Phoenix Historic Districts (violent crime, houses, neighborhoods)

[Not Sure 12]

I bought my house in Coronado six months ago and have found that everything posted above is so. One more thing to mention about Coronado in general- most of the houses will be smaller- usually two bed/one bath and around 900/1000 sf.

When I was looking to buy, I checked out a number of historic districts but because of the specific house style I wanted, the number of districts that worked for me were limited. Sure, Willo and Encanto-Palmcroft are nice, but I didn't have that kind of money. I was able to find the perfect (for me) house for well under 200k. The houses on my street are all well kept and everybody is friendly.

The comment about dogs is right on the mark, too. I didn't have one when I got here, but I do now.

[azdr0710]

do most of the houses in the various Phx historic districts have a concrete slab....or have a crawl space....or is it very mixed with no real pattern/standard?....thanks

[gtbguy]

Originally Posted by azdr0710

do most of the houses in the various Phx historic districts have a concrete slab....or have a crawl space....or is it very mixed with no real pattern/standard?....thanks

Good question. I look forward to reading the responses. Having a crawl space sure helps the remodel effort go much easier.

[Not Sure 12]

Originally Posted by azdr0710

do most of the houses in the various Phx historic districts have a concrete slab....or have a crawl space....or is it very mixed with no real pattern/standard?....thanks

When I was looking at houses, it seemed that most of the places built before 1940 had wood floors with a crawl space and those built after were on slabs.

[gtbguy]

Originally Posted by Xica_da_Silva

Disclaimer: I currently live in Coronado Historic District and I'm an ethusiastic fan (in spite of one particular issue which I'll mention below)

If you want to live in a true historic neighborhood, I think your best bet is the Coronado historic district for $200,000 or less. I'd consider it one of the up-and-coming neighborhoods, and there seem to be some decent deals right now. From what I've seen of Willo, Palmcroft, and Encanto, it's rare to find anything below $200,000, and if you do, it's because it's going to require some major repairs on the house. Since Coronado is a larger district, I think you'll find more options to choose from, too.
How would I describe Coronado: Awesome neighbors, no HOA but a strong neighborhood association that gives it a community feel: Gardens, clean-up projects, annual home tours, movies in the park. People of all ages, walks of life, income levels. Very walkable, urban, green. A little rough around the edges. In a slow gentrification process, which will probably increase as gas prices do, and people tire of long, expensive commutes into town. I was just thinking this morning how grateful I am: even though I have to commute to Mesa for work, when I look at all the traffic coming the other way, while I'm just whizzing along going Eastbound, I never feel crabby to start my day, I never feel like I'm wasting my time sitting in bumper-to-bumper. Little things sometimes mean a lot!

Drawback: Theft and burglary. I think there are 2 main issues that make Coronado attractive to burglars/thieves:
1) numerous criss-cross alleys that are poorly lit, that make it sooo easy for burglars to get in-and-out quickly without being noticed (note that Willo has alleys, too, but they are one-way, wish we could do that!). According to our community police officer, almost all the burglaries/thefts in our area are backyard/alley entries.
2) For whatever reason, the majority of people in our neighborhood actually work, and work the typical 9-5pm. So, it's challenging to put together a block watch type program, even though we're all very vigilant and look after each other while there. Not too many retirees to look after things, sadly. Most burglaries take place when people aren't around to see or call police. But the good thing is, the police are working really hard to help us take back the alleys; we've seen a lot more patrolling lately. And we are calling on anyone who's back there, snooping around. A shout out to our PHX PD precinct officers!

My advice is, move to Coronado and you'll be very happy, and make a lot of great friends, meet a lot of cool, interesting people. And you'll be close to some great little mom-and-pop restaurants, shops, etc. But, get a property with a fence, and get a big barky DAWG and you'll never have to worry about what I mentioned above. I wish I could get a dog but my 2 older kitties get a vote and they say 'no'. LOL. So I put up security doors/windows instead. And btw, this is a very very dog-loving neighborhood, maybe even more dogs than people!

Great comments and thanks! I'll make sure to visit Coronado.

[gtbguy]

Originally Posted by Packard fan

There's Maple Ash in Tempe by ASU.

Maple Ash? I'm not familiar with it. I'm assuming because it's close to ASU then it would be close to typical "close to college" type locations, eq., restaurants, clubs, etc.

[tijlover]

Originally Posted by Not Sure 12

When I was looking at houses, it seemed that most of the places built before 1940 had wood floors with a crawl space and those built after were on slabs.

I bought a house on 16th Avenue, north of McDowell, in June of 1993, walking distance to Encanto Park, built in 1939, and it was built on a slab. When I bought the house 6/93 that area wasn't an historic district, but 6 months later it was designated as such, called the Fairview historic district. Back then I paid $50k for it, and sold it 3 years later for $85k.

It was built out of brick and stuccoed over, but I had an endless problem with termites, many treatments in 3 years, and two days after I put the house up for sale, 2 brown streaks ran down from the ceiling in the living room! Didn't think I'd ever get it sold as a result of it, but I did!

I had looked at Coronado, loved those old houses with the big porches, but they were too small for me, and I fell in love with the one long block walk to Encanto Park where I could walk my ferrets at night.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by pbenjamin

Valley Native, you always refer to Palmcroft and Encanto as if they are separate neighborhoods. There is in fact an historic district called Encanto-Palmcroft. Is there some historic distinction? Can you delineate which part is which? There are also other historic districts with Encanto in their names (Encanto Manor, Encanto Vista, North Encanto) but the one that people think of when they think of Encanto is the Encanto-Palmcroft district.

I always thought Encanto and Palmcroft were separate distinct neighborhoods ... but I just checked the map of historic districts, and you are correct that they are one and the same. What surprised me is how the southern end of Encanto Park is located in Encanto/Palmcroft, but the section of the park which most people are familiar with is actually in Encanto Vista. Makes it pretty confusing.

Another district that I think looks very similar to Encanto/Palmcroft is Willo, which is east of 7th Avenue. I know that's a separate neighborhood, but the appearance of it makes it very difficult to tell the difference between Encanto/Palmcroft (except perhaps the signage).

[observer53]

Originally Posted by gtbguy

Maple Ash? I'm not familiar with it. I'm assuming because it's close to ASU then it would be close to typical "close to college" type locations, eq., restaurants, clubs, etc.

Maple and Ash are the two streets immediately west of and parallel to Mill Ave. I haven't driven the whole area recently, but there are a lot of older homes that are student rentals. While there's lots of big trees, etc., it's generally not as nice as the Phoenix districts, IMO, largely because of the proximity to campus/convenience to students. Here's a recent article about the area: http://www.azcentral.com/community/t...ients0111.html

Back to topic, which is Phoenix historic districts. If you want to get some more input on Maple/Ash, feel free to start a new thread!

[Bondurant]

I'm thinking about looking at some homes in Coronado. Today I was driving around the neighborhood and I really like the look and vibe of the area. Previous posts in this thread have mentioned burglary but I currently do not own much of value and my possessions would likely leave a would-be robber wishing he'd never taken the risk of entering.

That aside I noticed a lot of pigeons in the area. One house in particular (on Mitchell south of Monte Vista) was swamped. I would hate to be cleaning pigeon droppings off of my car and/or porch on a regular basis. Are they a nuisance in the area?