Phoenix City Square facts for kids
3800 Tower at Phoenix City Square
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| Address | 3800-4000 Central Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85012 |
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| Coordinates | 33°29′29″N 112°04′33″W / 33.4915°N 112.0757°W |
| Developer | Del Webb Corporation |
| Architect | Flatow, Moore, Bryan, and Fairburn |
| Owner | Parallel Capital Partners |
| Website | [1] |
Phoenix City Square is a huge building complex in Phoenix, Arizona. It covers 15 acres and has tall buildings. You can find it at 3800-4000 N. Central Ave. This place used to be called Kent Plaza and the Rosenzweig Center.
The Del Webb Corporation built this complex in 1962. It has three office towers, a hotel, and an outdoor shopping area. There's also a big parking garage for 1200 cars. The architectural firm of Flatow, Moore, Bryan, and Fairburn designed City Square. The towers were built in 1962, 1964, and 1971.
The 3800 Tower is about 194,482 square feet. The 3838 Tower is about 236,094 square feet. The 4000 Tower is 295,797 square feet. There is also a large fitness center, called Sports Club at City Square. It is about 35,000 square feet and is part of the complex.
Phoenix City Square is located on Central Avenue. The Metro Light Rail track runs right by it. This light rail system is part of Valley Metro. The Valley Metro Light Rail opened on December 27, 2008. It helps connect the area to Downtown Phoenix.
Many different businesses are located here. You can find cafes, a day care, and a barber shop. There are also law offices, accounting firms, and engineering companies. A U.S. Bank branch is also part of City Square.
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History of Phoenix City Square
The land where Phoenix City Square stands was owned by the Rosenzweig family for 46 years. Construction started in 1961. Before that, parts of the land had a ballroom and a supply yard. The Webb Corporation wanted to create a "dramatic, high quality, self-contained complex." They hoped it would be as important to Phoenix as Rockefeller Center is to New York. The project was announced on June 10, 1961.
The complex was first called the Rosenzweig Center. It was owned by North Central Development Co. This company was a partnership between the Rosenzweig family and the Del Webb Corporation. In 1983, a Canadian businessman named Jack Kent Cooke bought the property. He renamed it Kent Plaza.
In 1985, Kent Plaza was sold again. This time, Merrill Lynch bought it. Merrill Lynch then changed the name to Phoenix City Square. In 1987, Merrill Lynch spent a lot of money to update the property. They renovated the outside of all three towers, the plaza, and the landscaping.
There has been a lot of activity around City Square in recent years. In 1996, the government of Singapore planned to buy City Square. At that time, Phoenix was seeing a big increase in businesses needing office space. In 2000, Singapore sold Phoenix City Square to another group called Praedium Group.
In 2005, the current owner, Parallel Capital Partners, bought the complex. They thought about building another tower, but it never happened. This might be because of a slowdown in the real estate market. Parallel Capital Partners owns properties in many cities. These include San Diego, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Orange County, Dallas, Denver, and Honolulu.
In 2006, the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) signed a lease at City Square. They rented about 100,000 square feet of office space in the 4000 Tower. This deal was worth about $9.5 million. In 2007, DES extended their lease and increased their office space to almost 140,000 square feet.
3800 Tower: The First Building
The 3800 Tower was the first building finished in the complex. It used to be called the Del Webb Building. You can find it at 3800 N. Central Ave. This tower has about 175,000 square feet of space to rent. The Del Webb Corporation had its main offices here. They used 50,000 square feet on the top six floors.
On the ground floor, there was a bank and a Rosenzweig jewelry store. The jewelry store later moved to the outdoor shopping area in 1971. The office building is shaped like a rectangle. All the elevators and stairs are in the middle. This means every office has outside windows. There are no inside columns, so offices can be designed easily.
The outside of the building first had stone and mosaic tiles. It also had gold aluminum trim. Construction started on June 20, 1961, and it was finished by June 1962. The building had a large spray fountain and marble on the first two floors.
