The Phoenix skyline will have a new addition in 2008, thanks in part to ASU.
The Central Park East building will house the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and KAET Channel 8, said Wellington Reiter, dean of the College of Design.
The building is a collaborative project between ASU, the city of Phoenix and private investors.
The building will have 31 floors of condominiums, 12 floors of office space, a parking garage with 1,230 spots, one floor of retail area and six floors for ASU, Reiter added.
"[Central Park East] is a great example of a mixed-use building," he said.
Though the exact cost of the facility is uncertain, the entire project would cost several hundred million dollars, Reiter said.
More than 200,000 square feet will be dedicated to classrooms, student media space and KAET studios for the journalism school, Reiter said.
Cronkite School Dean Chris Callahan said the space has not been divided yet, so he is not sure how much will go to each aspect of the school.
"Nothing has been locked in terms of space yet," Callahan said.
Also, the building's parking garage wouldn't be just for ASU students and faculty, Reiter said.
"[Parking] wouldn't be free," he added. "But there is going to be some dedicated parking for ASU's use."
Mary Hughes, spokeswoman for ASU's downtown campus, said the condominiums would be open to anyone, not just students, and would probably be expensive.
There would be retail shops on the first floor of the building, though no contracts have been signed yet, Reiter said.
What is more important than how large the building is and what is inside is where it is located, Reiter added.
On the corner of Van Buren Street and Central Avenue, Central Park East would be right across the street from a future light-rail stop, he said.
"It's just a minute's walk from the light rail," he added.
Construction on the building will begin in mid-2006 and be ready by the start of fall classes in 2008, Reiter said.
A press release from the SmithGroup -- the design and architecture firm hired to complete the project -- said Central Park East would become one of the tallest buildings in the downtown Phoenix skyline, second only to Chase Tower.
Reiter said he didn't think Central Park East alone could change the look of the skyline, but with other construction projects in the works -- like a hotel and high-rise housing -- Phoenix will start to take on a different shape.
"The skyline is going to change," he said.
Reach the reporter at tara.brite@asu.edu.
