A project that will see the building of a two-tower, 20-story student housing complex in Tempe has taken an important step forward after winning the unanimous approval of the city’s Development Review Commission.
What is being called The Leo will go up at the southeastern corner of Rural Road and University Drive across from the Arizona State University campus and belongs to the Chicago-based Up Campus Properties, which specializes in student housing.
As planned, The Leo will have a total of 786 residential units, varying in size from studios to one to four-bedrooms in size. The project will also see the building of some 14,000 square feet of ground floor retail space.
Additional features will include a courtyard, dog park, pickleball court, and two swimming pools.
The complex will sit on a 3.6-acre site and will also include a parking structure with space for just over 920 vehicles. Part of the parking structure’s roof will be given over to solar panels.
The project, in a part of the city dotted with mostly new and multi-story residential complexes, will require the demolition of a gas station, and a small one-story retail structure at the site.
Up Campus Properties has recently completed multi-story projects in Tallahassee, which is designed to cater to students at Florida State University; and a similarly large project in Tucson, which serves students at the University of Arizona.
The Leo project is now heading for the Tempe City Council for a final review.
May 15, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Rendition courtesy City of Tempe
