PHOENIX -- The City Council opened its doors Thursday night to residents concerned about the impact of bringing college students and a light rail to their downtown neighborhood.
Students and economic developers raised questions about the $30.5 million city land purchase for the planned ASU Capital Center campus at the meeting, held at the Katherine K. Herberger Theater.
The council approved the land purchase for the University's campus on Wednesday, said Greg Stanton, Phoenix city councilman in District 6.
ASU officials said they would work out a payback deal with the city, Stanley said, adding that no plans have been made on the deal.
The campus likely would feature retail development on the ground floor of some buildings and classrooms and office space on subsequent floors, said Richard Stanley, ASU senior vice president for University Planning.
University developers want to place offices and housing space on floors above the classrooms, Stanley said, adding that such developments could provide much-needed "creative ways of financing."
A light rail line would cut through the center of campus along Central and First avenues, Stanley said. The line will link north-central Phoenix with Tempe and Mesa, and run along streets like cars.
Scottsdale project consultant and economist Elliott Pollack estimated the cost of the planned downtown development at $950 million, Stanley said. He said Pollack said the Capital Center campus would be worth $375 million.
Stanley said the figures were only to be used to estimate the "economic impact" of the construction.
"That is just the skeleton of the campus," Stanton said. "It's not all new construction but taking what's currently there."
The land includes six vacant lots along McKinley Street between First and Second streets, and an office building just south of Fillmore Street at 411 N. Central Ave.
The Central Avenue property currently houses a law firm and the Arizona office of U.S. Rep. Ed Pastor. The property also includes a parking garage and surface lots. Stanton said city officials might keep the offices in the new plan.
The purchase of the land was intended to fend off "speculation" and skyrocketing land costs for ASU as early as possible, Stanton said.
"The devil is in the details, and the goal is to make sure that land values and land costs don't become prohibitive," Stanton said.
Stanton said the campus would be modeled after East Coast universities like Columbia University and George Washington University, which look more like urban centers.
"Unless you saw the flags, you would have no idea you were standing in the heart of a college campus," Stanton said.
Chris Ibarra, an ASU graduate, said he doesn't want to see a "Real Estate U."
"As a former resident, there can be very strained relations between a university and it's surrounding neighbors," Ibarra said. "You only have to look at ASU's experience in Tempe to see the potential [ill] effects of having a university in town."
Reach the reporter at nicole.saidi@asu.edu.
