Tempe Selects Bid For Historic Hayden Flour Mill Redevelopment

TEMPE, AZ —The city of Tempe announced Friday that it has selected a combined bid by Venue Projects and Sunbelt Holdings to redevelop the historic 5-acre Hayden Flour Mill property.

The Tempe City Council approved the step at its regular meeting a day earlier, which will see it enter into exclusive negotiations with the Phoenix-based Venue and Scottsdale-based Sunbelt to lease and redevelop the city-owned property.

The proposed plan, which was selected ahead of a plan by DMB Associates, according to the Arizona Republic, includes a "creative and dynamic program of uses," including: specialty retail food and beverage, events, arts, office and hospitality.

Located at 119 S. Mill Ave., just south of Rio Salado Parkway at a key gateway to downtown, the Hayden Flour Mill site —which first was home to a mill in 1874 —also is adjacent to the Hayden Butte Preserve. The preserve is culturally significant to the Four Southern Tribes: Ak-Chin Indian Community, the Gila River Indian Community, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and the Tohono O'odham Nation.

According to the city of Tempe, the staff that chose the Venue/Sunbelt proposal was part of a committee that also included members of the Tempe Historic Preservation Commission, Tempe Historic Preservation Foundation, the Four Southern Tribes and the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office.

The city previously protected the Hayden Butte Preserve by designating anything above the elevation of 1180 feet mean sea level as the cut-off for any sort of development, and officials made it clear this project does not include anything above that line.

The city also said the Four Southern Tribes, Tempe boards and commissions, historic preservation organizations at the local and state level, Tempe residents and businesses all will have several opportunities to give input on the project.

"I'm excited to see what Venue Projects and Sunbelt Holdings will design for the Hayden Flour Mill. This is such a creative team and they have made an incredible impact on our community," Tempe Mayor Corey Woods said. "Development that values the history of the Hayden Flour Mill, the cultural significance of Hayden Butte Preserve and the well-being of our residents can truly benefit our whole city."

Sunbelt Holdings helped to develop Tempe's Marina Heights office district, not far from the Hayden Flour Mill site. Meanwhile, representatives for Venue Projects said they will work carefully to respect the historic property and adjacent preserve.

"We believe the mill and silos are the stars of the 5-acre campus and any additional development surrounding them should be thoughtful, sensitive, carefully composed and subordinate in scale to preserve and frame views of these iconic structures," said Lorenzo Perez, principal and co-founder of Venue Projects.

Perez continued: "We envision crafting a dynamic indoor-outdoor experience the city of Tempe and state of Arizona will be proud of, that's adorned with beautiful desert architecture, a curated mix of interesting tenants and activities that will complement each other and bring energy, spirit and quality products and services to the property and neighborhood."

The city said that if the development agreement is approved by the city council, the Hayden Flour Mill site redevelopment project could be completed in phases over the next three to four years.

According to the Arizona Republic, the mill's founder Charles Trumball Hayden was traveling between Tucson and Prescott when he looked out from atop Tempe Butte, saw the Salt River and decided to open a business on its banks.

Hayden settled in the area in 1871, operating a ferry service before opening the first flour mill in 1874.

The existing mill was built in 1918, with the grain elevators and silos constructed in 1951. The flour mill ceased operations in 1998, and the property has been subject to redevelopment ideas since then, according to the newspaper.