PHOENIX — Tempe recently agreed to redevelop one of its most iconic structures.
As part of the 60-year lease agreement, restaurants, shops, a public park and an improved trailhead to Hayden Butte (A Mountain) will be built at the Hayden Flour Mill located at Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway near downtown Tempe. There will also be a restoration projection on the mill.
The city will focus on using a light touch and sensitive approach to the site and surrounding structures to build the commercial mixed-use campus.
Tempe Mayor Corey Woods said in a press release last week that the project honors the mountain and community heritage, enhances the area and, once finished, will be inviting to people of all ages.
“The Hayden Flour Mill is a symbol of our city and is an important touchstone to our past. This development has been crafted in partnership with our historic preservation community SRP- MIC [Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community], residents, businesses and even former workers from the mill,” Woods said in the release.
Partnering on the project are Venue Projects and Sunbelt Holdings, which has previously done work on the State Farm headquarters is located.
“We envision activating the site with attractive low-impact buildings and gathering spaces that respect and complement the historic mill and silos, prioritizing preservation and creating an anchor for Mill Avenue that draws new visitors from across the state and beyond,” Lorenzo Perez, co-founder of Venue Projects, said in the release.
The restoration design was made after consulting with the SRP-MIC and Tempe’s Historic Preservation Office.
What’s the history behind Hayden Flour Mill?
Tempe’s Hayden Flour Mill was built in 1918 and closed its doors in 1998.
It was constructed to replace two previous flour mills that were lost to fires in 1874 and 1918.
It remains the oldest, cast-in-place concrete building in Tempe.
