Phoenix Development News (3)

[Arquitect]

Article about developing more transit oriented development in Phoenix.

Phoenix residents can soon look forward to more housing and lifestyle choices, thanks to Reinvent PHX, a collaboration between the City of Phoenix, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Arizona State University, St. Luke’s Health Initiatives and local organizations aiming to develop “sustainability action plans” for the areas along Phoenix’s existing light rail line.

This process, carried out in consultation with the public and with funding from HUD, is intended to create an attractive investment environment for transit-oriented development (TOD) projects along Phoenix’s light rail line, Valley METRO, which opened in 2008. By 2014, Phoenix will develop and begin to implement sustainability action plans for each of the areas adjacent to light rail stations. Soon a “car-free” or “car-lite” lifestyle will be available to more and more Phoenix residents through TOD development.

Before light rail’s arrival and the subsequent planning for walkable and bikable communities, transportation options were few. “If you don’t own a car in Phoenix, you’re at a pretty severe disadvantage to living your daily life with any kind of convenience,” said Curt Upton of the City of Phoenix’s Planning & Development Department.

Source:http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/2013/0...riented-development-to-reinvent-downtown

[KevininPhx]

Originally Posted by Arquitect

Article about developing more transit oriented development in Phoenix.



Source:http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/2013/0...riented-development-to-reinvent-downtown

Great, a government-planned poverty corridor. The scariest part of Obama's visit here was his declaration that Phoenix will be a mecca for the country's most impoverished people. Frightening.

[phoenixboi08]

Originally Posted by KevininPhx

Great, a government-planned poverty corridor. The scariest part of Obama's visit here was his declaration that Phoenix will be a mecca for the country's most impoverished people. Frightening.

What are you talking about? How on earth did you reach the completely opposite conclusion of what the implications are? TOD always leads to gentrification...

[Arquitect]

Originally Posted by phoenixboi08

What are you talking about? How on earth did you reach the completely opposite conclusion of what the implications are? TOD always leads to gentrification...

I am also completely confused as how this lead to Obama and poverty.

TOD developments don't have to be low-income, in fact, most of the time, it is middle class and higher income project that develop around these areas. Access to mass transit is not a gateway for poverty to move in, but rather the opposite. The cycle of poverty is often maintained in communities that are disconnected from resources.

[dtnphx]

Originally Posted by KevininPhx

Great, a government-planned poverty corridor. The scariest part of Obama's visit here was his declaration that Phoenix will be a mecca for the country's most impoverished people. Frightening.

I know, I know. The black man is scary. Coming for your guns, Kevin!

[gymratmanaz]

WOW KevininPhx - stampede to that hasty leap of logic!!! FOX TV calls for thee...

[PHX31]

The point of this article is there is no point.

Anyone else tired of studies and action plans and nothing happening? By now, with all the tax breaks, and urban form codes, and sped-up plan review processes, and surveys, and focus groups, and bell weather projects, and renewed interest in downtown, and lowering vacancy rates, and in-demand apartment projects, I'd think the downtown Phoenix and TOD ball would be rolling at full speed. It's still a painfully slow roll... why?

[HooverDam]

Originally Posted by PHX31

It's still a painfully slow roll... why?

The market isn't back yet here.

Plus, developers in Phoenix known very little about how to do urban projects, its just not a skillset most of them have developed over the past 50 years. So that slows down the process.

Hopefully Roosevelt Point does well, thatll help. CityScape apartments, same thing. If Portland Place II and the hotel Tim Sprague is developing go well, that'll help. If Hotel Monroe happens, that'll help too. Plus there's that Sustainable Communities Collaborative project on 1st Ave/Roosevelt, if that happens, thats good too.

It feels like (and maybe its just because Im an optimist) there's more stuff in the pipeline leading up to a recovery than usual, by Phoenix standards. So thats good.

We got Roosevelt Point and are about to get the CityScape apartments in the end of the worst economic downturn in Phoenix history...so we can't complain too much.

