An effort is underway to redevelop one of the most visually identifiable properties in Tempe.
City officials are actively searching for a developer to transform the 5-acre site that contains the famous Hayden Flour Mill at the intersection of Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway.
The mill, which is eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1918, replacing two earlier mills dating to 1895, and is adjacent to a series of silos that were constructed in 1951.
A newly-issued Request for Proposals is asking for ideas for a possible multi-use redevelopment of the site which could see the building of office and commercial space, as well as a plaza and special events venue.
The mill ceased operations in 1998 when then-owner, the Bay State Mill Company, moved its operations to nearby Tolleson.
The city purchased the site five years later for $11.8 million and has twice granted development rights to two different private companies to create something new on the property, although nothing came of those efforts.
Any new project on the site would keep intact the primary facilities that were once a crucial part of the flour mill, while also making certain not to disturb the nearby Hayden Butte natural preserve.
Earlier plans have envisioned the construction of a five-story hotel that would include rooms in the silos, as well as a one-story addition to the flour mill building.
The Tempe Historic Preservation Foundation, which uses a rendering of the mill and silos as part of its official logo, has called the site “ground zero for interpreting where our community began.”
By Garry Boulard