Gilbert on the Rise (Phoenix, Mesa: sales, new home, homebuyer)

[asufan]

Originally Posted by apple92680

Yeah, and it shows!

Sounds like Apple has seen me surf. Thanks!

[Maroon197]

Originally Posted by Sno0909

Eastmark is cool. But it's one small community in a massive city. Not to mention, it's basically an extension of Gilbert. So what's your point?

Serious question: what is cool about eastmark? It looks like a generic tract-homes-on-tiny-lots neighborhood like you can find literally anywhere. It also looks uncomfortably close to the airport/jet noise.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by Maroon197

Serious question: what is cool about eastmark? It looks like a generic tract-homes-on-tiny-lots neighborhood like you can find literally anywhere.

I'm not the person you quoted but I'll add my 2 cents It was designed by DMB, who also did DC Ranch, Verrado and Marley Park. Some of the things DMB requires of their builders is unique floorplans with higher design features. They also design their communities in a neo traditional style with little community parks and front porches. They encourage a sense of community and don't design the neighborhoods with bare bones minimal amenities most developers do (and I'm in the industry).

My opinion: the neighborhood streets are too narrow, the houses on average are too close together (small lot sizes). I like the small neighborhood parks and the main park next to the high school is pretty killer. The baseball fields are well manicured compared to most parks and the playground is above average. I'd like to see more variety of housing.

[Maroon197]

Originally Posted by asufan

I'm not the person you quoted but I'll add my 2 cents It was designed by DMB, who also did DC Ranch, Verrado and Marley Park. Some of the things DMB requires of their builders is unique floorplans with higher design features. They also design their communities in a neo traditional style with little community parks and front porches. They encourage a sense of community and don't design the neighborhoods with bare bones minimal amenities most developers do (and I'm in the industry).

My opinion: the neighborhood streets are too narrow, the houses on average are too close together (small lot sizes). I like the small neighborhood parks and the main park next to the high school is pretty killer. The baseball fields are well manicured compared to most parks and the playground is above average. I'd like to see more variety of housing.

Appreciate the response. I think all of that sounds interesting in theory, but in practice is looks more like “generic phx tract home neighborhood #4,328.” The homes look like typical east valley tract homes, the “parks” are mostly just grass drainage ditches, the lots are tiny with houses pressed right up against each other, the retail access is minimal, etc. If there is anything substantial that sets it apart from anything else, I can’t figure out what it is.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by Maroon197

Appreciate the response. I think all of that sounds interesting in theory, but in practice is looks more like “generic phx tract home neighborhood #4,328.” The homes look like typical east valley tract homes, the “parks” are mostly just grass drainage ditches, the lots are tiny with houses pressed right up against each other, the retail access is minimal, etc. If there is anything substantial that sets it apart from anything else, I can’t figure out what it is.

Like I said in the post you quoted, they do higher design and have more/better amenities. Yes, the grassy community parks also serve as retention. But 95% of the time it's where kids play, there's more of those parks than average communities and they usually have playgrounds too. I also mentioned the design. Sidewalks are set back with additional landscaping and street trees, materials differ from most developments such as the community walls are not just unpainted CMU blocks, additional community landscaping and lots of amenities at the main community park that aren't available everywhere.

It's not for me, but it's definitely better than a majority of Mesa newer developments.

[Valley Native]

The article makes a comparison of Gilbert to Scottsdale, which is kind of ironic because downtown Gilbert resembles Old Town Scottsdale from the 1970s. The article also correctly points out that Gilbert is no longer the small farming town that it was decades ago. It has seen exponential growth since the 1990s, and the population is now well over 250,000. Thus, it can no longer truthfully be called a "town". Why Gilbert chooses to be the nation's largest "town" is beyond comprehension.

On the positive side, it's encouraging to see that Gilbert is attractive to those with higher incomes. A fair amount of "family friendly" communities tend to be on the lower end of the scale in this regard. Somebody mentioned earlier that Gilbert is a clone of Santa Clarita, CA. I don't know if that's good or bad, but it would be great if it could be more like Irvine, CA. Chandler is becoming something like that already, so it would be all for the better if Chandler's influence could spill over to Gilbert.

[WanderingRebel]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

The article makes a comparison of Gilbert to Scottsdale, which is kind of ironic because downtown Gilbert resembles Old Town Scottsdale from the 1970s. The article also correctly points out that Gilbert is no longer the small farming town that it was decades ago. It has seen exponential growth since the 1990s, and the population is now well over 250,000. Thus, it can no longer truthfully be called a "town". Why Gilbert chooses to be the nation's largest "town" is beyond comprehension.

On the positive side, it's encouraging to see that Gilbert is attractive to those with higher incomes. A fair amount of "family friendly" communities tend to be on the lower end of the scale in this regard. Somebody mentioned earlier that Gilbert is a clone of Santa Clarita, CA. I don't know if that's good or bad, but it would be great if it could be more like Irvine, CA. Chandler is becoming something like that already, so it would be all for the better if Chandler's influence could spill over to Gilbert.

People continue to talk about this. So maybe it's just a marketing ploy?

[WanderingRebel]

Originally Posted by Maroon197

Serious question: what is cool about eastmark? It looks like a generic tract-homes-on-tiny-lots neighborhood like you can find literally anywhere. It also looks uncomfortably close to the airport/jet noise.

It's not my cup of tea, personally. But it has a lot of cool home architecture for being tract homes. A lot of grass, trees, playgrounds, and community gathering events. It's just different from your run-of-the-mill development. Sure, it has its cons, like airport and not much around it (yet); but compared to many other tract developments, it's in an upper tier.

[john3232]

RE agent Rick McHone mentions an article that points to 85212 in Mesa as the fourth most desired neighborhood in the Valley.

85212 homes aren't cheap either. New construction - over 600k..

1. Scottsdale 85254
2. Queens Creek 85142
3. Goodyear 85338
4. 85212 Mesa

See 2:30 mark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYqSUZOSqcs&t=130s

[pbenjamin]

I tend not to pay attention to this sort of nonsense but any list that has Queen Creek near the top of it must give points for Walmarts per capita. FWIW all but a few square feet of 85254 is in Phoenix, not Scottsdale.