I’ve been driving by the old building at about 2nd Ave and Camelback for years and I was never sure what it was. Was it a hotel? Was it an office? Well, its going to be Arrive Phoenix, by Vintage Partners, who are well known for the redevelopment efforts at Uptown Plaza.

The plan, according to this article, is to build a stylish boutique hotel and dining destination. It is nice to see that the developers (from California) teamed up with the developers of The Newton, Windsor and Churn, and The Orchard, Venue Projects.

The $20M project is another testimony to the importance of adaptive re-use. I’m a fan of adaptive re-use over new-build because renovating an old building is about 90% more earth friendly than building a completely new building. We need more of that these days. Congrats, Arrive Phoenix!

According to the article, Arrive Phoenix will “combine both buildings into a singular and striking 79-room property. Arrive Phoenix will also host a boutique coffee shop, a poolside taco bar, a gourmet ice creamery, and a nautical-themed rooftop craft cocktail bar featuring sweeping 360-degree city views.

Did you catch that bit about the gourmet ice creamery? I guess that means we will have three ice cream shops in a 1/2 mile radius, unless they move Churn in here.

This development speaks again to where the central Phoenix housing market is going. If you are living in the area of this development, you are doing to be in a good place in the long-run.

Now, let’s see if we can find some space for more owner-occupied properties in walking distance to this development. As we say, its not just about in-fill. Its also about walkability.

If you are thinking of moving in to the area, call us quickly at 602-456-9388, and prices will probably go up once this gets in place.

I toured Matt Seaman’s new development, McKinley Row on 4th Ave and McKinley (MetroWest Development).

First, I’m a big fan of Matt. He is one of the few developers in downtown who is focusing on owner occupied properties on in-fill, walkable parcels. While most other large developers can’t get their heads out of the 1,000+ unit mentality, Matt knows that the future of development will be in finding ways to fill in the many small spaces in Phoenix.

Did you know that 43% of Phoenix is made up of empty lots? Let’s use those for housing, rather than sprawling out in to our beautiful desert, thus causing longer commutes and more pollution.

Matt and I were talking about how the Phoenix push to build apartments over the last ten years crowded out those who want to build owner-occupied properties, but also made it difficult for moderate income folks to afford to live downtown. Part of the problem comes from the investors, who don’t like to back condo projects due to potential lawsuit liability issues.

But, I digress. In short, we have a problem in housing and we need more folks like Matt who can build owner-occupied homes and who can find lower cost ways to build homes for folks in dense urban areas.

I’m not one of those agents who believes that everybody should own a home. But, at last count, there was at least a 6 to 1 ratio of apartments to owner-occupied downtown. Where will all of those renters go in a few years when they want to buy a home and they are priced out? Who will have a stake in our downtown if they all move out?

I wanted to share with you Matt’s project. With 18 town home units at 4th Ave and McKinley, and a similar project coming next year at 2nd Ave and McKinley, Matt is creating homes for downtowners.

Matt tells me that McKinley Row is half sold now, with town homes selling as low as the $390s and as high as the $500s.

Have a look at the photos below. They are just my photos. If you want to see the snazzy photos with the CGI furniture in the rooms, have a look at their website.

The photos below illustrate a few features that I thought were unique.

If you are interested in town house living, please give us a call at 602-456-9388. We’ve represented clients on Matt’s projects before, so give us a call.

MetroWest did a good job of setting back the projects, as required by historic preservation. They’ve left green space and space to enjoy the neighborhood.

These are the massive windows in the corner unit, which you can see from the inside in the next photo. Great views of downtown!

Here are those windows from the inside. That’s a nice view to wake up to.

I did not get a shot from the outside, but this corner unit, in addition to having corner windows on the ground floor, has a separate entrance that you can make in to an office.

Y’all know that we don’t host the Get Your PHX events every month anymore –just when I’m inspired, as I have been by Midtown Roots.

When I met with the owners of Midtown Roots early in 2017, as they were building out, I thought this would be a good place to host an event.

