A Fairmont Hotel and Residences is set to join the downtown Phoenix skyline in early 2025.
The Fairmont Phoenix will be located at the southwest corner of First Avenue and Jackson Street, marking a continued boom in hotel development despite downturns during the global pandemic.
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, under hospitality group Accor, announced its signing with Thunderbird Legacy Development on June 2.
The 25-story building is set to include 225 hotel rooms, 34 suites, and 151 condominiums ranging from one to three bedrooms.
Developers also plan to have a restaurant, lobby bar, and a rooftop pool with a bar and café, spa, gym, and meeting and retail spaces in the hotel. Residents will have access to a separate lounge, swimming pool, gym, and entrance.
Heather McCrory, CEO of Accor North and Central America, credited the move to Phoenix’s recent growth, and said in statement the new hotel will be “a prominent addition to the region’s growing luxury portfolio."
"We didn't really slow down hotel development during the pandemic," Kerr said.
Visit Phoenix reports that more than 34 new properties have opened up in the greater Phoenix area since 2020, two of which were downtown.
AC Hotel Downtown Phoenix by Marriott opened in February 2021 at Fifth and Van Buren streets, and the Hyatt Place Phoenix/Downtown opened in September 2021 at West Adams Street and Second Avenue.
Central Phoenix suffered the largest decrease in hotel occupancy rates in 2020, according to a report by the Arizona Lodging and Tourism Association, though the numbers continue to improve.
In 2021, the greater Phoenix area had a 59 percent occupancy rate, which jumped to just over 73 percent in the first three months of 2022, according to the Arizona Office of Tourism.
As conventions revive in hotels across the city, Kerr expects the numbers to continue rising and hopefully reach pre-pandemic levels.
Beyond Fairmont Phoenix, six hotel properties for downtown are planned, which could mean over 1,000 additional rooms in downtown Phoenix, Kerr said.
Kerr also noted the Fairmont Phoenix is the first luxury property downtown and will draw "a new clientele into downtown Phoenix."
Developers also hope Fairmont Phoenix will spur employment growth. Thunderbird Legacy Development is set to co-own Fairmont Phoenix with the Arizona Opportunities Industrialization Center, a nonprofit providing employment training programs.
"I'm particularly excited about the influx of new jobs that Fairmont Phoenix will bring to the area,” Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said in a statement.
