hayden house in tempe may see restoration before big construction project begins

An adobe building in downtown Tempe that was the birthplace of legendary and long-serving U.S. Senator Carl Hayden nearly 150 years ago may be on the verge of seeing its first significant restoration.

The larger property surrounding the Hayden House near the intersection of Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway has been purchased for the planned construction of two mixed-use high-rises.

One of those structures will be a 15-story hotel, while the other is planned as a 15-story Class A office building.

City of Tempe officials have long been worried that if the work starts first on the new buildings, the Hayden House’s structure could be adversely impacted by the nearby construction.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Hayden House, beginning in 1956, also served as Monti’s La Casa Vieja Steakhouse, a popular restaurant that closed in the fall of 2014.
The developers of the new towers are the Douglas Wilson Companies and Hensel Phelps Development.

It is not known when work on the Hayden House restoration will begin.

By Garry Boulard