Across the United States, most travelers/tourists choose cities such as Baltimore's Harborplace, Faneuil Hall Marketplace (20 Million annual visitors), Disneyworld, the San Antonio River Walk, (5.1 million annual visitors), San Antonio SeaWorld, Pike Place Market in Seattle, the San Francisco Cable Car Tour, San Diego's SeaWorld (4.26 million annual visitors), SeaWorld Florida (Orlando, 5.8 million annual visitors) and the San Diego historic Mission.
 
It comes as no surprise, Downtown Phoenix is not on the list. As a comparison, the downtown ASU Campus at a cost of $220 million plus $30 million for the park across the street now brings in 500 students per day.
 
The direction Phoenix is now pursuing with Downtown Phoenix development will never enable Phoenix to enter into the realm of world class destinations.

The "New Phoenix" is a diamond in the rough that will become a polished diamond ― La Playa del Sol. A giant lagoon of treated water resulting in a blue lagoon duplicating Tempe Town Lake is the primary concept. Ringing the periphery on the north side of the lagoon, high density centers each with its own theme, will be developed that collectively will become a magnet for attracting visitors from around the world including all parts of the Phoenix metro area.

La Playa del Sol is a development concept to use the Rio Salado extending from 19th Street to 19th Avenue (District 8 of the City of Phoenix) to develop a lagoon north and adjacent of the Rio Salado to form beaches as found along the Mexican Riviera to build hotel resorts, golf courses, a casino, entertainment centers, SeaWorld Phoenix, Plaza Garrido (Spanish for elegant, charming or handsome) with specialty retail shops, boutiques, mercado, historic mission, Hispanic culture and arts center, non profit service centers, commercial offices, single family houses, condominiums, and affordable housing as part of master planned communities.

The Plaza Garrido architectural design theme will be Mexican similar to Sedona's Tlaquepaque and San Antonio’s River Walk. La Playa del Sol's Plaza Garrido would duplicate the atmosphere, theme, lifestyle and tourist ambiance found in Mexico. Water features will be found through out. Many Americans have retired to Mexico's small villages and towns but because of the escalating drug war in Mexico and with the high cost of fuel, airplane traffic to Mexico is drastically curtained. This is an opportunity for Phoenix to replace traffic to Mexican resorts by promoting Mexican resort type developments on the banks of La Playa del Sol. The Phoenix La Playa del Sol would be secure, inviting and a much closer destination for visiting tourists from all parts of the United States.

And most importantly, an entertainment venue to include casino gambling, SeaWorld Phoenix, and the ambiance of a Mexican village.

Plaza Garrido would be the focal point of La Playa del Sol. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Mexican businesses were the keystone on Washington Street from 3rd street to 7th Street. The horse drawn trolley went back and forth to the Salt River. Plaza Garrido will be a re-creation of the Mexican businesses and the Hispanic Cultural Center, and mercado will be the primary focal points of the Plaza Garrido Mexican theme development.

A  major attraction would be a signature spectacular show each evening when the Phoenix ignites both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a young "New Phoenix" arises being re-born erupting from La Playa del Sol.

The type of cluster development at each lake will include activities that attract visitors and the major development center along Avenida del las Americas (Central Avenue) north of the freeway will be an entertainment mecca on the scale of a Las Vegas casino.