One of the most familiar landmarks in Phoenix may soon be seeing an upgrade and structural addition.
The 18-story Phoenix Financial Center, located at 3443 N. Central Avenue, was completed in the fall of 1964 and is generally regarded by preservationists as a conspicuous representation of the mid-20th century International style of architecture.
The creation of well-known architect Wenceslao Sarmiento, who was famous primarily in the 1950s and 60s for the hundreds of bank and office buildings he designed, the Phoenix Financial Center soon became known as the “Punch Card Building” for the facade on the southeastern side of the structure that resembles a computer punch card.
Architectural historians have made note of the building’s anodized aluminum panels and heat resistant glass as typical of modern southwestern architecture of the period.
Now, plans have been announced to preserve two adjacent rotundas at the site, while both upgrading the main tower and building additional structural space to the east side of the tower.
Phoenix-based Ironline Partners, which specializes in real estate investment, development, and management, in a partnership with the owners of the structure, are planning to keep intact the iconic design of the center.
The upgrade to the main tower building will result in new office space for a building that in recent years has been primarily vacant.
In an interview with the Phoenix Business Journal, Tim O’Neil, the owner of Ironline Partners, said of the tower and rotundas: “This is a pretty well-recognized mid-century property. We plan to protect and enhance that. The improvements are special, and they deserve updating and respect.”
A timetable for when work at the Phoenix Financial Center will begin has not yet been announced.
By Garry Boulard
