A high-rise hotel proposal that has been in the talking and planning stage for around 5 years may soon become reality in downtown Phoenix.
The Scottsdale-based company Sunbelt Holdings wants to build what will be called The Edith at the intersection of Central Avenue and Adams Street.
At an estimated cost of $140 million, the 17-story project will include 236 luxury rooms and 14 suites, along with some 23,000 square feet of meeting space. Early reports indicate that The Edith will also feature a rooftop pool and bar, fitness center, and ground-floor restaurant and café space.
Sunbelt Holdings is taking on the project in conjunction with BB Hotels & Resorts, also of Scottsdale. The global firm of Gensler, which has offices in Phoenix, has signed on as project architect.
The project was initially proposed and subsequently approved by the Phoenix City Council in 2018 but was delayed due to the Covid 29 outbreak and concerns regarding the durability of the local hospitality industry.
Now, two years since the pandemic’s decline in the fall of 2021, the interested parties have decided that there is indeed a market in Phoenix for a new and significantly large hotel.
Although an exact start date for construction has not yet been announced, reports have indicated that the hotel is expected to be open for business by late 2025.
The site for the project has in recent years served as a parking lot, but was formerly the home to Switzer’s Style Shop, the first retailer in Phoenix history to specialize in women’s clothing. After the store, eventually part of a chain, was sold to a national clothing company, the building was demolished.
Launched in 1979, Sunbelt Holdings has a diverse portfolio that includes residential, commercial, and mixed-use projects. The company spearheaded the Marina Heights project in Tempe in 2015, thought to be the largest single tenant office development of its kind in Arizona history.
By Garry Boulard