The 3800 Tower was renamed on October 28, 1987. This happened after the Webb Corporation moved its headquarters in 1988. The tower was completely redesigned in 1987. The old stone and tiles were replaced with new marble and blue glass. A new pyramid-shaped metal crown was added to the roof. The front fountain was removed for a new entrance with shops and a clock tower. This building originally looked just like the Bank of the West Tower in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The 3800 Tower is the smallest office tower at City Square. It has a day care center attached. It is located right on Central Avenue. Many businesses are in the 3800 Tower. These include Just Mortgage Inc., The Valley Forward Association, and law offices.
4000 Tower: Hotel and Offices
The 4000 Tower is at 4000 N. Central Ave. It used to be called Kent Tower, the Ramada Townehouse, and Dell Webb’s Townehouse. This 23-story building has both a hotel and office spaces. Construction began in mid-1963 and finished by February 1965. It had 275 hotel rooms on 9 floors. The top 12 floors were rented as office space.
When it was built, the hotel rooms had their own air conditioning and heating. They also had phones with message services. Rooms in the cabana wing had balconies overlooking the swimming pool. The building also had the largest hotel convention facilities in the city. There was a ballroom that could seat 2,000 diners. A seven-level parking garage for 1,200 cars was also built. The building was white and gold, similar to the Del Webb Building.
The bottom two floors had a drug store, gift shop, and other stores. There was also a restaurant, coffee shop, and lounge. In 1978, the entire hotel was renovated. Public areas were updated, and the restaurant and lounge were changed. A new hotel tower was also built, bringing the total rooms to 383.
In July 1981, Ramada Inns took over managing the hotel. It was renamed the Ramada Townehouse. Ramada planned to make it a Ramada Renaissance hotel, but this did not happen. Ramada stopped managing the property on October 31, 1983.
In November 1983, LaMancha Racquet Club Inc. took over. They closed the property for renovation. It reopened in July 1984 as the LaMancha Athletic Club and Hotel. During this renovation, the hotel rooms in the 23-story tower were removed. They were replaced with office space, reducing the room count to 171. The ballroom became the LaMancha Athletic Club. It had racquetball courts, a basketball court, and an indoor swimming pool. The building was renamed Kent Tower. It stopped using that name in late 1986 and became the 4000 Tower in 1987. The outside of the building was also redesigned in 1987.
In 1990, the Hotel Group of Seattle started managing the hotel. It was renamed the City Square Hotel and Athletic Club. In June 1992, management changed again. The hotel was renamed the Lexington Hotel and City Square Sport Club. Hotel management changed one last time in 2003. The property was renamed the Hilton Garden Inn. Since then, the City Square Sports Club has been managed separately from the hotel.
The 4000 Tower is the tallest tower in City Square. It is listed on the List of tallest buildings in Phoenix. This list includes 25 skyscrapers in the city. Businesses in the 4000 Tower include Arizona Drug Screening & Investigations and law firms. The 4000 Tower is on the north side of Clarendon Avenue. The 3800 and 3838 towers are on the south side.
3838 Tower and City Square Plaza
The 3838 Tower and City Square Plaza were the last parts of Phoenix City Square to be completed. They finished in April 1971. The 3838 Tower is at 3838 N. Central Ave. This 20-story building was the main office for the Greyhound Corporation. They used 14 floors in the building.
The open-air plaza is a central part of the complex. It has shops and connects the 3838 Tower to the 3800 Tower. Rosenzweig jewelers was one of the first shops in the plaza. They had moved from the lobby of the Del Webb Building in 1971. The jewelry store eventually closed.
Both the tower and the plaza were heavily renovated in 1987. This happened along with the rest of the complex. In 1991, Greyhound Corporation moved to a new location. The building was then renamed 3838 Tower.
Images for kids
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3800 Tower at Phoenix City Square
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4000 Tower
