Construction on Concord Eastridge's Roosevelt Row Apartment Complex in Full Swing

There's a massive dust cloud that hangs over the fenced-off site at Fourth and Roosevelt streets every weekday as a flurry of construction workers are busy digging the foundation for the enormous residential complex being built by developer Concord Eastridge.

Construction is in full swing on the $52 million dollar housing project, which will create a pair of gleaming metal and glass apartment buildings on a three-acre site along Fourth Street.

When the project is completed next June, the two buildings (each measuring seven and eight stories) will tower over nearby galleries and change the face of the Roosevelt Row arts district.

Currently, the project -- adjacent to the former Holgas apartment building -- is nothing but blueprints, artists' renderings (like the one pictured above), and a massive three-acre construction zone. Come next summer, however, a total of 325 apartments will be located in each building, as well as 7,500 square-feet of retail and restaurant space on the ground level.

Units will range in size from 500 square-foot studios to four-bedroom apartments. While pricing hasn't been announced as of yet, one would expect it will cost a pretty penny to live there, especially with such upscale amenities as high-speed Internet, private gyms, and swimming pools.

In many respects, Concord Eastridge's project (which is aimed at students and downtown urbanites) resembles the blocky housing that's sprung up near ASU's Tempe campus in recent years, such as The Vue and Grigio Apartments.

Some members of the downtown arts community have embraced the project. Greg Esser, of Roosevelt Row CDC and co-owner of MADE, was in attendance at the groundbreaking earlier this month. And volunteers involved in Wednesday's beautification project decorated the fence surrounding the construction with a sea of teal, white, and orange plastic pumps.

While press releases from Concord Eastridge state that the project will "serve as a major catalyst for further development" of Roosevelt Row and the Evans Churchill neighborhood, spokespeople from the developer also say they're keen on working with RoRow businesses and artists.