The long-awaited redevelopment of the downtown Phoenix transit depot set an official groundbreaking date for the project, though demolition work and early construction have already begun on the site.
Houston-based Medistar, the developer for the Central Station project, will officially begin construction on the site on April 13, though work is already underway at the 2.6-acre site, which is bounded by First Avenue to the west, Central Avenue to the east, Polk Street to the north and Van Buren Street to the south.
The project, which was approved by the Phoenix City Council in 2019, was a result of a request for proposals the city released to redevelop the station. The city will continue to own the land and Medistar will lease it for a 99-year period. Over 99 years, lease payments to the city will generate $171.5 million, city officials said at the time. Interested developers were required to incorporate the transit uses — two light rail stations and a bus station — into the designs. The construction of the project is planned to incorporate those transit elements without interrupting service.
The project will include a 32-story tower that will have 362 apartments and 70,000 square feet of office space, a 21-story tower with 435 rooms of student housing and 9,000 square feet of office space, 45,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurants.
