16th Street Should Not Be Ignored

That is the message of Por Vida Gallery. Our January 2011 Get Your PHX was a celebration of 16th St. and we are going back to see what’s new.

Por Vida owners Pablo Luna, Thomas “Breeze” Marcus, and Lalo Cota have a foothold and a new statement that they want to share with you.

Lalo Cota tells us that 16th is the next logical step in art in Phoenix. First Friday, he says, can’t be about just 3rd and Roosevelt anymore. He tells us that space has become too much about food and artists are struggling. So it is time to expand.

Come see if the leading edge of art in Phoenix truly is making a move east and see Douglas Miles’ transfixing =Apacheria= show in which Miles challenges cliché images of Native American life through mixed media.

This will be the most engaging Get Your PHX that we’ve hosted for some time. So, don’t miss it!

Special sponsors to be announced soon!

Please join us and RSVP at our Facebook Fan Page.

March Get Your PHX
Thursday, March 22nd from 5:30 to 7:30pm.
2800 N. 16th St
Phoenix, AZ 85006 Map Here

Y’all might remember my listing at 90 West Virginia. It is the 1930s Fairhope School, newly renovated to a 4,100 square foot home. This is the flagship property in the famous Willo Historic Neighborhood.

Here is the original blog post about it.

Well, the price has just dropped to $750,000! This is an incredible price for a luxury home of this historic significance and quality. This home was awarded best historic restoration of 2009 by the Phoenix New Times.

Stay tuned for notices about open houses. We don’t open this house to the public often, so please drop by to see it!

Mix 60% road race and 40% Joseph’s Technicolor Dream Coat (minus Donny Osmond) and what do you get?

The Color Run!

This weekend, just a hop and a skip from downtown phoenix,  the annual Color Run 5k will be happening in Tempe.

Don’t worry non-runners, the 5k is a fun run for all levels of athleticism. Runners will receive custom Color Run race shirts, a bag of Color, race number, “Color Runner” finisher sweat band, donation to local charity, and Sponsor Goodies. There’s only one rule, wear white. Why? Oh because you get covered in paint along the way! Each kilometer of the event has a designated color.   As the runners/walkers hit the KILOMETER COLOR ZONE, they will be dusted with COLOR.

Don’t worry, it’s for a good cause. All the proceeds from the 5k go to Cardon Children’s Medical Center in Mesa. After you cross the finish line you be invited to a post-5k party with bands, food, and more. Non-runners can join too, but be warned, there’s a good chance of walking away covered in paint dust.

The annual Color Run is going down at Tempe Beach Park in Tempe, Arizona on Saturday, 28 January 2012.

Insert “woe is me moment”: I’m soooo bummed I can’t run this. I’m still nursing an injury from my Grand Canyon run in November!

No, we’re not talking about your lovely Christmas trees.

Arizona State University’s Downtown Phoenix campus recently installed solar panels on the roof of  the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. These new solar panels are the first of their kind at the Downtown campus. The project cost approximately $815,000 and includes 322 panels which will produce 122,335-kilowatt hours of energy, not to mention are super cool. This is just one of many ways in which the schools plan to two conserve 20 megawatts of power every year by 2014.

And Why not? Sun is Arizona’s most bountiful resource. Those of you who have driven past the VA, Couldn’t help but notice their energy efficient parking structure. This past august, Duke Energy Renewables, purchased the Ajo Solar Project, in Pima County and The Bagdad Solar Project, located in Yavapai County, which collectively generate 20MW every year. More recently , Big Wigs from Greater Phoenix Economic Council  met with Senators Kyl and McCain in a lobbying effort for the growing industry. All just pieces in the bigger solar powered future of Arizona.  What does that mean for you? Recently, APS announced that customers could expect a 21% decrease in their bills thanks to their renewable energy programs, like partnering with Duke Energy Renewable.

ASU will of course be reaping in these benefits along with federal and state tax credits. The Downtown solar panels are just one of many ways in which the schools plan to conserve 20 megawatts of power every year by 2014.

Christmas has come early! Statistics and Graphs galore! If you’re looking for a home here in Phoenix, here is a trend that you might want to know about.

As a general rule, fewer  people buy houses between October and February. With the beautiful winter weather here in the valley, you would think sales would rise. But, most home buyers move in the late spring and summer in order to change schools. So, what does that mean for real estate agents….other than that we should probably go out and get second jobs waiting tables or pre-stocking for Black Friday?

What does it mean for you? Well, it’s great news if you’re a soon to be home buyer. As you can see by the graphs, sales per month is down between October and February while the monthly supply stays relatively the same. Aren’t graphs amazing?

Continue for more witty comments, below the graphs.

So, follow me here. If the sales per month are down and the inventory stays largely the same that is great for you if you are a buyer. It means that sellers are more desperate to sell. Not only are you going to have a greater selection, you might have an opportunity to negotiate the price!

So, get out into the beautiful weather and buy! If  you have any questions I’d be happy to help, just give me a call 602-456-9388

It’s that time of year again, when dreams of turkey and starches fill our daydreams and the pressures of dieting float away with the autumn breeze.  The St. Mary’s Food Bank has  guaranteed those turkey dreams for struggling families around the valley for more than four decades.