[doppelbanger]

I've only been interested in downtown Phoenix for a little over 2 years, since I started working there. Just in the past year to year and a half the following have either been completed or at least broken ground: CityScape apartments, Roosevelt Point, ASU Rec Center, new Sheriff's Office, Cancer Center, 1st Ave/Roosevelt. I couldn't really imagine much more being built in Downtown Phoenix at the same time. Overall, I'm very impressed at the progress that is being made.

[PHX31]

I think all of those are either public, our were built utilizing some program/tax break deal. What I figured would be happening by now is private development would be taking off... someone (or multiple someones) would buy any number of the small parcel(s) for sale and develop some nice project(s).

I can think of at least 3 small parcels (not the giant super blocks the City owns) that are for sale in the immediate vicinity of Roosevelt Pointe right now, which would be perfect candidates for great small-scale dense developments, the kind I would think would be blowing up in Phoenix right now like they are in other cities. We'll see if the success of RP does in fact get them to move. Somehow I think Phoenix's land banking/speculation practices will continue to be a problem that will never be overcome. I'm sure they're for sale for way too much money.

[phxSUNSfan]

Originally Posted by PHX31

I think all of those are either public, our were built utilizing some program/tax break deal. What I figured would be happening by now is private development would be taking off... someone (or multiple someones) would buy any number of the small parcel(s) for sale and develop some nice project(s).

Somehow I think Phoenix's land banking/speculation practices will continue to be a problem that will never be overcome. I'm sure they're for sale for way too much money.

Roosevelt Point and the development on 1st Ave and Roosevelt are private. So are the CityScape apartments. These developments have received some incentives from the city but you would be hard pressed to find such developments in other cities (outside of NYC) not utilizing such breaks.

I do know the city owns many parcels downtown and I bet someone here knows of a map that lists those properties. If I remember correctly, the Goldwater Library had asked the city for permission (with the requisite incentives) to develop on land the city owned in the Roosevelt neighborhood. The city was asking for a less suburban design with a mixed use element but the Goldwater Foundation refused. They wanted to build a parking lot.

[Arquitect]

Originally Posted by PHX31

I'm sure they're for sale for way too much money.

Bingo!!! That is one of the biggest issues keeping downtown from growing. Many of the lots are owned by people expecting to get paid enormous amounts of money for their lots.

I know one person in that area that is asking a million dollars for a lot that must be less than half an acre. Its ridiculous.

[Arquitect]

Originally Posted by phxSUNSfan

Roosevelt Point and the development on 1st Ave and Roosevelt are private. So are the CityScape apartments. These developments have received some incentives from the city but you would be hard pressed to find such developments in other cities (outside of NYC) not utilizing such breaks.

I do know the city owns many parcels downtown and I bet someone here knows of a map that lists those properties. If I remember correctly, the Goldwater Library had asked the city for permission (with the requisite incentives) to develop on land the city owned in the Roosevelt neighborhood. The city was asking for a less suburban design with a mixed use element but the Goldwater Foundation refused. They wanted to build a parking lot.

The best way to see who owns properties throughout the county is Maricopa's parcel maps. Their online feature is actually one of the best I have seen, and has a ton of information on it.

http://maps.mcassessor.maricopa.gov/maps/default.aspx

[phxSUNSfan]

Originally Posted by Arquitect

The best way to see who owns properties throughout the county is Maricopa's parcel maps. Their online feature is actually one of the best I have seen, and has a ton of information on it.

http://maps.mcassessor.maricopa.gov/maps/default.aspx

Nice! I know there is a map, I've seen it before, from the City of Phoenix that highlights the lots they own. Just clicking briefly on the Assessor's map, I noticed that many of the lots on 5th Ave in Roosevelt are owned by the City. Most parcels throughout downtown are owned by private LLCs and investors and no doubt they are land banking.

