Phoenix, Rising

Look up for a second. 

You're walking through Downtown Phoenix. Maybe it's a Wednesday morning, coffee in hand. The sun is hitting the city the way only the Phoenix sun can, golden, sharp, full of promise. You turn a corner, and there it is. 

Cranes. Five of them, maybe six, swinging slow arcs against the blue. Construction barricades reroute foot traffic. A flag at the top of a half-finished tower flutters higher than anything else on the skyline. 

You stop. The pause is involuntary. There's something about watching a city build itself in real time that holds you there. 

What you're looking at is not just a building cycle. It is a city deciding what it wants to be when it grows up, in steel and glass and concrete, project by project, story by story. And it is happening faster than most people in Phoenix realize. 

Hold that feeling for a moment. Because the leaders making it possible deserve more than our admiration. They deserve our partnership. 

I have walked these blocks for years, and I can tell you the shift is unmistakable. The Downtown I knew a decade ago and the Downtown rising today are not the same city. We are watching a transformation most cities never see, happening here in real time, on our watch. 

Underneath the Skyline 

The story of Downtown Phoenix's transformation is not really a story about buildings. 

It is a story about decisions. Hundreds of them. 

Decisions by elected officials who chose long-term vision over short-term politics. Decisions by City staff who did the patient, unglamorous work of zoning, infrastructure, and policy that made private investment possible. Decisions by developers who looked at this city and saw not what it was, but what it could become. Decisions by institutional anchors like Arizona State University, who chose to build their future in Downtown Phoenix. Decisions by civic and business leaders who showed up to meeting after meeting, year after year, when the wins were small, and the road ahead was long. 

And underneath the cranes and the construction barricades and the building cycle that has captured the imagination of the city, is what is actually rising. A community that is finally being recognized for what it has been quietly building. 

The proverbial phoenix is not a metaphor for what is coming. It is a description of what is here. 

And the scale is genuinely difficult to overstate. Ray Phoenix, a 26-story luxury residential tower co-developed by Ray and VeLa on Central Avenue, topped out in April 2025 and is reshaping the Downtown skyline in real time. ASU Health Headquarters, a $200 million anchor for the Phoenix Bioscience Core, opens in fall 2028 with a new medical school, the Health Observatory, and a School of Technology for Public Health. Wexford Science + Technology is investing in the next phase of the Phoenix Bioscience Core, deepening Downtown's gravitational pull for life sciences innovation. Saiya and Rosie are bringing high-design residential to the urban core. Denū Hotel & Spa makes its hospitality debut as one of the most anticipated openings of the year. 

Six projects. Hundreds of decisions. One city, deciding what it wants to be. 

And these are only the projects taking the stage on May 14. 

A few blocks away, Arro is taking shape on the design tables. The new mixed-use landmark from Aspirant Development is moving toward permits this year, with construction expected to begin shortly after. When complete, its north tower will become the tallest building in Arizona, anchoring 1.8 million square feet of luxury residential, hospitality, office, and experiential retail in a single transformative destination at the heart of Downtown. 

In the Roosevelt Row Arts District, Atari Hotels Phoenix is set to break ground late this year. Conceived by international architecture studio Räkkhaus as a luminous tower of light and motion, the property will deliver more than 90,000 square feet of experience-driven space, including an esports arena, a 2,000-person concert venue, and immersive environments that merge gaming, music, and nightlife. An entertainment destination unlike any hotel in the world, coming to the eastern edge of Downtown. 

Both are Phoenix Community Alliance (PCA) Members. Both are on the way. Both are signals of the kind of city Phoenix is choosing to become. 

What Makes an Economy Great? 

Ask that question out loud and people will tell you it's growth. GDP. Jobs. Tax base. 

And they're not wrong. But here is what I have come to believe after years of working in this space: growth and development are not the same thing. 

Growth happens to a city. It arrives, often without invitation, when capital decides to land in a place. 

Development is something a city chooses. It is what happens when a community is intentional about what that capital builds, who it serves, and what kind of city emerges on the other side of the work. 

The cities that get this right, the ones that turn a building cycle into something lasting, are the ones where the business community shows up not just as investors but as architects of the broader civic vision. They join the room. They take positions. They invest in the systems, the institutions, and the relationships that turn growth into greatness. 

Phoenix is positioned to be one of those cities. The leadership is here. The momentum is real. The opportunity in front of us is, in many ways, the opportunity of a generation. 

The question is whether the business community is ready to step into the role it alone can play and help write the next chapter alongside the public sector and civic leaders who have brought us this far.

The Conversation 

On Thursday, May 14, Phoenix Community Alliance is doing something different. 

Instead of a traditional panel, we are putting six developers, visionaries, and builders shaping this moment directly onstage at the Herberger Theater Center. Six projects. Six visions. Rapid-fire, in one hour, on the same stage as our Members. 

You will hear from Jeremy Jacinth on Rosie. From Brendan Morrow on Saiya. From Brian Silverstein on Ray Phoenix. From Deliah Rose on Denū Hotel & Spa. From Rick Naimark on ASU Health Headquarters. From Kyle Jardine on Wexford Science + Technology. 

Each person will share their project, story, and vision in approximately six minutes. The conversation is direct, unfiltered, and intentionally compressed so the room feels the magnitude of what is happening Downtown right now, all at once. 

This is not a panel about what is coming. This is a window into what is already underway. 

Matt Seaman, Chair of PCA's Central City Planning and Development Committee, will frame the development moment for us. Board Chair Diane Haller will open and close the program. And the Members who have made PCA the strongest civic voice in Downtown Phoenix will be in the room together, hearing it firsthand. 

If you care about this city, really care, this is the room to join. 

This work matters. It is, I believe, among the most consequential civic work happening in Phoenix right now. It is what Phoenix Community Alliance was built to do, alongside our Members. And the invitation, to those who care about this city as much as I do, is not just to show up on May 14. It is to help build what comes next. 

Be Part of It 

Space is limited, and this is a meeting worth your time. 

This event is open to Phoenix Community Alliance Members. If you are not yet a Member but want to be part of writing the next chapter of Downtown Phoenix, we would love to connect. Reach out to me directly at dpapa@dtphx.org and let's talk about how to get you involved. 

Learn more about PCA membership at phoenixcommunityalliance.com