Local hotel-to-apartments project very much alive, owner says

Some residents are wondering if the planned conversion of the old Clarion Hotel near 51st Street and Elliot Road has been abandoned because months have gone by without any noticeable activity and the site is pretty much locked down.

The city Planning and Zoning Department since May 5 had been waiting for owners-developers Josh Wertlieb and Jay Chernikoff of Quinn Holdings to submit a response to the first site plan review, according to department spokeswoman Angie Holdsworth.

But not surprisingly, supply chain disruptions threw a wrench into their plans to convert the 35-year-old, 188-room complex at 5121 E. La Puente Avenue into 110 one-bedroom and studio apartments, Wertlieb said.

“We are working through the same supply chain issues as everyone else, but getting stuff done,” Wertlieb said.

As for the delay, he also said, “In an effort to deliver higher quality units, we have planned some upgrades to the interiors that we anticipate will make the final product even better and attract high quality tenants that will be an asset to the neighborhood.”

“We anticipate having the final permits in hand this month and delivery by the end of the year,” Wertlieb, who said the architect responded to the Planning and Zoning review several weeks ago.

“Due to the zoning process, work wasn’t able to be approved as fast as we hoped,” he added, stating, “We hope to be full force within 30 days and anticipate five to six months of work.”

The Ahwatukee Village Planning Committee signed off on two relatively minor zoning changes for the project, dubbed The Quinn Ahwatukee, last October.

Neither zoning change altered the basic structure of the complex, which will include a gym, yoga room, pool, hot tub and some of the other amenities that the hotel provided.

Attorney Larry Lazarus of Lazarus and Silvyn told the committee prior to its approval – which was later okayed by the city Planning Commission – that the buildings will house 96 one-bedroom and 14 studio units. The one-bedroom units will be approximate 600 to 620 square feet, eight studios will be “micro studios” with about 300 square feet of space while the other studios will be about 500 square feet.

“These will be at market rate, not subsidized,” Lazarus said, indirectly addressing again concerns by neighbors that the complex would be Section 8 housing. “The rents project will be in the range of $1,200 a month.”

Wertlieb and Chernikoff have a history of converting hotels into apartment complexes.

Their portfolio includes a hotel-turned -apartment-complex now called The Molino at Baseline Road and Priest Drive in Tempe, which is already renting one-bedroom and studio apartments in the $960-$1,200 range. The pair also own The Woodson on Thomas Road near I-17, another converted hotel that also has studio and one- and two-bedroom apartments for rent that include a kitchen and hardwood floors.

They bought Clarion Ahwatukee and an adjacent 3.4-acre parcel for about $8 million, according to Valley real estate transaction tracker vizzda.com. That price was far higher than the last time the hotel was sold. Vizzda records show that in 2013, a couple and a woman bought the hotel for $3.23 million.

Lazarus told the committee his clients will be devoting about 23 percent of the 3-acre site to landscaping and that “we will be bringing back and maintaining the deteriorating landscaping on the site as well.”

He also said the conversion is “consistent” with the Phoenix General Plan “as multifamily is allowed in commercially designated areas.”

The complex’s location also conforms to the city’s emphasis on walkability, he added, noting it will provide potential residences for employees of nearby retail and service businesses, who he said can walk or bike to work.

Indeed, he noted that traffic studies showed that as a hotel, the site generated 1,572 daily vehicle trips. As a multifamily site, it is projected to generate only 806 daily trips – a reduction of 766 trips.

“The new use will have less traffic impact and less traffic requirements,” Lazarus said.

He also said, “We are not demolishing, removing any buildings. We are modifying the interior of the buildings to combine hotel rooms and create apartment units.”

While the number of parking slots for an apartment site that size is 138, Lazarus said, The Quinn Ahwatukee will keep the 179 parking spaces that were part of the hotel.

Lazarus said the conversion comes at a dire time for Phoenix.

“The City of Phoenix has noted that there’s a need for 167,000 additional housing units in the city,” he said. “In order to meet the demands, we believe this is an appropriate location and help meet some demand for variation of housing within the employment corridor.”

The plan had virtually no opposition from people living near the site.

Lazarus said no one showed up for the online neighborhood meeting in September, and only one resident notified about the meeting called “with a question asking us if this was going to be a Section 8 housing facility and we indicated it

was not and they said they were fine with the project.”

SOURCE: https://www.ahwatukee.com/

AUTHOR: AFN News Staff