Abandonment Issues Hit Winter Drive Hopefuls; ACA Spending Big Bucks on New Home

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

After an almost two-decade long initiative, Winter Drive in Phoenix is set to undergo the final steps to receive “private” designation. Actually, the short street running east from 16^th Street south of Northern Ave. dead ends is placed in a desert setting and dead ends somewhere around 18^th Street, making it a perfect location for such an idea.

The first attempt made by the residents for the abandonment of the street occurred back in 1994, and initial approval was won at the beginning of the last decade. However, inability to fulfill the requirements in the allotted timeframe stopped the residents in their tracks, The Arizona Republic reported.

Now a series of additional stipulations have been inserted and it will definitely prove a difficult task to satisfy all of them. Amongst these conditions there are things such as access for emergency vehicles and turnaround bays for larger units like fire trucks, a gate to be installed in order to offer access to city vehicles, as well as landscaping and rights of way for utilities. But probably the largest obstacle in the overall process is the price tag on the operation. The city has recently increased the rates and as a result three residents have opted out of the abandonment. A hearing has been set to decide residents’ costs.

In other real estate news, The Phoenix Business Journal revealed that the Arizona Commerce Authority’s move into new downtown offices requires the organization to splash the cash. The new offices, located in the Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold building, charge a total of $480,000 per year. The two levels leased by the ACA are the 19^th and ground floors, meaning 15,000 square feet. The Van Buren Street residence will serve as the agency’s new home after its renaming and leaving its former house at the State Capitol.