Forbes reports that the number of the world's billionaires has reached a new high (1,426) representing a record $5.4 trillion in net worth. What slow recovery? If I were one of these mammals, here's what I'd do with my money:
The long empty lot on the northwest corner of Central and McDowell, in the heart of the nation's sixth largest city, would become a sculpture garden for the Phoenix Art Museum. The catch: It would have to be lushly graced with shade trees and other plants so it is an oasis in the city. A hundred grand would go to bribe the Willo Soviet, which is opposed to everything. One piece of sculpture would soar over Central as a walkway connecting the sculpture garden to PAM (or perhaps a glass gallery running under Central). The CVS drug store would go away. Working south on Central, on the east side toward the library, I would commission my friend Will Bruder to design two world-class buildings: A Phoenix Contemporary Art Museum and a (real) symphony hall.
So much for that part of Midtown. My big play would be between Thomas and north of Indian School.
As a billionaire, I would control several technology companies. All would be moved to the Central Corridor. This would bring several thousand well-paid, highly-talented employees. These would also attract the many vendors that provide services to the core companies. This "ecosystem" would grow and generate wealth in Midtown. None of my companies or vendors would do business outside the central core. Want to jump on my money machine? You have to come to Central. I would also need space for my assorted foundations and philanthropic endeavors.
Central and Earll, the heart of my Midtown Mile.
To provide space for them, I would remake the mile north of Thomas. Most of the skyscrapers would come down. The upzoning of Central north of downtown has been a curse to a walkable, high-quality boulevard and few of them would be missed. My vision would be a seamless streetscape of low-rise buildings, none more than a few stories tall, leveraging the light-rail line for transportation. I would engage architects from around the world who could recreate anything but mind-deadening modern and post-modern structures that are way overdone in Phoenix. Art deco, Arizona territorial, adobe/pueblo revival, Spanish mission, Chicago commercial, streamlined moderne, Beaux-Arts. A built environment that is human scale, inspiring and full of interest and variety.
This would entail buying and bulldozing Park Central. Done. And relocating the existing offices. Check — downtown would see new demand, sparking new high-rises where they belong, and many of the law firms, etc., might like to stay in my new Midtown Mile. This corridor would be lined with palm trees, filled with shade trees (such as ficus, mesquite, desert willow) and adorned with pocket parks. No rocks. No gravel. No palo verdes. In addition, the streetscape would seek to recreate the dense, walkable, short city blocks of retail that were destroyed by the superblocks with their dead space, buildings out of scale and elephantine parking garages.
Mixed-use would be incorporated throughout this mile. Thus, I would subsidize indefinitely a couple of dozen useful retailers facing the street, incorporated into the office buildings, apartments and condos facing Central. Among them: Bookstore, map store, hardware store, stationer, shoe shop, men's and women's clothing, specialty art and architecture bookshop, pet supplies, urban garden shop, bakery, kitchen shop, cheese shop, home accessories, etc. Here's the deal — each would have to be locally owned. Relocations from elsewhere in the sprawl-opolis would be welcome. The Walgreens and Jack in the Box could stay, in new buildings. Lots of neon. Apartments and condos would be located close to Central. Breaking up the superblocks would allow for bungalows to be built (returned, really) farther east and west toward Third Street and Third Avenue. I would also lavishly fund the local public school district.
The Midtown Mile would draw new companies by its quality density. Success would breed more success, especially as I persuaded more of my rich buddies to invest in central Phoenix. So I'd have a few other projects left in me. One would be using a shell company to acquire the Central-facing parcels north of Indian School from Barron Collier, before it knew what I had in mind. I would give that land to the city for Steele Indian School Park, as should have happened in the first place — provided the city turned the park into a heavily tree-shaded oasis in perpetuity. I would also help fund more shade and year-round grass for the deck park (it should lose the Margaret Hance name; whatever her achievements or shortcomings as mayor, she was no friend of the center city). Better to invest the water in shade for the core than in lakes and golf courses for new sprawl out in the middle of nowhere. I would also work with the city on a public-private partnership to bring light rail to south Phoenix, provided the line ran past Union Station.
Another shell company would have bought the depot, relocated the telecom equipment, and returned it to use as a railroad station. Having taken a sizable position in the Union Pacific railroad, I would have no problem persuading the board to add capacity and work with the city to create commuter rail to Goodyear, Buckeye, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert. Adding shares in Burlington Northern Santa Fe would help me give that railroad an attitude adjustment about helping accommodate commuter rail to Glendale, Peoria, Sun City and beyond. All would converge on a restored Union Station as a multimodal hub with light rail, city buses and intercity buses. A few derivative plays, and I could find a way to fund intercity passenger rail to LA and Tucson.
