A one-block patch of prime Mill Avenue real estate will soon sprout into an eight-story office and retail building.
US Airways, which owns the grassy land on the west side of Mill Avenue between Second and Third streets, submitted preliminary development plans Friday.
The development, called Tempe Gateway, would house about 25,000 square feet of ground floor retail and about 235,000 square feet of top-of-the-line office space. It's right next to a planned light-rail stop.
The 3 1/2 acre building site is a noticeable gap between Mill Avenue's shops and Tempe Town Lake.
"Looking at it, it provides that link between downtown and Town Lake, providing the pedestrian experience all the way to Tempe Beach Park," said Neil Calfee, Tempe's deputy Community Development manager.
Bringing an office building to Mill Avenue is also a valuable balance to the condominium development that continues throughout the area, Calfee said.
"It's great to see an office building downtown," Calfee said. "That's what we strive for is that balance in downtown, not to be slanted toward any one use as much as we can."
US Airways does not plan to use the office space for its own operations, according to a company statement. The development's location, across the parking lot from US Airways' existing corporate headquarters, would make it an option for future expansion, the statement said.
The eight-story building would be taller than others on Mill Avenue, but shorter than some new towers in the area.
The Centerpoint Condominiums, now under construction, will soon be 23- and 30-story towers. Other planned condo projects call for buildings around 20 stories tall. The existing US Airways headquarters building is 12 stories.
US Airways' plans are still at the "very beginning stages of the process," but city officials expect the company to move quickly, said Chris Anaradian, Tempe's Development Services manager.
Construction could begin as early as October, depending on the aggressiveness of the timetable, Anaradian said.
Reach the reporter at: jonathan.cooper@asu.edu.
