Construction has begun on a $70 million development project along Phoenix's Roosevelt Row, bringing a 12-story apartment tower and the restoration of a historic house to the arts district. The project includes 125 new residences and is designed to eventually connect to the future Atari Hotel in downtown Phoenix.
According to azcentral.com and The Arizona Republic, the reported work is tied to twin developments known as SISU Roosevelt and Arcada, which together represent more than $70 million in investment in Roosevelt Row, according to azbigmedia.com. The pairing is described as combining 125 new residences with the preservation and reuse of historic buildings in the neighborhood. SISU is a 12-story mixed-use tower planned for 821 N. First Ave., while Arcada is anchored by the Stoddard-Harmon House at 801 N. First Ave., per the same report.
A Pedestrian Link Tying the District Together
Plans call for a pedestrian route named Fascination Street that would connect Arcada and the existing Hardware Store with SISU and Atari Hotels Phoenix, azbigmedia.com reports. Developer Intersection Development said it would break ground on SISU Roosevelt and Arcada on Nov. 6 at 10 a.m., the outlet noted, putting the start of construction just days before the project drew wider attention this week.
How the Numbers Stack Up Against the Broader Market
The Roosevelt Row project is landing in a Phoenix multifamily market that has cooled from its recent construction peak. There were 14,096 multifamily units under construction across Phoenix in the third quarter of 2026, down 33.3% from a year earlier, according to a market report from Kidder Mathews. Developers delivered 1,849 multifamily units in that same quarter, the report found.
Rents and vacancy have also shifted. The average asking rent across the Phoenix multifamily market was $1,535 per unit per month in the third quarter of 2026, down 0.9% year over year, per the same report. Vacancy citywide stood at 10.7% in that quarter, down from 12.1% a year earlier, the report notes.
Another Tower Proposed Nearby
Roosevelt Row has drawn additional development interest beyond this project. A proposed 21-story, 320-unit building near the district received preliminary approval in late May, with plans for ground-floor retail and amenity spaces spread across multiple floors, according to the Phoenix Business Journal. That proposal is separate from the SISU and Arcada groundbreaking but underscores the broader push to add density to the historic arts corridor.
