In just the latest example of finding a modern use for the space running alongside Phoenix’s historic Grand Canal, a development company has announced plans to build a seven-story structure with 155 residential units that will open out to the waterway.
The project, officially called Forty600, belongs to RAS Developments of Phoenix, and will additionally see the creation of around 7,100 square feet of commercial and office space on the building’s ground floor.
The Phoenix-based Merge Architectural Group has signed on as project architect, with Waibel and Associates of Tempe in charge of the landscape architecture.
Forty600 will be built on a just under 2-acre site near the intersection of Central Avenue and Coolidge Street, running adjacent to the Grand Canal.
The part of the project facing the canal, with residential balconies overlooking the waterway, is poised for café, coffee shop, and bistro space.
The canal, which runs southeast to west through the city, has increasingly in recent years been the focal point of infrastructure development, particularly with the completion of a 12-mile, $22 million recreational trail called the Grand Canalscape.
Originally built by the Grand Canal Company, the waterway was instrumental in sustaining farmlands in Phoenix. As the city has become increasingly urbanized, the canal is primarily used to feed area water systems.
RAS Developments specializes in rental space, and has spearheaded projects in Montana and North Dakota, as well as Alberta and Saskatchewan.
In 2020, the company completed work on The Grove on Glendale, which is thought to be, with 56 individual townhomes, the largest built-for-rent townhome development in metro Phoenix.
By Garry Boulard