Midtown Roots is a dispensary with a community-minded philosophy. They not only have an impressive space at the NW corner of Thomas and Central, with 14 bud tenders stations for patients, but they are also opening part of the building as a community space and a space for daily yoga programming. They are open from 8am to 7pm daily.

This impressed me.  I always like it when a business takes in to account the local community. I’ve seen the owners at local community events, too. So, they are doing their best to be out there.

They also took the time to give tours to local elected officials and neighborhood leaders so that everybody knew what was going on. I’ve seen a lot of dispensaries pop up in the last few years and I’ve heard concerns from neighbors about how little they communicate. Not so from what I’ve seen with Midtown Roots.

The whole issue of medical marijuana can be contentious. So, I appreciate when a local business like Midtown Roots takes their job seriously. They seem to have a wholistic approach to the patients who seek the help of medical marijuana.

So you, our loyal Get Your PHX fan, are going to get an exclusive tour of the facility and accurate information about what the law requires of dispensaries.

Join us on November 16th at 5:30 for a tour, snacks and beverages. (No, silly, the snacks will not have THC in them. I knew what you were thinking!)

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EVENT IS NOT ON OUR USUAL SECOND TO LAST THURSDAY OF NOVEMBER.

Where:  2918 N. Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85012
When: November 16th at 5:30
Sign us for a free ticket here.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/events/154740685265505/

I ran in to a new phrase this week, “tactical urbanism.”

I imagined night patrols of hipsters with pocket knifes attached to their suspenders, raiding GMO-free urban gardens with night vision goggles.

But I was wrong.

In reality, its a pretty cool idea. Individuals, organizations and sometimes governments use temporary materials to transform specific urban areas as a way to show how spaces could be improved positively for the long-term. A very informative website on tactical urbanism uses the following description:

“Cities around the world are using flexible and short-term projects to advance long-term goals related to street safety, public space, and more.”

I think of it this way: citizens us temporary and inexpensive materials to demonstrate to their city leaders and bureaucrats that an idea for some local change is viable, prior to going through long, drawn-out planning processes. I suppose you could use the term “pilot project”, but that implies that the project is lead by the government, whereas tactical urbanism is more citizen-driven.

This is not to say that the government is never involved. The literature speaks of a program in New York City called the NYC Plaza Program, in which the city takes little-used streets or alleys and turn them into people-friendly spaces.

I love this idea. If you’ve followed my rants, you know that I am concerned that the recent development of massive apartment block in downtown (what I call Roosevelt Canyon), have been stripping the humanity away from our main arts district.

I think that tactical urbanism has the potential to push back against these formulaic, corporate developments and bring some humanity back to where it belongs.

So, I think you’ll want to watch for this phrase to be used more in Phoenix in the coming couple years.

Here’s how you can support your favorite charity: refer us!

Please support our Charity Referral Network.

Hunter, in Phoenix, did just that. Last week, we helped his friends Shawn and Charlie close on the home shown in this video. True to our word, we will make a donation to Hunter’s favorite charity.

You can to. Its simple. When you are talking to friends at a party, at the office or that family dinner you’ve been avoiding for months, and when somebody mentions they need a realtor, kindly remember us!

This is our attempt to focus positive attention on those charities that you care about, and which do so much good work here in Phoenix.

Here is how it works. If you send us a referral for a home sale or purchase, and that transaction closes, we will make a donation to the charity of your choice. We will post on our blog and on Facebook that your referral was instrumental in making that donation happen.

Meanwhile, enjoy this pre-renovation tour and try not to get seasick from the selfie stick I had to use to get this video.

It is as simple as that. Thank you!

Please give us a call today at 602-456-9388 for more.

As many of you know, I’m a fan-boy for the Phoenix Public Works Department’s efforts at building a circular economy.

Here’s the difference between the two. And, yes, the difference is huge for not only our sustainable future, but also for our local economy.

