A unique partnership involving Arizona State University, the city of Tempe and private developers has transformed a once desolate two-mile corridor of dry riverbed into a glistening lake, with shoreline potential for a vibrant business and residential complex and a world-class destination point for visitors.

Tempe Town Lake, located at the north end of downtown Tempe, was completed in 1999 and the first lakeside office and residential projects are now complete.

Known as The Rio Salado Project, the development, which was 10 years in the making, goes far beyond simple brick and mortar. The plan calls for turning the desert floor into a mix of upscale facilities that will include office complexes, conference center and hotel, luxury apartments and condominiums, and significant open space and public parks.

"We're very excited about the Rio Salado development in that it will have a positive impact on the regional economy, provide outdoor recreational opportunities for the community and become a premier entertainment destination for the entire valley," said ASU President Michael Crow. "Our piece of the project demonstrates ASU's commitment to the community and shows the quality and scale of what can be done when we enter into such cooperative partnerships."

Building partnerships to create reality from a vision is no easy matter under ideal conditions, and it gets even more complicated when the partners are a mix of city government, local and national developers and one of the country's largest universities. But in Tempe, just such a group has been cooperatively and painstakingly knocking down barriers to create one of the most remarkable urban developments ever undertaken in the southwest and one that rivals other nationally recognized public/private development partnerships.

"If you look at other development projects across the country involving a university campus -- projects at Ohio State, The University of Southern California, Purdue, or the University of Pennsylvania, it will be hard to find one that compares to our Rio Salado." said Tempe Mayor Neil Giuliano. "I appreciate the university as a partner and its contribution to a highly responsible piece of urban design and architecture on its portion of the Rio Salado for our community."

The project was fraught with difficulties in the early years following the initial proposal, which was originally the idea of students and faculty of ASU's College of Architecture and Environmental Design. Chris Anaradian, Rio Salado Project Manager for the city of Tempe, said, "Just getting the project out of the concept phase was a monumental feat."

Long before the first stone could be turned for construction of the 220-acre man-made Town Lake, the spaghetti bowl of mining easements and utility rights of way had to be sorted out. The riverbed had historically been wet and was dried up and used for sand and gravel mining. When mining operations ended, the area was used as a trash dump. Then power and water lines were run throughout the property.

Because ASU owned the largest piece of land in the development area, the university was able to take a leading role in pulling all the agencies together to form the cooperative partnership that has driven the project from a conceptual drawing board in an ASU classroom to planting buildings in the ground surrounding Town Lake. Even the lake itself was developed as a cooperative venture between ASU and Tempe.

"The lake wouldn't exist if ASU hadn't swapped land with the city," said Steve Klett, senior manager with Ernst & Young, ASU's real estate advisor. "The Rio Salado project is possible only because these entities worked together to reclaim that land," he said, adding that prior to the construction of Town Lake, the land did not present a viable development opportunity.

But being the primary landowner (36 acres) in a development the size of the Rio Salado project has put ASU in a position most universities never have to confront, that of being a private developer.

"Real estate development is not a core business for the university," said Klett. "Doing commercial deals out in the market is not what they do day in and day out."

For that reason, ASU partnered with local and national developers to handle the actual construction. The university is retaining five acres, which it plans to use for educational facilities in the future, and will enter a long-term lease agreement with Phoenix-based SunCor Development Company for 22 acres for office and retail development. Houston, Texas-based Camden Property Trust, which specializes in luxury residential development, will lease the remaining nine acres of lakeside property. Benton-Robb has partnered with both on the project.

According to Anaradian, development of the Rio Salado Project should continue for another 10 years. Along the way, even more partnership opportunities are expected that will result in unique destination points around the Tempe Town Lake, which, in turn, will create jobs and a steady stream of new revenue for the city.

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This photo illustration depicts a complete Hayden Ferry Lakeside development. Only the building closest to the bridge has been completed.