Phoenix Frank Lloyd Wright house to stop tours, explore ASU partnership

The owner of a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home in Phoenix's Arcadia neighborhood will halt in May the tours and events angering some neighbors. The temporary stoppage would coincide with a new effort to determine long-term plans for the property.

Representatives of the David and Gladys Wright House Foundation sent a letter to the city March 1 outlining a search for partners to preserve and operate the house. Arizona State University is one of several institutions involved in talks, spokesman Chip Scutari said.

ASU said in a statement that those conversations "are still in their preliminary stages."

The City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to approve the foundation's request to postpone a vote until December on its long-standing preservation application for the 1952 house. The city has put off a decision on that application nine times since 2012.

As part of that delay, the foundation will stop all "third-party uses" of the property after May 7, until December, the letter said. One wedding ceremony in November would be excluded.

The extra time will give the foundation time to "foster and mature" conversations with new partners, foundation representative Vanessa Hickman told the council. Stopping events and tours allows discussions to continue with neighbors, she said.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said he was optimistic about where the plans could head.

Arcadia neighbors have for more than a year complained about events on the property after the house and surrounding land were purchased by developer Zach Rawling.

His vision of turning the house into an educational and event center has caused outrage among some nearby residents at neighborhood and city meetings.

Rawling's application to designate the site a landmark — separate from the city's 2012 application — was recommended by the city's Historic Preservation Commission in November, but the council has yet to vote on it. Rawling is developing the special-permit application needed to open the house to the public for commercial activity.

Stopping events as plans form will ease neighborhood tensions, said Councilman Sal DiCiccio, who represents the area. 

"I think it's going to bring peace," he said.

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Details on potential partnerships are sparse. Scutari said the focus will remain on preservation and education.

"It's just finding a different mechanism," he said.

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The letter says that the foundation's partnership with the Rodel Foundation of Arizona on educational programs “inspired the search for partners,” including to advance the house's mission.

Craig Steblay, president of the Arcadia Camelback Neighborhood Association, said tours were never the primary concern of the neighborhood. He said the association wants to see the plans scaled back to an educational venue.

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