The City of Tempe says there are no plans to demolish DIY arts hub Danelle Plaza, but the mayor is sending different signals. Local artists are demanding clarity.
TEMPE—Arizona artists are rallying around a grassroots ecosystem that makes the Danelle Plaza strip mall a beloved alternative arts space in Tempe, even as city officials and developers work towards redeveloping the site.
For seven years, artists have been activating the plaza with myriad installations, murals, and pop-ups as part of the Danelle Project launched with city support by Tempe resident Robert Moore, who fears the project faces an uncertain future.
“I’m very concerned about how we can ensure that the plaza’s local creative culture makes it through the redevelopment process,” says Moore.
Mixed signals abound as arts advocates try to decipher whether and how the existing art will survive changes coming to the plaza, where a building owned by the city features murals and window installations and another building owned by developers houses informal gallery spaces.
People love that the space is kind of raw, almost like it’s in the wild.
Danelle Plaza opened as an outdoor shopping center in the early 1960s and once housed Tempe’s temporary City Hall. Today the fourteen-acre property is home to small businesses ranging from restaurants to the iconic Yucca Tap Room music venue, but plenty of empty spaces as well. Dozens of installations are visible through the windows of the vacant storefronts, and murals painted on panels are affixed to the building’s exterior.
Last year, developers made two of their spaces available to Danelle Project, so various artists could curate exhibitions and other events. Today the spaces, which collectively include about 7,500 square feet, are dubbed Rocket Space Gallery and Red Floor Gallery.
In recent months, they’ve hosted live drawing sessions, shown work by local high school and college students, presented an exhibition with art sales going to artist-chosen charities, and more. For one program, several collaborators presented a “drive-thru art show” featuring works by more than forty artists complete with an art hunt where people could get clues for finding free surrealist artworks painted by artist James B. Hunt (aka NXOEED).
“People love that the space is kind of raw, almost like it’s in the wild,” says artist David Quan, who uses the creative moniker Luster Kaboom. “A lot of galleries and museums cater to the mainstream aesthetic, but artists need spaces where they can be experimental.”
It’s been more than a year since the city engaged the general public in a formal dialogue about redeveloping Danelle Plaza, during a city council meeting held in mid-January of 2024, which could help explain the frustration for the lack of clarity about the fate of the venue—and the existing art that contributes to the plaza’s offbeat arts vibe.
A city email indicates that officials wanted to meet with Moore in November 2024 to “discuss moving the art out of the current space and the plan for future demolition of the city building.” Two months later, the city’s website featured a Danelle Plaza update stating that “there is no demolition scheduled.”
The redevelopment agreement doesn’t include a specific design plan. Instead, it states that Desert Viking Development and Guina Affiliated Development should include particular elements such as affordable housing, arts and culture, restaurants, and retail.
Basically, the document lays out four phases expected to culminate with a proposed plan that can’t be implemented without a process for public review and comment, and the approval of Tempe City Council.
We know that creative habitats are most vulnerable during these transition times.
“This was always slated as a redevelopment project rather than an adaptive reuse project,” says Tempe mayor Corey Woods. “I expect that a lot of the property will end up getting demolished at some point.”
Demolition requires a permit, according to a city spokesperson, who told me on January 28 that “no permits are applied for.”
“It’s going to take some time and some patience, but what comes out of the ground will be something we can all be proud of,” says Woods.
City officials say there’s no timeline for working through these phases, which has artists and others wondering what’s happening behind the scenes, and what steps are being taken to ensure that the plaza remains a hub for local art, music, and community.
Beyond that, it has Moore wondering why developers have already asked him to begin de-installing art, and the city has offered to either store the murals painted on removable panels in a different building at the plaza or display them at another Tempe location.
“We know that creative habitats are most vulnerable during these transition times,” says Moore. “What we really need is a transition plan for keeping the vibrant arts and culture at Danelle Plaza during the redevelopment process.”
By way of example, he cites the gentrification that’s transpired in Roosevelt Row, one of Phoenix’s best-known arts hubs, where artist Pete Petrisko once critiqued changes by displaying stickers reading “Roosevelt Row Luxury Living & Good Eats District.”
As the development process proceeds, Moore is using several strategies to make the case for greater transparency and community involvement.
In January, Moore spoke before Tempe’s Historic Preservation and Arts and Culture commissions, addressing both the history and future possibilities for the site. “This is Tempe’s second chance to establish a local arts and culture haven on Mill Avenue,” says Moore, making reference to a downtown strip where some locals lament changes wrought by gentrification.
Also that month, Moore urged supporters to “speak up for Danelle Plaza before it’s too late,” using flyers and social media to spread the word.
When the Tempe City Council met on January 23, dozens of people showed up in solidarity with Danelle Project, even though the topic wasn’t on the agenda.
Many of those supporters stepped up during a portion of the meeting reserved for public comments, describing the intersections of creativity and community they’ve experienced at Danelle Plaza.
Sofia Aguilar recalled painting a mural there when she was nineteen years old, describing it as her first real job. “I and over 130 artists have transformed the plaza into something completely unique. There’s art in any direction you look. It’s free to anyone who wants it. And there’s nowhere else like it.”
Art shouldn’t be removed until there are approved plans… please let our residents continue to enjoy it.
Several speakers, including community member Anne Till, urged the city to leave artworks in place. “Art shouldn’t be removed until there are approved plans… please let our residents continue to enjoy it.”
Clearly, artists and arts advocates aren’t giving up on this issue. “The ability to have cultural experiences for many in Tempe depends on accessibility, something the Danelle Project has organically provided to thousands of people,” according to Jacqueline Swan, a longtime advocate for Danelle Plaza who recently became the chair of the Tempe Arts and Culture Commission. “The cultural scene that has blossomed there is a treasure that should be conserved in the name of art, equity, and sustainability.”
But Moore is also thinking about other possible partner venues for Danelle Project, including places located in Tempe or other parts of metropolitan Phoenix.
When the Arts and Culture Commission holds its 2025 retreat this month, Danelle Plaza will be on the agenda. Artists and curators have various exhibitions scheduled in gallery spaces through at least May. And Moore is continuing to shepherd the project that’s rooted not only in art, but also a profound sense of community and collaboration.
Through it all, Moore has been reflecting on why he started the Danelle Project—and why he hopes it will continue to thrive at Danelle Plaza for the long term.
“The Danelle Project has always been an homage to the plaza’s creative heritage,” says Moore. “I hope it helps the community discover the value of these places, which tend to be overlooked, misunderstood, or underappreciated.”