A linear economy is wasteful, expensive and does not create as many jobs as it could. It costs more money and jobs to ship raw materials here from out of state, or out of country and it adds carbon emissions.

Click here to see the video that these screen captures come from.

A circular economy takes advantage of materials that are already in our waste stream, and re-uses them in a way that creates new jobs and businesses.

When you think about waste streams, think numbers. Over 7 million people in Arizona are all throwing away trash every day. We currently recycle less than 20% of our trash, despite all of those blue bins that we see in our neighborhoods. Office and industrial waste is often passed right in to the landfill.

Hey, just imagine what is happening to all of the metal, wood and concrete that comes off of those many homes that you see being renovated right now.

So, I’m particularly interested in the work that ASU is doing in collaboration with the city to find ways to extract the monetary and employment value from this waste stream. Check out the Resource Innovation and Solutions Network, which has just started its “Call for Innovations.” This will result in an demo and expo day, which will certainly lead to new business opportunities.

At a time when there is a lot of talk about bringing jobs back to the US, these folks are making it happen. After all, the more basic materials we can re-use here, the less we need to import from across the ocean.

Watch these folks. They are certain to have more to report as they are building a circular economy.

For the September 2017 Market Update, we check in again with Tina at the Cromford Report.

“Supply remains lower than last year, but the gap closed slightly compared with last month in terms of active listings with no contract. We are starting to see more new listings than last year. The third quarter is up 2.5% from last year and up 5.5% from 2015. So far the extra supply is not having much effect, but if it continues for several months finding a property could start to get a little easier for buyers.

The monthly sales rate is up only 1.8% compared with a year ago. Both August 2016 and August 2017 had the same number of working days (23) so we have a fair comparison to draw. Since the year over year growth was 5.7% in June and 3.0% in July we again see a continuing slow downward trend in the advantage that 2017 has over 2016 in sales volume. Growth in the annual sales rate has almost stopped with 95,000 proving to be a difficult line of resistance. All these point to a gradual fading of demand. The serious shortage of supply obscures that fade.

We experienced a seasonal price drop between June and July, but prices have already bounced back during August and are likely to remain on an upward track for the rest of 2017 at least.

We still have a seller’s market in most locations and price ranges, but the current trends means the seller’s advantage has very little momentum. Before buyer`s get too excited, the trends are very mild in nature. As such we do not currently see major increases in buyer’s bargaining power coming anytime soon.

Of course, the market could change quickly, as it did in the summer of 2013, but there is not much sign of this in any of the numbers at the moment.”

Anecdotally, we are seeing a huge number of renovation project that seem to dominate the market. I would go so far as to say that they are probably driving prices upward, as the investors are seeking high profit margins and buyers are willing to pay, given a lack of options in CenPho.

In a way some renovations are sad for the historic neighborhoods. I’ve heard many concerns from neighbors that the renovators are taking this historic souls right out of the homes –turning them in to trendy replications of an Anthropology clothing store.

If you are thinking of purchasing a renovated property, please be certain to have a realtor represent you, even if its not us. Many people don’t know that renovators are still responsible for disclosing the condition of the property, even if they claim they never lived in it. You need an agent to protect your interests.

Call us and we can give you more details at 602-456-9388.

I’m calling this post the Get Your PHX Find for September 2017. I like this idea. Maybe I’ll do it more often –its an excuse to eat tasty food and they write about it.

I’m not sure that I’ll find a great new spot like this every month, but I’ve got one for this month!

Actually, I’ve been meaning to tell you about this Get Your PHX Find for a few months. Novel Ice Cream impressed me right away. Not only are they serving unique and well-made ice cream downtown, but they regularly have lines –despite having done NO advertising!

For the past six months Novel Ice Cream has been serving up ice cream stuffed donuts in the form of their signature Dough Melts from a little red cottage in the Grand Avenue Arts District. Boasting 12 unique flavors of small batch handcrafted artisan ice creams, retro cereal toppings, and craft glass bottle sodas by local supplier Pop the Soda Shop, all served in a colorful and quirky space featuring mural art by local artist Joe Gonzalez. Given its fun and decidedly  different take on a dessert staple, Novel isn’t your typical ice cream spot… which is exactly why it fits in perfectly among the buildings on Grand canvassed in some of the most unique art in Phoenix.

