Roosevelt Row is a neighborhood in flux.
The downtown Phoenix arts district will change this year as new residents move in, a notable business moves out and construction starts on other projects. Some developments are causing community consternation; other people see opportunities in what's to come.
Watch for these five changes in 2017:
Roosevelt Row will get an apartment complex made of refurbished shipping containers, matching a similar project on Grand Avenue. The 12 units, called theOSCAR, are under construction on Second and Portland streets.
Developer STARKJAMES anticipates a spring opening. The stacked steel boxes form nine one-bedroom apartments, two live-and-work units and one glass commercial unit. Phoenix chose the team to buy and develop what was city-owned land.
Grand Avenue's Containers on Grand, also built by STARKJAMES, opened more than a year ago and are fully leased, partner Kathleen Santin said. On Roosevelt Row, sandblasted shipping containers create "living art" as they weather, she said.
Tenant negotiations for the commercial unit are underway, Santin said. The complex also will lease art each year for its sculpture garden, according to theOSCAR website.
A development branded "The Blocks of Roosevelt Row" will re-envision the bungalows and other buildings at Fifth and Roosevelt streets. Desert Viking Development will combine existing structures with new construction to create a multistory complex for offices, retail and restaurants.
The developer announced two tenants this month. A concept by Aaron Chamberlin, whose restaurants include St. Francis and Phoenix Public Market Cafe, will open in spring 2017, according to a press release.
John Sagasta, who owned existing tenant Flowers Craft Beer and Wine and other area businesses, also will bring a new enterprise to the space, the release states. Details are in the works with an opening anticipated in fall 2017.
Flowers Craft Beer and Wine closed last month for renovations on the building, though the developer is working with Sagasta to bring another concept back to the project, according to Desert Viking Development.
Previous tenant Roosevelt Growhouse, though, is moving out after more than eight years. The owner earlier cited increased rents as a driver in the decision.
The community garden posted a Facebook event that stated Jan. 15 would be its last garden day.
"We are moving to a new location, to be announced soon, but we will never forget the memories we've planted and grown over the years here," it said.
Several apartment complexes will open to new residents this year. Broadstone Roosevelt, a rental and retail complex that replaced Paz Cantina's brick-and-mortar location on Third and Roosevelt streets, will open in June, according to developer Alliance Residential.
The project includes more than 300 units as well as commercial space, a fitness center and other amenities. Paz is a potential tenant, though no agreements are finalized, according to a spokeswoman.
Union @ Roosevelt, a complex at First Avenue and Roosevelt Street, is set to open in February, according to developer Metrowest Development. The 80 apartment units include covered balconies or deck porches and are leasing now. Street-level retail will include a restaurant opening in March from the team behind Mill Avenue's Ncounter, according to Metrowest.
A new bar and restaurant opening Jan. 23 pays homage to Roosevelt Row history. The Dressing Room, at Third and Roosevelt streets, will serve food and drinks in a building that once was used as a dressing room for performers next door at one of Phoenix's first drag bars, according to owners Troy Watkins and Kyu Utsunomiya.
That bar, called the 307 Lounge, had a variety of other uses over the years before its demolition in 2015 for apartments that are now occupied.
The Dressing Room will offer "elevated street food" as well as a full bar and craft cocktails, according to the owners. There is seating for nearly 20 people inside and almost 40 on the patio.
Roosevelt Row's for-sale market also will get a boost in 2017. Eleven buyers moved into the new en Hance Park condos last month, according to a project spokeswoman. The 49 units at First and Portland streets are more than half sold.
Nearly 150 condos at Portland on the Park, down the street, also are expected to open early this year.
And Metrowest expects its townhome-development McKinley Row to open in June. The development at Fourth Avenue and McKinley Street includes 18 luxury townhomes.
