The future of downtown Fountain Hills
In a relatively quiet endeavor, the downtown of Fountain Hills is about to transform into a bustling hub for residents, business people and visitors.
Developer Bart Shea of the N-Shea Group created quite a stir last year by winning enough votes from the Town Council to built the Park Place project. In short order construction started and has been moving at a fast pace.
This mixed use, four story, 2 block series of buildings will be home to 230 apartments, 70 condos and 33,000 square feet of ground floor retail stores and businesses. In phase 1, huge columns of concrete are lining the Avenue of the Fountains and just last week the commercial space floors were poured while phase 2 is well underway.
The $112 million project has gone unnoticed by any of the news outlets outside of Fountain Hills. While the local FH Times has published numerous stores and documented the approval process with the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Fountain Hills Town Council, the project has yet to attract any media from the news stations, Phoenix Business Journal or the The Arizona Republic.
During the public feedback period last year, hundreds of people weighed-in on the four story project but now it seems everyone has embraced change and is looking forward to the new Avenue of the Fountains.
Shea will tell you that nearly 700 people will be living here when it’s complete. He hopes to attract local employees who commute to Fountain Hills from Mesa, Scottsdale and Phoenix. Visitors will find more stores, restaurants and places to enjoy while visiting the world famous fountain–the list has not been revealed.
The apartments will range from 1 to 3 bedrooms with a contemporary, yet trendy appeal. Of course, a roof-top swimming pool, workout facility, clean lines, modern colors will play a key role in attracting tenants. Starting rent is estimated to be below $800 per month which is competitive in the Phoenix metro area.
While Shea is the developer and has a vision for transforming this area, it seems obvious there’s much more going on. Other properties in the area are being bought and sold at a faster rate. According to Shea’s office, the interest list for commercial space is rather long and the buzz around town yields at least a few local businesses that wish to relocate or open a second office.
The long-awaited transformation of the south side of the Avenue of the Fountains is well underway and will never again be a vacant, dirt lot. Instead a bustling community of residents, business-people and visitors will likely flood the area with new and festive ways to connect, engage and enjoy all that Fountain Hills has to offer.
Bart Shea will be speaking at the FH Connect Networking Breakfast on Thursday, March 16. More information is available here.