Last year, St. Mary’s needed six thousand turkeys and that number is only expected to grow. With 16% of the population falling under the poverty line, and turkey donations down this year, and the food bank is worried that for the first time in 45 years, they may not be able to meet their demands.  St. Mary’s is hosting “Super Saturday” Turkey Drive on from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 19^th in hopes of closing the turkey gap. The drive will expand to 16 locations around the Valley and in Flagstaff for what will be “an unprecedented need for the 2011 holiday season,” according to the food bank.

This Thursday is our November Get Your PHX Event at Steele Indian School Dog Park. In addition to your adorable pooch, we ask that you bring 5 dollars to donate to St. Mary’s Food Bank Turkey Drive. With your help, we can give families all over the family a meal to be thankful for.

This is totally informal, but we will get your contribution directly over to St. Mary’s the next day.

To learn more about ways to give, visit the St. Mary’s Food Bank Website 

At the November Get Your PHX we get to celebrate a whole list of new beginnings. We will visit the new dog park at Steele Indian School Park, learn about new plans for our largest CenPho public park and hear about how the downtown Margaret T. Hance Park is being re-imagined.

Our fine sponsors for this event will be Wag n’ Wash and Noble Beast. In addition to the food and libations, our sponsors will have goodies for your pooch! Please certain to visit with them when you come. We can’t do it without them!

So, we will have three fun and informative presentations for you.

Tom Byrne, Landscape Architect with the Parks and Recreations Deparment, will tell us about the evolution of CenPho’s first dog park.

Bryan Flanigan, Indian School Park Manager with the Parks and Recreation Department, will tell us about the history, future and planned renovations to the old Indian School buildings at the park.

Our own Kate Kunberger will give us a presentation on the very newsworthy plans for changes to Margaret T. Hance park, downtown.

We are also proud to announce that long-time park advocate Councilman Tom Simplot will join us for this event, too.

Further, this will be an interactive show and your opinions count.

The event will be broken in to two parts. We hope that you will join us with your pooch at 5:30 for some playtime at the park.

At about 6:00, we will begin the program at a ramada directly to the west of the dog park. Feel free to bring your dog over on a leash.

Keep an eye on our Facebook Fan Page for updates. As you know, there are always surprises.

November Get Your PHX
Thursday, November 17th from 5:30 to 7:30.
300 East Indian School Road
Phoenix, AZ 85013 Map here

NOTE: We suggest you enter the park through the 7th St entrance which is immediately north of the VA hospital property.

For anyone looking to live downtown knows, safe and affordable housing is a commodity. As downtown Phoenix experiences a renewed interest and cultural growth, we as a community need to think about ways to pursue reasonably priced housing options for the increasingly diverse population. Native American Connections has come up with a great housing option, that maybe you didn’t even know existed.

For over 40 years, Native American Connections has built community for our growing, city-dwelling Native American populations. In January, they will be opening mixed-use, mixed-income apartments, Devine Legacy, just across from the Campbell & Central light rail station.

For those of you who don’t know, mixed-income and mixed-use housing is pretty common place across major US cities, but is a fairly recent development in Phoenix.  So what does it mean? Mixed income housing is the idea that increasing diversity of the residents will improve the overall standard of living for the community. In Phoenix, we’re probably more familiar with mixed-use housing which is simply property which is used for both commercial and residential use. Commercial uses can help subsidize projects to allow for affordable or low-income housing.

One of the biggest problems facing mixed-use projects, both nationally and locally, is they require significant public subsidies. Through an IRS program and Arizona Department of Housing allocations, Devine Legacy has been funded through a unique low income tax credit system which allows support from the public as well as the government. This is only one of many projects Native American Connections is pursuing in Phoenix.

Devine Legacy, in addition to it 12000 square foot commercial space, will feature 65 units, ranging from studio apartments to town homes and lofts.   The Apartment includes  artist elements from local artists Randy Kemp and David Montour, high end appliances, ground floor parking, and a public court yard fully equipped with a sound system for community events, not to mention convenient access to the light rail.  The complex is also a part of the LEED Platinum community, which means Devine Legacy homes are  beautiful and safe at an affordable price.

If you’re interested in learning more about the project or units available you can visit their website. Applications are now being accepted for January and February move-ins.

Its that time of year again! The Local First Fall Festival is on!

(Added extra: this year it actually feels like fall!)

Did you know that Arizona is home to more than one hundred local and organic food providers, over one hundred advertising and marketing agencies, more than two hundred art suppliers and venues, and other great local businesses?

I would not blame you if you didn’t know that. It’s not like you hear about it on our local news. (But that’s a different post.)

Local First Arizona is an organization that supports local businesses around the state. The local first philosophy is driven by the benefits the local business have on the economy and community culture. This weekend LFA will be hosting their seventh annual fall festival. The festival boasts a ton of food from independent eateries and 66 local vendors.

Last year over 6,000 participants joined local businesses for family friendly fair. Musicians and bands and bands from across the state will provide entertainment. There will be local wineries and breweries on site for the adults as well as activities, like rock climbing, for the kids.

But why support local businesses? The simplest answer is it’s socially responsible. As our economy comes back, we need to support our local communities first. By patronizing our local businesses, we are directly supporting our own communities by keeping tax dollars in the state.

Join your fellow locavores this Saturday at The Duck and Decanter, 1651 E Camelback, from 10-4 pm. You can read more about Local First Arizona on their website