My tax refund would put businesses into the Luhrs Building and Luhrs Tower. Finally, I would buy the Westward Ho, relocate its Section 8 residents to a new building, and restore it as one of America's great historic hotels.
Not all of this is a pipe dream. I've seen how wealthy stewards and real headquarters are essential to the sustained progress in Seattle's core (e.g., the Amazon campus). On a smaller scale, Zappos is trying to transform downtown Las Vegas, which is also the subject of several efforts to return passenger rail linking Vegas and LA. All it takes is money, an urban sensibility and focus. Sunshine alone won't do.
"If I were a rich man...," as Tevye sings.
Read more about the best practices happening in downtowns in Rogue's City Desk.
Nice Alice Cooper reference,
Posted by: headkess lucy | March 04, 2013 at 10:53 PM
I think you might've blown through your first billion by the end of the second paragraph, but I'm not sure what level of palm-greasing would be required.
Posted by: Pat | March 05, 2013 at 07:16 AM
The long empty lot on the northwest corner of Central and McDowell...
If I had a billion I'd fill that lot with old cars as tightly packed as I could make them. I'd then hire a crew at minimum wages to do two things:
1) Keep the cars running, idling in their spots 24/7, filling them with gasoline endlessly.
2) Another crew would be sign twirlers in the sun hot. The signs would all say: Freedom to Pollute!
I would do this in every major city in the country.
I would do it to rub this culture's dirty dog nose in its freedom to pollute, freedom to amass obscene amounts of money, freedom to turn humans into cheap signs, and freedom to say "fuck you" to the future.
My underlying message:
If you don't like it assholes, them make a law to stop me. Take away my freedom. Until you do, those cars aren't going to ever stop running, polluting, and going nowhere...
Posted by: koreyel | March 05, 2013 at 07:17 AM
"The long empty lot on the northwest corner of Central and McDowell, in the heart of the nation's sixth largest city, would become a sculpture garden for the Phoenix Art Museum."
The visual I get from this is getting me excited, my heart stated beating faster, except that I know it would not and won't happen.
Not to mention all the other wonderful ideas you have here.
Posted by: Artur | March 05, 2013 at 07:29 AM
Pat,
I should have made clear that my various enterprises and investments would continue to make money. Their relocation to central Phoenix would keep creating new wealth an draw more wealth-creating companies. Thus, this wouldn't be a one-time pot of money. In creating the South Lake Union development in Seattle that houses Amazon's headquarters, a biosciences cluster and other businesses, Paul Allen has made a killing. This not only gave the city a wonderful asset, but (along with his continued growth in wealth) provided him the money to build the Experience Music Project, renovate Cinerama and restore Union Station, etc. He also owns the Seahawks (which carry the CITY name).
Posted by: Rogue Columnist | March 05, 2013 at 10:52 AM
Jon, you beat me to the punch. You'd double your investment if all this would be pulled off.
Posted by: Gary O'Brien | March 05, 2013 at 01:50 PM
Perhaps the best way to revitalize the city would be to recreate the cooling, aesthetic effect that large citrus groves had on a younger Phoenix. These groves would, to be on a scale that would work these days, have to be large enough to cover most of the arable land in Maricopa County.
You would want to start with land already prepared for the groves: golf courses and the empty space between Joe Arpaio's ears.
Posted by: headless lucy | March 05, 2013 at 02:04 PM
What about buying new homes for 80% of Arizona's population in states where they can be sustained?
Posted by: Seeking Canada | March 05, 2013 at 02:58 PM
Wow, that's visionary urban planning, but I'd say it's a decade too late and none of the people in charge seems to care enough about giving central Phoenix a real identity. For that matter, none of the people that have taken charge of this country cares much about maintaining its livability -- only its corporate exploitation at any cost and heedless of likely future outcomes. We are witnessing the ascendancy of sociopaths more craven and irresponsible than the robber barons of yore.
Posted by: Gaylord | March 05, 2013 at 03:07 PM
Why not just move the entire city of Phoenix to Orange County, CA where it would fit in a lot better? (But leave Ranch Market where it is please.)
Posted by: Charlie | March 05, 2013 at 03:25 PM
Just coincidentally, a billion dollars is about what the Arizona legislature gave away in tax cuts to business owners and the wealthy.
In 2012 and 2011 the Arizona legislature passed two gigantic tax cuts, both of which benefit corporations and the wealthy.
One of them cuts the state's individual income tax rate on long-term capital gains by 25 percent, as well as giving businesses that lose money the ability to use the losses to offset future profits (and taxes) for 20 years (previously this was 5 years). This means that businesses which lost money at any time during the past 20 years can now use those losses to offset current and future tax liabilities on profits.
