Plans are now underway to redevelop one of the most unusual and visible structures in downtown Phoenix.
Located at 3443 North Central Avenue, the Phoenix Financial Center site is made up of several structures, but the centerpiece has always been the 19-story high-rise known as the Punch Card Building because it looks like a mammoth vertical 1960s computer punch card.
Designed by modernist architect Wenceslao Sarmiento and originally opened in 1964, the building, with two adjacent 9,000 square-foot rotundas, has for years served as the home for both private companies and government agencies.
Measuring around 285,000 square feet, the structure is regarded as a treasure by architectural historians, and an intact example of 1960s southwest design styles.
Now a developer has announced plans to incorporate the famous building and adjoining structures into a larger mixed-use campus. As designed by Davis Partnership Architects of Denver, the project will see the building of a $100 million multifamily complex that will comprise some 400,000 square feet.
As envisioned by the developer, Ironline Partners, new construction adjacent to the Punch Card Building will see the building of a fitness area, swimming pool, and resident co-working space, all built over two sublevel parking garages.
A general construction schedule is expected to see the new part of the site completed by 2024 or 2025.
By Garry Boulard