Midwest meets Southwest! Neat! (apartment, homes, neighborhood)

[El_Waiboi]

That is cool! I always envisioned Gilbert as street after street full of cookie-cutter homes that all look the same and have absolutely no character. You post pleasantly surprised me, thanks for sharing.

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by PinkElephant

Both the food and the homes were great. I would not want to live on the side with no parking, wonder what the reason was for not making the streets just a bit wider? I would like to visit if not live there!

"To the greatest extent possible, we try to eliminate those things that tend to isolate people. Such barriers include: block walls, overly wide streets, uninviting streetscapes, lack of porches or other social space, garage doors on the streets, lack of usable parks, and speeding traffic. We’ll also do things that favor pedestrians over cars. While we need cars, walking and visiting is more apt to build a relationship than driving around."

Neighborhood / Lifestyle | Agritopia

[PhinsFan1]

Agritopia is a great little neighborhood and a refreshing change from the brown stucco and block walls around backyards that you see everywhere around here. There's a nice dog park next to Agritopia, it's close to the highway, and San Tan Mall.

Joe's has great food, and a really fun, family atmosphere. The picnic tables outside are usually packed on the weekends. There's also a fabulous coffee shop next to Joe's. They serve great breakfasts and lunches, and the cupcakes and scones are deeeeelish! The owner was in Cupcake Wars. Can't remember if she won or not.

Great pix. Thanks for posting

[CheyDee]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

Not sure what one like that particular one might cost but we did stop by an Open House at one of the homes (only home we even saw available for sale) and it was $365,000 for 4,500 sq ft. It was huge, one story on the main level and a huuuuge basement that was probably bigger than the main level. House had a total of 6 bedrooms!

There appears to be 5 active houses for sale right now. The other two that have similar square footage & basements are over $400k. (One has a pool.) The two smaller houses without basements appear to be around $200k +/-.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by youthinkso

That community must suck up a LOT of water in the warmer months.

Doesn't belong in the desert.

There are a lot of communities like that in the Valley. Please let's stop with the water shortage paranoia

[Chelito23]

The pictures actually remind me of California neighborhoods. For that to be the midwest, people would need muuuuch larger yards....but I like the style of the homes. And the old Spanish thrown in too looks nice.

[ShampooBanana]

Love that development and I've been by there many times. If it wasn't so darn far from where I work (N. Scottsdale) I would buy there in a heartbeat, but alas... Verrado is very nice, too, but has that same distance problem for me.

[IrishGypsyGal]

This looks fantastic! My boyfriend and I will be relocating to Phoenix later this fall. One of my primary concerns (having grown up with personal gardens in the Midwest) was finding community land to rent and garden. Now I see that there are places relatively close to the metro area that this can be done.

Alas, I won't be able to afford living in this area (not looking to buy a home, especially at that price range, for quite some time) but it is nice to see a little slice of agriculture in the desert too. I don't want to take away from its own uniqueness and splendor, but it is nice to know if I start to miss green yards and leafy trees I can find them somewhere nearby.

[El_Waiboi]

Originally Posted by CodyW

Agritopia is a neat development. Have you ever headed out to Verrado? I'm sure you have. A bit more new urbanist in nature.. at least the first phase of development. The current stuff they're building out there is just more of the same suburban stuff. Shame, really. The trees and craftsman style homes almost seem like a nice oasis in the desert.

Agritopia is better situated within the metro area, though.. close to the San Tan mall area. Verrado is still out there on its own a bit, but won't be so bad once commercial development picks back up in Goodyear.

I have never actually been to either Agritopia or Verrado, but this thread sparked an interest. So I spent a while cruising up and down the streets on google streetview, and I would like a little clarification if you don't mind: What do you (or anyone else who cares to respond) mean by, "A bit more new urbanist in nature" in reference to Verrado?

I ask because after streetviewing through these two different developements, the seem to me to be fairly identical in setup and appearance. Granted, I have never actually been to either one. Anyone who has, speak on it. What do you feel are the key differences (if any) between Agritopia and Verrado? Aside from Geographic location, what makes these two communities unique from each other?

[CodyW]

Verrado was more than just homes for its first phase, it also featured it's own commercial center in the middle of the neighborhood (called "Main Street" there), with a CVS, Bashas, and a few restaurants. There are also office spaces with live/work units above them, as well as some regular apartments above the retail. It's this mixed use element that designates it a "New Urbanist" community, rather than Agritopia which is a neighborhood with small lots and alley-facing garages - both of which are also present in Verrado. In addition, Verrado has a range of lot sizes within the development, allowing for a variety of home styles and income levels, where as Agritopia is more uniform throughout.

That isn't to take away anything from Agritopia. It's a fantastic neighborhood. But it's focused around a community farm rather than a main street. Different strokes for different folks.