Since opening in March, Novel has experienced firsthand our city’s love for the homegrown small businesses that are shaping local food and art culture by bringing high quality, unique items to Phoenix’s burgeoning food scene. This positive reception culminated in Novel being named the 13th Best Ice Cream Sandwich Shop in America by BuzzFeed and Yelp in July.

Owner/operators Brandon and Jennifer Douglas love the fact that Novel not only serves as an outlet for sharing their obsession with ice cream, donuts, cereal, and soda with their customers, but also love that their shop continues to bring people from all over the metro area (and all over the state) to Historic Grand. In addition to Novel, the Grand Avenue Historic district is home to several other well established and unquestionably unique food stops such as ThirdSpace, Grand Avenue Pizza, and Treehouse Bakery. All of which have embraced the community’s well known art-centric history. Many believe the recent influx of creative start ups making the downtown section of Grand Avenue their home mean it is primed to continue its path to becoming a major hub for exceptional food and art culture in our state.

Novel Ice Cream is located at 1028 Grand Ave #6 on the Southwest corner of 11th Ave. and Grand in the Red Cottage behind ThirdSpace. Their hours are Tuesday-Thursday 12pm-10pm, Friday & Saturday 12pm-1am, and Sundays 12pm-5pm, Closed on Mondays.

Here’s your Green Cleaning Tip for August 2017 from Going GreenHouse.

Indoor air pollutants such as: dust mites, mold, pet dander, hair, secondhand smoke and common household cleaning products, can trigger asthma and other allergy symptoms. However, by using “green” cleaning products and processes, you can reduce the affects that pollutants have on allergies and asthma symptoms in your home.

The American Lung Association states that many standard cleaning products contain dangerous chemicals, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These VOCs have been linked to occupational asthma and other respiratory illnesses, and can be found in cleaning products such as: bleach, ammonia, floor cleaners, bathroom and tile cleaners, air fresheners, polishes and more!

Not only are green cleaning products better for our environment, but they can also help reduce triggers that may worsen your symptoms. Below are a few examples of how you can keep your home green and free of allergens.

In your kitchen:

Baking soda is going to be your best option for a cheap, all-purpose, green cleaning solution. It is best to break down your cleanings and keep a regular cleaning schedule. Each week, floors should be mopped, and cabinets and appliances should be wiped free of dust and build up. Seasonally, wipe down the inside of your fridge/freezer as well as the inside of utensil drawers. In order to prevent moisture and fumes in your kitchen, remember to use exhaust fans while cooking and keep all food in sealed containers, making sure to dispose of expired and moldy food.

In your Living Areas:

Many living areas consist of bookshelves, tables, and little knickknacks. Be sure that these items are being dusted regularly with a microfiber rag, which will trap and remove dust without sending it in to the air.

In your Bedroom:

Dust mites are your bedrooms worst culprit. Do your bedroom a favor and invest in dust mite-proof covers for pillows, mattresses, and box springs. In addition, be sure to wash your bedding and blankets regularly (recommended once a week) in at least 130 degree water, in order to kill dust mites and remove allergens.

In your Bathrooms:

Start by making your own green cleaning solution of either 50/50 water and vinegar mix or baking soda and water paste. Bathrooms see their fair share of moisture. You can help control the amount of moisture in your bathroom by using an exhaust fan to eliminate moisture/steam and reduce fumes caused by aerosol sprays, such as hairspray and bathroom deodorizers. You may also reduce moisture retention by eliminating the use of carpeting in bathrooms and opting for wood, laminate, or tile.

Maintaining a green and clean home may seem like a daunting task, but when broken down into a weekly routine you may find it to be quite manageable. If not, your friends at Going GreenHouse are happy to help. Green cleaning is what we do best!