[HooverDam]

Originally Posted by phxSUNSfan

Nice! I know there is a map, I've seen it before, from the City of Phoenix that highlights the lots they own. Just clicking briefly on the Assessor's map, I noticed that many of the lots on 5th Ave in Roosevelt are owned by the City. Most parcels throughout downtown are owned by private LLCs and investors and no doubt they are land banking.

If you ever find a map showing specifically City owned properties, please post it!

The City is the worst land banking Queen of them all. At the very least the City ought to be filling its dirt lots with lantana to make it look nice.

The City owns tons of land along Fillmore between 1st Ave-7th Ave. And unlike all the land they own by the Biomedical campus, they have zero plan for it. Its extremely frustrating.

[PHX31]

As someone previously posted, the City is at least putting out RFPs for a few of their lots for possible development. These lots are mostly smaller and have historic houses on them. (ie, the Knipe House). I don't know if anyone actually proposed anything, but incorporating new development on the lots with or next to newly rehabbed historic homes would be awesome.

[Prestige Worldwide]

Originally Posted by PHX31

Somehow I think Phoenix's land banking/speculation practices will continue to be a problem that will never be overcome. I'm sure they're for sale for way too much money.

Yep. This is the primary obstacle that is preventing the urbanization of Downtown and Roosevelt. The only thing that will change it is direct policy action to tax landbankers or strip some of their property entitlements. I imagine many Councilmembers are aware of this, but don't have the courage to take on landbankers because they will cry foul publicly (or with money in an election), and they can lean on Prop 207 to prevent any adverse policy changes.

Prop 207 is a major roadblock that prevents the enactment of the needed policy solutions. It needs to be repealed, otherwise Downtown's residential market will never fully materialize. The demand is there (Downtown is relatively safe and has good attractions, dining, transit), but the ROI that must be achieved for a project at the price some of the landbankers want is just too large of a gulf for any activity to occur.

With Prop 207 in place, only another speculative boom will see any development on many of these parcels.

side note - I remember reading that Roosevelt Pointe only got built because a landbanker simply got sick of waiting and sold the land at well below their original asking price. It was hoped this would drive land prices down, but I guess it hasn't had enough of an effect.

[phxSUNSfan]

Originally Posted by Prestige Worldwide

side note - I remember reading that Roosevelt Pointe only got built because a landbanker simply got sick of waiting and sold the land at well below their original asking price. It was hoped this would drive land prices down, but I guess it hasn't had enough of an effect.

For some reason I think that was a parcel owned by Mortgages Limited. It was sold well below original asking price because ML's assets were being liquidated to pay back investors. But again, not sure if it was actually owned by that company.

As for driving land prices down, the sale of that parcel would not cause devaluation in its vicinity. If anything it would allow prices to remain steady since there are now less lots in a highly sought after part of downtown. The more that is built the more land will cost due to scarcity.

[KevininPhx]

GCU - anyone know if that's a dangerous area? My sister has been offered a teaching job there. She's really excited about it but another professor there told her that the area is "rough."

Anyone know?

I'll check it out this weekend, but not sure driving past and through it would give me an accurate impression.

[HooverDam]

Anybody been by the old Channel 12 building recently? When I saw they were pealing off the facade and revealing the brick, I thought "well they should just knock this building down, but at least they're showing off the original brick." NOPE!

Now they're covering the outside in a new, very cheap looking facade. So its going from a 70s boring brutal box to sort of a early 2000s looking boring brutal box. Hooray. We never get it

Originally Posted by KevininPhx

GCU - anyone know if that's a dangerous area? My sister has been offered a teaching job there. She's really excited about it but another professor there told her that the area is "rough."

Anyone know?

I'll check it out this weekend, but not sure driving past and through it would give me an accurate impression.

Its not the garden spot of the Valley, but is she planning on living there? If she's just driving there to work, she'll be fine. Its not like people are going to run onto campus to rob her or anything.

GCU is trying to help revitalize the area as well, so maybe it'll turn around. There's a few good Vietnamese places around there if memory serves.