Urban Life

Phoenix Convention Center... a strong part of downtown Phoenix success

I was asked to be a guest author on my good friend Nick Bastian's site, RailLife. Here is a little except and you can read the entire piece by going to RailLife.com.  Enjoy.

A quick hop north from the 3rd and Washington rail stop lays the expanded Phoenix Convention Center… a significant addition to the downtown area. The convention center began as Phoenix Civic Plaza in the 1960’s and has stretched into one of the top 20 convention sites in the Nation. (read the rest at RailLife)

Gene Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
602-234-5777

 

Radiate Phoenix Meets at Switch and Talks Metro Light Rail

Radiate Phoenix, the downtown non-traditional networking group, held their May meeting last night at Switch on Central. The topic for the meeting was the Valley Metro Light Rail system.

Approximately 50 people gathered in the lounge area at 5:30 to discuss the past, present and future of the light rail system. As is usual, new and old friends chatted a bit, caught up on life/business and discussed the latest news effecting the downtown region.

Radiate co-founder, Claudia Bullmore of Sky Marketing, led the formal meeting. Attendees were asked to introduce themselves and talk about their personal light rail usage. Next, we were introduced to our two speakers for the evening... Nick Bastian, Raillife.com founder and Marty McNeil, MarCom director for Metro Light Rail.

Marty McNeil opened the discussion and described light rail as a trans-formative tool for the Valley linking people, development and future possibilities. She went on to describe the biggest lesson learned so far is that the system is far more popular than their optimistic predictions. McNeil said, "We felt the system would exceed our guarantees to the Federal Government by about 25%, but the actual numbers are over 45%." 

Next, Nick Bastian talked about his involvement. A couple years ago he started his quest to better understand how and why a light rail system could/would be used. "There wasn't much out there" he said. Thus, RailLife.com was created to explore and discuss life on the Light Rail. Today, RailLife.com offers visitors a plethora of information about happenings, dining, shopping and social events along the light rail system. As Nick says, "The Light Rail is like a 4th city within 3 others."

The conversation moved to an interactive format with attendees offering thoughts and questions. I particularly enjoyed Nancy Levinson's comments. Nancy is the director of PURL, an architect, urban planner and darn fine thinker. Nancy said, "We spend too much on an outdated transportation system (freeways) rather than the system of the future (mass transit such as light rail.)

Too much else was discussed to include in this brief post... a good reason to attend for yourself. All in all it was another great event bringing people, ideas and information together in a social mix. Thanks to Claudia Bullmore, the gang at DPJ and Switch for making this happen.

Gene Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
602-234-5777
Follow us @geneurban

Radiate Phoenix meets at Switch and Talks Metro Light Rail

Just a quick reminder that the Radiate Phoenix meeting for May is tonight. Details are below:

Theme/Topic: Phoenix Metro Light Rail
Speakers: Nick Bastian with RailLife.com and Marty McNeil with METRO Light Rail.
Location: Switch Restaurant & Bakery... 2603 N Central Ave  Phoenix, AZ 85004 (next to Durant's)
Time:  5:30 - 7:30

For those not familiar with Radiate Phoenix: We are a group of people interested in , committed to, intrigued by, and passionate about the downtown Phoenix region. Some of us are professionals in industries ranging from architecture, design, real estate, public policy and much more. Others are residents who love and care about their community. We are not a stuff your business card in a strangers face networking group.

If you care or would like to care about the downtown Phoenix community and don't know where to start, come Radiate with us.

Gene Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
602-234-5777

REAL ESTATE UPDATE DOWNTOWN-CENTRAL PHOENIX 85013

We thought we'd take a look at real estate activity and trends in downtown-central Phoenix zip code 85013. The region is a mix of single family homes and Urban style homes. Several historic neighborhoods are found in this zip code including: Medlock Place, Pierson Place, Woodlea, Campus Vista and Yaple Park.

I'm a big fan of this region. It has loads of character with a variety of historic, mid-century and urban architecture. The Metro Light Rail is walking distance for many residents giving easy access to downtown and Tempe. The Clarendon Hotel has just gone through a significant remodel and their rooftop patio/bar is a local favorite.

The active listing inventory is a pretty even mix of single family and condo/urban style homes. The single family home market is selling well, unlike the condos. Our "distress-o-meter" for May 2009 puts the area as guarded but recovering.

Many factors are taking positive turns in the 85013 single family home market. The number of active listings is going down, the number of pending listings is rising, the months of supply has gone down markedly and the pending listings sales price is up a bit. Probably the most exciting information is that the number of bank-owned listing is falling...yeah! This is important since bank-owned homes depress prices.

The condo market is not doing so well. There are many properties such as Executive Tower, Hawthorn and Solaris that have a lot of units on the market. Those considering buying in these and other units should investigate the health of their HOA's.  See the Urban Life post on HOA's for more on this subject.

Our principle concern is the general Valley-wide rise in new foreclosures. In the last month, pre-foreclosure lletters were sent to about thirty 85013 residents while five homeowners lost their homes. If foreclosures continue to rise, expect housing prices in the area to continue to fall a bit, however, we don't expect significant price drops.

CONCLUSIONS: Buyers have a great opportunity to pick up a home at a very affordable price. In addition, we believe homes along the light rail and close to the developing downtown ASU campus will perform better than homes in many other areas of the Valley. As mentioned, use caution when buying a condo to ensure the HOA is in good shape and a significant special assessment doesn't surprise you in a few months.

Gene Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Exeuctives
602-234-5777

Postino Central... A New & Old Restaurant Tradition In Phoenix

I wanted to wait for the excitement to cool down before going to/writing about Postino Central. Not surprisingly, the excitement hasn't dropped a degree.

Postino Central has to be good... it took over the location of a true landmark, Katz Deli. It is not easy filling the shoes of a legend, yet Postino has done just that. Although nothing like it's predecessor, I believe Howard Welcher would be happy knowing the vibrancy Postino has created. Some of the neighbors are probably not so happy with the overflow parking Postino's popularity has created, yet the vibrancy likely offers more positives than negatives.

I arrived at lunch time to a packed place with several excited patrons waiting for a table on the patio. Yes, it does have a nice covered patio, with misters, where guests can enjoy themselves and the outdoors.

Inside is an open, lively dining room with a modern interpretation of "Deli." I clicked off a few pictures and soon met Tory, his name, not political affiliation. Tory showed me the menu and we briefly talked about what makes Postino work. He proved to be a great multi-tasker as we chatted, he took care of guests and we chatted some more.

Many things came together making the Postino experience. Atmosphere, value, community and humanity. The place offers many climates to dine... covered-misted patio, inside space with low tables, high tables, counter-style, busy areas and even a few intimate spots. I don't think they missed anything here.

The menu offers great variety without being indulgent...plus the prices won't wipeout your wallet. A variety of Bruchetta, served on a small wood plank, are a local favorite. Plus, a mix of healthy, creative salads and panini style sandwiches give variety and choice; They even have a kid's menu.

The wine and beer offerings are surprisingly European with several exclusive selections. I was happy to see Arizona's Four Peaks and Old Creek products on the list... buy local first. A nice touch is their to-go bottle discount... take $9.00 off the price.

Postino Central is getting rave reviews on Yelp and many other sites. Am I surprised? Not really, the Arcadia store set the tone and the new location simply offers us Central Phoenix folks a close-in option. A big thanks to the DeMarco's for giving us a sweet place to hang out and satisfy our cravings.

Postino Central
5144 N. Central Ave
Phoenix, AZ
602-274-5144

Postino is located a couple blocks north of the Central & Camelback Metro Light Rail. See Raillife.com for all your light rail news.