Sedona Main Street Program proudly
nominates the Forest Road “Centurian” Building for the Arizona Main
Street Best Economic Restructuring Project 2007.
This cream brick façade structure was
originally built as a bank in the early 1970’s and was vacated by the
bank in the late 1980’s. Since then, only a portion of the building was
utilized as office space and it suffered from deferred upkeep and
maintenance to say the least. The 1.06 acres that encompasses this
property was overgrown with non-native, water-loving vegetation. The
parking area was in disrepair with pot-holes caused by tree roots and
years of neglect.
Charles and Nancy McLean purchased
what has come to be known as the “Centurian” property in the fall of
2005 and retained Architect Ron Weber to develop plans for
revitalization of the property. The McLean’s wanted the following
addressed: an exterior renovation of the building, bringing the
structure up to code and compliance with all City of Sedona Codes and
those of the Sedona Main Street and Character District Design
Guidelines; integration of the building’s visual character with
surroundings; additional parking spaces to bring the property into
conformance City of Sedona zoning requirements; interior remodel of the
existing 5830 sq ft building with physical improvements ensuring a safe
and ADA compliant environment to meet or exceed the current City of
Sedona Building Code; removal and replacement of dead and dying
non-native trees and vegetation with native “low water use” trees and
plants.
As construction of the project began,
the McLean’s realized they
could better utilize the property and maximize their investment by
removing the dormant Bank drive-through lanes and include this 1668
square feet into the footprint of the building. By integrating this
expansion in the renovation, the
McLean’s
could even take on a tenant and add to the vitality of the space.
This 7498 square
foot project has provided state of the art housing for its major tenant
Century 21 Metro Alliance’s Sedona-Verde Valley Branch Real Estate Sales
Office. Century 21 moved their 25 employees into Uptown and the Main
Street District when they moved into the Centurian in October of 2006.
Since then, 10 additional Realtors have been added to its staff in
response to the demand created by the Centurian’s new “Walk-In” traffic
– this was only possible because they had a large enough office space to
accommodate this phenomenal growth. The secondary tenant is Wyndham
Vacation Resort Properties including a sales office and with space
allocated for a new SuperVue Theater and Art Vault Gallery (planned to
open shortly).
The
expansion of the Centurian’s parking lot provided the McLean’s with the
opportunity to lease ten of their parking spaces to the adjacent Sedona
Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center – a critical partnership because the
Chamber’s Visitor Center is a crucial element for in our Uptown visitor
district and it has no off-street parking of its own.
The Centurian
Building is logistically positioned to facilitate pedestrian flow
between the retail complex (Hyatt Pinon Pointe Shops) to the south and
the Chamber Visitor Center to the north. Great care and consideration
were made to update the exterior appearance with a classic southwest
style architecture, using red rock colors to blend with adjacent
buildings. Rambling water is heard from both indoor and outdoor
water-features softening the architecture and integrating all the
natural elements of its’ surroundings.
The McLean’s have
made their wish a reality and increased its capacity without invading
the visual appeal of the district. This
Three Quarter of Million Dollar
($750,000,000.00) upgrade serves as an excellent example of
implementation of our vision for the revitalization and continuing
economic vitality of the Sedona Main Street Program District.
