Another bland apartment complex coming to historic downtown (Phoenix, Tucson: condo, neighborhood)

[new2colo]

The glut of apartment construction downtown seems to be causing some of the older downtown complexes (not built in the last two years) to charge cheaper rental rates. It is sad that these 4-5 story behemoths are going up all over and blocking mountain views and exacerbating the heat island. They all look exactly the same and aren't even that urban as they're surrounded by parking garages that are even taller than the buildings they serve. Streets have a more closed in feel with these buildings so close to the curb. It's unnatural for Phoenix.

[new2colo]

Originally Posted by pbenjamin

Where are all of these highrises? There are a couple of buildings under construction at the moment (Stewart, Link) that might be called highrises but most of the apartment projects being built are midrise at best. Are 4 to 6 story buildings considered highrises in Kentucky?

4-6 story buildings are huge for Phoenix.

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by new2colo

The glut of apartment construction downtown seems to be causing some of the older downtown complexes (not built in the last two years) to charge cheaper rental rates. It is sad that these 4-5 story behemoths are going up all over and blocking mountain views and exacerbating the heat island. They all look exactly the same and aren't even that urban as they're surrounded by parking garages that are even taller than the buildings they serve. Streets have a more closed in feel with these buildings so close to the curb. It's unnatural for Phoenix.

Oh no, muh precious mountain views

Sounds just like the NIMBY mentality. Again, we are the 5th biggest city and 12th biggest metro (14th biggest if you use CSA instead of MSA); it's time to build like it in high demand areas.

Now if a glut of 6 story apartments were built around say 56th St and Cactus, you might have a point, but we're talking centrally located parts of the city here.

[grmi66]

I live a mile away and drive by this development every day. Took a swing past this a few weeks ago. All of the houses other than 2 or 3 were crappy looking rentals. I'm all for saving historic houses, but these houses weren't. The story that nobody is talking about is how are the new tenants going to feel about all of the homeless that have moved into the neighborhood the past year. What used to be a few are now multitudes. Drive by the China Chili first thing in the morning and you can see 5-6 homeless camped on the front door. People in my family and my neighbors have had to curtail their running or walking routes because some of the side streets have rather sketchy characters roaming around that weren't there a year ago.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by new2colo

The glut of apartment construction downtown seems to be causing some of the older downtown complexes (not built in the last two years) to charge cheaper rental rates. It is sad that these 4-5 story behemoths are going up all over and blocking mountain views and exacerbating the heat island. They all look exactly the same and aren't even that urban as they're surrounded by parking garages that are even taller than the buildings they serve. Streets have a more closed in feel with these buildings so close to the curb. It's unnatural for Phoenix.

It's unsurprising that rents in older apartment buildings are decreasing as new buildings are erected nearby. Despite heated rhetoric about "luxury condos" and long-time residents being "forced out," an increase in supply usually leads to price competition. If we have more housing options at more price levels in the heart of the city, that's a good outcome.

As for heat, taller buildings provide much more shade than one-story bungalows. As the city works to make Third Street more amenable to pedestrians and bicyclists, it will be helpful to have more of the street in shadow at more times of day. Mountain views are nice, but when we try to preserve them at all costs, we encourage more sprawl that eventually encroaches upon the natural areas we're admiringly looking at.

Cities are intrinsically unnatural. The earliest humans were nomadic, and cities took hold only as agriculture developed. Nevertheless, allowing density and development to be concentrated in a central core seems like a good way to decrease pressure for new housing on the suburban fringe, where even more pristine desert land might be threatened by development.

I agree about the parking garages, though. Unfortunately, sometimes developers and those who finance them still cling to outmoded ratios of tenants to cars without taking in account the effects of light rail, rideshare services, and work-from-home arrangements. It will take time for that mentality to change.

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

Oh no, muh precious mountain views

Sounds just like the NIMBY mentality. Again, we are the 5th biggest city and 12th biggest metro (14th biggest if you use CSA instead of MSA); it's time to build like it in high demand areas.

Now if a glut of 6 story apartments were built around say 56th St and Cactus, you might have a point, but we're talking centrally located parts of the city here.

Hey, Firebird...

Of course we dang Arizonans love our precious mountain views. Why do you think we live here (?), and I ain't never been no dang "NIMBY". I don't mind that dang progress -- when done right.

This ain't no dang flat Florida.

We seriously don't need no dang NYC here, where all we'd ever be seeing is nuthin but canyons and canyons of concrete buildings inside an asphalt jungle.

C'mon, now, Mister Camaro, dude. Get a clue.

I luv muh preshus mountens! Wassamattau?

[kytoaz]

Originally Posted by pbenjamin

Where are all of these highrises? There are a couple of buildings under construction at the moment (Stewart, Link) that might be called highrises but most of the apartment projects being built are midrise at best. Are 4 to 6 story buildings considered highrises in Kentucky?

Pardon my lack of education regarding exactly how many floors a building has to have to be considered midrise or high rise. There's no need to be insulting or suggest that I'm some ignorant hillbilly simply because I once lived in Kentucky. Sometimes people will have different opinions than you and you actually can react to them without insults. I know this concept is foreign in todays day and age but it is still correct.

[Valley Native]

All I have to say to those who whine about buildings blocking mountain views is: BOO HOO HOO. If you want to see mountains, go live out in the exurbs or the open desert where you can have all the unobstructed mountain views you want. Better yet, why not live in a small town in the high country where the mountain views are a lot prettier than anything you can get around here?!

As for the complaints about bland apartment complexes, I agree to a point. The downtown core and the Central Corridor don't need a bunch of cheaply built, generic looking 4 to 10 story apartment buildings ... that will not increase vibrancy, bring in tourism, or create higher paying jobs. There should be true highrises and skyscrapers from 30 to 70 stories, just like most other cities our size. I say the more we obstruct our ugly brown mountains, the better!

Most of all, we don't need any more NIMBYesque transplants with their hick town attitudes moving here and complaining about a few multi story buildings blocking their precious views. These buildings which they often refer to as "highrises" are barely midrises in reality. I agree that they're not the most attractive things on earth, but they're certainly better than old dilapidated structures or trashy vacant lots.

[pbenjamin]

Originally Posted by kytoaz

Pardon my lack of education regarding exactly how many floors a building has to have to be considered midrise or high rise. There's no need to be insulting or suggest that I'm some ignorant hillbilly simply because I once lived in Kentucky. Sometimes people will have different opinions than you and you actually can react to them without insults. I know this concept is foreign in todays day and age but it is still correct.

I didn't realize that referring to Kentucky was insulting. I was wondering whether the term high rise meant something different to people from other places. Apparently it does. Sorry if I offended you.

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by Colt AZ

Hey, Firebird...

Of course we dang Arizonans love our precious mountain views. Why do you think we live here (?), and I ain't never been no dang "NIMBY". I don't mind that dang progress -- when done right.

This ain't no dang flat Florida.

We seriously don't need no dang NYC here, where all we'd ever be seeing is nuthin but canyons and canyons of concrete buildings inside an asphalt jungle.

C'mon, now, Mister Camaro, dude. Get a clue.

I luv muh preshus mountens! Wassamattau?

Hard to tell if your post is serious or not (my post was 100% serious, you can't have low density in the central core of a major city unless you want those crappy houses to go up in value to like $10 million dollars a piece)