44 Monroe
Encyclopedia
44 Monroe is a $70 million (USD), 523619 square feet (48,645.8 m²) residential high-rise building, located at the northeast corner of Monroe Street and First Avenue in Downtown
Downtown Phoenix
Downtown Phoenix is the central business district of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is located near the geographic center of the Phoenix metropolitan area or Valley of the Sun. Phoenix, being the county seat of Maricopa County and the capital of Arizona, serves as the center of politics,...

 Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

. The 34-story tower is Arizona's tallest residential structure.

History

In 2004, the long vacant Arizona Bank Building, an 11-story building completed in 1961 on a small quarter of a city square block, was in the process of being remodeled into residential condominiums called Monroe Place Lofts. High demand quickly sold out the 60-unit project. In May 2005, Grace Communities announced the existing building would be razed and in its place a 34-story tower would be erected and named 44 Monroe, the site’s address. In late September 2005, demolition
Demolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....

 of the Arizona Bank Building began. Construction on the tower began in November 2005. On April 16, 2006, Grace communities hosted a “Going Vertical” party signaling the tower’s foundation was complete and construction would now be above ground. In the summer of 2007, 44 Monroe topped out. Fall 2008 saw the completion of 44 Monroe.

As of August 2009, the completed project was 5% occupied. In September 2009, its primary lender, Corus Bank, based in Chicago, was taken over by the FDIC
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. , the FDIC insures deposits at...

, and in January 2010 the project was headed for a trustees' sale and likely foreclosure
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgage lender , or other lien holder, obtains a termination of a mortgage borrower 's equitable right of redemption, either by court order or by operation of law...

. Spring 2011 saw a different side of the market as the tower's units were converted into rental apartments. As of October 2011, 86% of the tower's units had been filled. A strong rental market and high demand in the downtown area has further improved the tower's troubled history.

Design

The project's exterior and interior design were inspired by a painting by artist Jennifer J.L. Jones named “Five Elements
Five elements
Five elements may refer to: In philosophy: *Five elements *Mahabhuta*Pancha Tattva *Five elements In science:*Boron, element 5*Group 5 element*Period 5 element-See also:...

,” which incorporates the five Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 elements of nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...

 — earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

, wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...

, water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

, metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...

, and fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....

. The elements will be expressed as five vertical fins on the front of the structure's façade, with the pattern to be repeated throughout the building's interior. The building will feature seven floors of above-ground parking and 196 residential units, ranging in size from 780 to 4800 square feet (445.9 m²). Residential unit prices range from $480,000 to $3.2 million.

External links

  • http://www.44monroe.com/
  • http://www.gracecommunities.com
  • http://www.coppersquare.com
  • http://prweb.com/releases/2008/1/prweb634971.htm
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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