias moving forward with the redevelopment of Danelle Plaza specifically in regards to its conservation.
She spoke about how Danelle Plaza is an important space culturally for local artists and Tempe locals in general and how its transformation could make it a cultural landmark for not only the city but the Valley at large by allowing future generations to have the same cultural experiences.
“The ability to have these experiences for many in Tempe town depends on accessibility — something that the Danelle project has organically provided to thousands of people,” Swan said.
The cultural scene has blossomed at Danelle Plaza over the years, and with its redevelopment, the city should make an effort to conserve the space in the name of art, equity and sustainability, according to Swan.
Before the council’s vote, Mayor Corey Woods along with his fellow council members emphasized that the city is looking to address the issues raised, and that they are looking forward to creating a plan that honors Danelle Plaza’s history.
He also encouraged residents to stay engaged with the city as it moves forward with the design process for the plaza with coming meetings on the project.
“It’s a very unique opportunity for community members to be involved, to talk about what the future of the plaza should look like, given that we don’t have conceptuals and I can’t wait to see what actually comes to this process,” Mayor Woods said.
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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