New logo unveiled at State of Downtown Tempe address

Downtown Tempe debuted its new logo Wednesday night in an effort to rebrand downtown Tempe as an urban destination, beyond the bars and college vibe of Mill Avenue.

City officials and local activists debuted the logo at the first State of Downtown Tempe address, hosted at the soon-to-open Culinary Dropout restaurant on Farmer Avenue and Fifth Street.

Sam Fox, a local restaurateur who owns a variety of different restaurants throughout the country, founded the restaurant, which will open in December.

“We really hope that this will be a destination for college students,” Fox said. “There will be a lot of jobs opening up here and in the area, and we hope to make it a place where people want to come back again and again.”

The location will include an outdoor patio and performance stage, and the building will be shared with the Showcase Room, a banquet hall designed for events with up to 250 guests, and The Coop, a smaller event space complete with its own bar and private seating.

Kate Borders, president and executive director of the Downtown Tempe Authority, said she hopes people of all demographics will be drawn to a different culture of downtown Tempe, apart from the college atmosphere.

“When I first started here, I would ask people what they thought of downtown Tempe,” Borders said. “Granted, these are people that might not have been to downtown Tempe in 10 years, but expectations are lasting. People would say, ‘It’s too young for me,’ ‘It’s a college town,’ ‘I wouldn’t bring my kids there,’ and lots of others. We chose to have the event at this restaurant because not only is it locally owned and operated, but it embodies the change we hope to see in downtown Tempe.”

Borders said she and her team have focused on 10 main objectives, which include pedestrian experiences, street performers, art and a focus on merchants.

One of the board's goals was to make downtown Tempe clean, green and safe, which Borders hopes will be something that patrons do not even notice, but something that is just expected in downtown Tempe.

In one year, Borders said the downtown Tempe safety patrol has cleaned up more than 5,000 pieces of gum, something most people do not think twice about, but make a huge difference in changing the perception of an area.

Board chairman Charles Huellmantel said he looks forward to the changes taking place in downtown Tempe and said the logo's unveiling was just the beginning.

“This is a very exciting day,” Huellmantel said. “The face of downtown Tempe is changing, and it’s very exciting to see the change. Even if you come back here in two or three weeks you will still see a different view.”

Huellmantel said new businesses along Farmer Avenue will add to the amenities offered in downtown Tempe, attracting a larger, more diverse crowd.

On a trolley tour, Borders pointed out new developments, spanning from Farmer Avenue throughout parts of ASU campus.

Borders said the vacancy rate for ground level business spaces in downtown Tempe is about 3 percent, which makes the market for commercial space very competitive.

“Unfortunately that also makes property more expensive,” Borders said. “Some artists may not be able to afford to have their studios here, but we are hoping artists will be able to have second level spaces here.”

Borders pointed out many new developments, including the College Avenue Commons, the Orange Table and others, and said she is optimistic about the developments coming in the future, including the new State Farm headquarters and a variety of housing developments scheduled to open in the coming years.

“We want to change the way everyone views Tempe,” she said. “It’s not just Mill Avenue. We want to appeal to everyone, including college students.”

 

Reach the reporter at cvanek@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @CorinaVanek

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