Mixed-use high-rise development to transform central Phoenix vacant lot

State of play: The Whitney will be 24 stories with 328 units, along with more than 22,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

• Aspirant Development, which is behind the project, touted it as the only residential high-rise in the downtown Phoenix corridor north of Interstate 10.
• It's "positioned within Phoenix's evolving Arts District" — the Whitney is catty-corner from the Phoenix Art Museum — and is in front of the McDowell Road light rail station.
• The first residents are expected to move in around May 2028, the Empire Group, of which Aspirant is part, tells Axios.

Flashback: The site was previously home to the Donnelley Financial Solutions building but has been vacant for years after the building was demolished.

Between the lines: The project's name is a shout-out to the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, which Aspirant called "a nod to Phoenix's growing arts and culture scene and the project's proximity to the city's creative districts."

What they're saying: "The Whitney represents our continued investment in thoughtful, high-density development that enhances Phoenix's urban core while remaining deeply connected to its surrounding neighborhoods," Aspirant Development managing partner Geoffrey Jacobs said in a press statement.

What we're watching: It's too early to say which restaurants or retail partners will be part of the Whitney because it's too early for anyone to start signing leases, per Empire Group.

• Developers expect a "mid- to upscale restaurant on the hard corner" with smaller strip mall tenants along McDowell.