Downtown hotels could come down

October 12, 2012

A deadline is looming over the pending demolition of two hotels in downtown Phoenix.

hotel One of two downtown Phoenix hotels scheduled to be demolished to make way for a parking lot. (Photo by Jon Hoban - KJZZ)

The company that owns the Phoenix Suns also owns the abandoned St. James and Madison hotels across from the arena. The group has pulled a demolition permit for the early-20th-century buildings to make way for a parking lot.

 It will be hard to find a buyer to save the properties, said Mark Briggs of the city of Phoenix Historic Preservation Commission.

"Those two hotels were purchased at the height of the real estate market about five years ago," Briggs said. "It’s very difficult to make those buildings pencil out. Therefore it’s just not as easy a solution to fix."

The demolition permit for the property expires Oct. 29. The Phoenix Suns say they’ll likely have an update on the buildings' fate next week.

Meanwhile, the city is in the middle of another demolition fight over a house built by Frank Lloyd Wright in Arcadia.