The cost of that set of tax cuts from FY 2014 through 2019, according to the state Joint Legislative Budget Committee, is $440 million.
The other set of tax cuts, which cut corporate income taxes by nearly 30 percent and business property taxes by 10 percent, will cost $538 million from FY 2013 through 2018.
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/brewer-signs-package-to-slash-biz-taxes/article_f4531c48-a114-5126-87b2-296e70319796.html
Add them together and the lost state revenue totals $978 million.
Posted by: Emil Pulsifer | March 05, 2013 at 08:29 PM
Jon come back and run for Mayor!
Posted by: Lesley | March 05, 2013 at 08:37 PM
@Jon Talton....
I have heard for years that the Union Pacific wants to quit using the downtown railyard. It would be nice if Stanton and Smith could use that track for the start of a heavy passenger rail line, beginning with service from/to Phoenix through the East Valley down to Maricopa.
@koreyel....
I believe most cities of any significance have laws prohibiting sustained idling. As a side note, I hate drive through windows for that very reason.
Posted by: 100 Octane | March 05, 2013 at 09:38 PM
Just don't eliminate the Macayo, please.
Posted by: bearsense | March 05, 2013 at 10:27 PM
Macayo's will remain.
Posted by: Rogue Columnist | March 05, 2013 at 10:38 PM
"Why not just move the entire city of Phoenix to Orange County, CA where it would fit in a lot better?" -Charlie
Even the City of Phoenix is too blue for Orange County...however, how about taking most of the City of Scottsdale (especially N. Scottsdale).
Jon, why not reinstall some of the old streetcar lines in Phoenix?
According to Wikipedia, the City of Phoenix Street Railways in 1938 were numbered and operated as follows:
#1 Brill Line (10th Street Line). Ran south on 10th Street from Sheridan to Pierce, west on Pierce, south on 4th Street, west on Washington Street, and terminated at 2nd Avenue station. Return trip traveled north from 2nd Avenue, east on Monroe, to 4th Street, and north via Pierce.
#2 Capitol / W. Adams - East Lake Park (Washington Street Line). Ran east from 22nd Avenue, across the Santa Fe Railway tracks, to end of the line at 16th 1/2 Street.
#3 Kenilworth (5th Avenue Line). Ran south from Encanto Blvd. along 5th Avenue, past the Kenilworth School, and terminated at 2nd Avenue station.
#4 Indian School (3rd Street Line). Ran south from Indian School Road along 3rd Street, with double-track mainline as far as the loop at Monroe. Looped west at Washington and terminated at 2nd Avenue station. Return trip north and via Monroe back to right-hand track and north again on 3rd Street.
Posted by: phxSUNSfan | March 06, 2013 at 02:51 AM
I like your plan Mr Talton. However, I think you should find a place for a Ferris wheel. Its name could be The Dream Catcher. It would not have to compete with the huge wheels that are in many big cities like London’s Eye that earns $25 mil. annually, it could be smallish but beautiful. The space near the wheel could also incorporate other activities for the young (or young at heart) like a bungee-cord jump (as shown here: http://www.takingthekids.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Mountain-Village-at-Telluride.jpg ).
Posted by: Suzanne | March 06, 2013 at 08:30 AM
Speaking of billionaires, I wonder what type of philanthropy might be associated with Bruce and Diane Halle . . . he of Discount Tire fame?
Posted by: morecleanair | March 06, 2013 at 09:01 AM
What kind of "power base" might you have here in Phoenix, Sr. Talton?
Any answer to that question would be a the least very entertaining, or would it be sobering?
Hmm... speaking of "If I were a..."Posted by: Petro | March 06, 2013 at 10:17 AM
This has been very entertaining.
It reminds me of a bit Steve Martin used to do.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to tell you how to become a millionaire."
"OK, first , get a million dollars."
HaHa
Posted by: AZRebel | March 06, 2013 at 04:08 PM
headless lucy: I'm still chuckling about your suggestion for what to do with some golf courses! Guess they don't qualify for conservancy easements, do they?
Posted by: morecleanair | March 06, 2013 at 07:18 PM
Most everything can be plotted on a trend curve. In fact, it can be a pretty good exercise for those given to critical thought and introspection. For many reasons, golf is a sport in decline. Chief among them are aging demographics and escalating costs in many locations. What would Mr. Talton advocate doing to re-purpose some of these beautiful, spacious, water-guzzling dinosaurs?
Posted by: morecleanair | March 07, 2013 at 06:47 PM