A high-rise development planned for 18 acres next to Steele Indian School Park cleared a major hurdle Thursday night, gaining a recommendation of approval from the Phoenix Planning Commission despite vocal neighborhood concerns.The project, called Central Park, is proposed for a vacant site at Indian School Road and Central Avenue.An outdated plan for Central Park was approved in 2019 by the Phoenix City Council, but the office-centric development is no longer a feasible option, said Benjamin Tate, an attorney who is representing Central Park’s developer, Pivotal Group.”The pandemic changed the prospects of this version of the project essentially overnight,” Tate said at the Planning Commission meeting.Central Park project shifts more to residentialThe project now has a more residential focus, with 1,450 residential units, including for-rent and for-sale options, planned.In total, the proposed project includes:A 21-story apartment tower.Two eight-story apartment towers.An 18-story office tower.A grocery store.A 21-story condominium tower.A 320-unit senior living complex.78,000 square feet total of restaurants and retail space.A public open-space plaza.1,450 total residential units.Neighbors concerned about walkability, new designSeveral residents voiced concerns about the project at Thursday’s meeting, from the lack of retail frontage on the main thoroughfares and unclear planning on how pedestrians will access Steele Indian School Park from the Central Park project.Most of the proposed retail space, except the grocery store, is on the interior of the site, not bordering Central Avenue or Indian School Road. Neighbors who spoke at the meeting said they did not like the orientation of the retail because people exiting the light rail, which has a stop outside the proposed development, would be met with the sides of parking garages, not inviting shops or restaurants.Residents also took issue with a change to the pedestrian walkway that had been proposed in 2019 and said the new design and orientation of the buildings makes the projec …
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