new flagstaff student housing complex on way to council approval

Construction on the last phase of a unique public/private development partnership in Flagstaff that will see the building of a 348-unit apartment complex is expected to soon win the full approval of the Flagstaff City Council.

The complex known as Mill Town will go up on Mill Road and University Avenue and will be geared for students attending nearby Northern Arizona University.

The developer behind the project, Vintage Partners of Phoenix, originally wanted to build a complex that would house more than 400 units, with the ground level of the project containing 48,000 square feet of retail space, and a top level featuring a rooftop bar.

But in response to complaints from nearby residents and questions from some members of the city council that the proposed project was too large and tall for the vicinity, Vintage agreed to a smaller 348-unit project, doing away with the rooftop bar and removing the retail space altogether.

Mill Town is a product of a partnership between Vintage, the City of Flagstaff, and the Arizona Department of Transportation that will also see the relocating of ADOT offices from the land where Vintage will build the complex.

A part of the project includes construction of a pedestrian and bicycle underpass beneath busy Milton Road, which runs between the new project and the NAU campus.  

By Garry Boulard