Restaurateur, Mainstreet Capital eye apartment highrise in Phoenix

The founder of a Phoenix restaurant and Mainstreet Capital Partners want to build a 30-story apartment tower in Downtown Phoenix.

Kell Duncan, founder of The Churchill, a local restaurant and bar, teamed up with the Florida-based investor to file preliminary plans for the 273-unit, mixed-use complex at 901 North Central Avenue, AZCentral reported. It would replace a defunct auto shop. 

Duncan bought the 7,250-square-foot building at Central and Garvey Street in 2020 for nearly $2.1 million, according to public records.

Plans call for a 30-story complex with 273 apartments and 8,000 square feet for a restaurant and market for locally grown produce.

Duncan and Mainstreet Capital requested a height bonus to build 30 percent higher than allowed by local zoning rules if they hit certain sustainability milestones, including pedestrian safety features and use of renewable energy.

The Phoenix Planning Commission recommended approval of the height bonus at its meeting June 6. The City Council is slated to hear the project this summer.

Mainstreet Capital would oversee the development and operations of the apartments, while Duncan would run the restaurant, bar and grocery store, with produce and goods from local farms and suppliers.

Duncan, whose father and brother run Duncan Family Farms in Goodyear, said his idea for a restaurant and a market sourcing high-quality, local foods comes from his background growing up in a farming family.

“I believe in local, fresh, organic produce, and unfortunately we don’t have a ton of options for that in downtown,” Duncan told AZCentral.

A timeline for construction was not disclosed.

Mainstreet Capital, founded in 1999 by Paul Kilgallon, has conducted 40 real estate transactions worth more than $1 billion, according to its website. 

— Dana Bartholomew

Read more

Commercial

Phoenix

Ryan Companies and Alidade to swap office building for spec industrial in Phoenix

Commercial

Phoenix

Mack, W Holdings and ViaWest to bid on 2,300 acres for Phoenix tech campus