Posh ‘Easy Street’ project in Carefree gets new life

Plans include satellite location of art museum

Butte Development wants to break ground this year on a luxury condo/retail space to attract residents and visitors to the town core.

Butte Development

By Sonja HallerThe Republic | azcentral.comThu Feb 27, 2014 8:30 AM

Plans for a $90 million project with condominiums over retail shops in Carefree have been revived and negotiations are under way to anchor the development with a Phoenix Art Museum satellite location.

Town leaders have announced the revival of developer Ed Lewis’ “Easy Street” project. The development, which Carefree town leaders approved in 2006, was put on hold in 2009 because Lewis said the existing economic climate did not support it.

But now, the tide is turning, Lewis said.

“The luxury-condo market is coming back faster than other luxury markets,” Lewis, president of Scottsdale-based Butte Development, said. “It’s always best to try to get started in the early stages of recovery.”

Lewis, who was behind the Landmark urban luxury condominiums at Kierland, said the first phase of the project could break ground by the end of this year.

The project calls for two levels of million-dollar condos atop non-chain retail shops and boutiques on both sides of Easy Street, the main artery in the Northeast Valley town’s quaint downtown district.

It would include about 50,000 square feet of retail space with the hope of attracting chef-driven restaurants, a sidewalk cafe, art galleries, boutique clothing, custom jewelers and unique home accessories.

Town leaders are optimistic that the development of a Phoenix Art Museum satellite location could be the missing piece in creating a town with a villagelike atmosphere similar to Santa Fe, N.M., and Carmel, Calif. Lewis initiated talks with the museum.

An Urban Land Institute team earlier this month recommended that the town find buzz-worthy tenants to attract people to the town and to create an organization to move revitalization forward.

A revitalization committee, comprised of property owners and merchants, including some vocal critics of the town’s direction, has begun meeting to discuss boosting town activities and developing a consistent town look.

“It confirmed for us a lot of things we have been thinking,” Carefree Vice Mayor Les Peterson said of the Urban Land Institute’s recommendation.

“And now with the property owners and merchants hearing the same thing there’s a greater sense of community with this village concept. With Ed Lewis and the Phoenix Art Museum potential, there’s never been a better time to look at this area as a whole,” Peterson said.

Lewis and town officials are waiting to cement a deal with the Phoenix Art Museum before entering into a development agreement with Lewis.

Lewis owns the 41/2acres on which the development would be built. He’s asking the town to purchase from him the building that would house the museum at cost and lease it to the museum for a year for $1.

Phoenix Art Museum Director Jim Ballinger said the museum is conducting due diligence research to gauge financial and participation support. Tentative plans call for a 10,000-square-foot satellite museum that would include an exhibit schedule that rotates seven times a year.

The Heard Museum North announced in January that it would be vacating its location in north Scottsdale. Among the reasons was that it lacked foot traffic.

Ballinger said a key question is whether a satellite museum will draw enough support. He has been meeting this month with Northeast Valley non-profits and the philanthropic community and will continue to discuss the potential for annual museum memberships, continuing donations and participation as part of the assessment.

“Will people from Anthem come over, will people from DC Ranch come over? I don’t know that yet,” he said.

Town administrator Gary Neiss called the Phoenix Art Museum “a different animal” than the Heard Museum North and suggested the art museum would generate enough interest from Carefree and surrounding communities to make it viable.

“They have a very diverse portfolio, it’s very dynamic and it appeals to a broader body and we think it will be a lot more successful,” Neiss said.

Neiss added that the departure of the Heard location at the Summit at Scottsdale in April could be an opportunity to forge a partnership between the Heard and the Phoenix Art Museum.

The project gained initial Planning Commission approval in 2006. Town officials say the project now depends on negotiations with the museum, after which the Town Council could enter into a development agreement with Lewis.