Light Rail (Phoenix: lofts, neighborhoods, private schools)

[fcorrales80]

Originally Posted by ArizonaBear

For a 'nowhere to nowhere' line---------the LR sure has a hell of a lot of ridership.

In fact: I rode the thing again today.

The fact that I am car-less at the moment does make a difference in all fairness.

I have a car but hardly use it. My boyfriend just got home and he is loving the weather (reminds him of the cool Iowa rain) and mentioned that the train was full right now.

[HX_Guy]

fcorrales80: Where about do you live in downtown?

[fcorrales80]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

fcorrales80: Where about do you live in downtown?

In the Roosevelt district.

[HX_Guy]

Nice, lucky you. I'd love to have an old craftsman house in downtown. Or something in Orpheum Lofts. Or in Portland Place. Or 44 Monroe.

K...I think you get the picture.

[fcorrales80]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

Nice, lucky you. I'd love to have an old craftsman house in downtown. Or something in Orpheum Lofts. Or in Portland Place. Or 44 Monroe.

K...I think you get the picture.

LOL, I actually am thinking of buying a condo in one of the Towers. I was looking online at the condos that will be offered at CityScape and am VERY interested. I have a friend moving from Chicago and they are interested in buying my house if I so wish to sell. I bought it recently when the price dropped a little. I lived in an older building on Roosevelt before buying in the neighborhood.

[HX_Guy]

Don't hold your breath on the condos at Cityscape, they may be scrapped in favor of office space above the hotel portion. It's still up in the air at this point.

The prices at 44 Monroe and Summit have really come down in comparison to what they once were, you can actually get in those buildings for under $300k now.

[fcorrales80]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

Don't hold your breath on the condos at Cityscape, they may be scrapped in favor of office space above the hotel portion. It's still up in the air at this point.

The prices at 44 Monroe and Summit have really come down in comparison to what they once were, you can actually get in those buildings for under $300k now.

I been in contact with the person of contact for cityScape and they are still building the condos above the hotel and some may be offered for lease instead of making them all for sale. Yes, the prices are marvelous right now. I would want a larger space however with a great "garden" balcony. Ahhh, I can just picture it now!!!

[HX_Guy]

Oh yea? I didn't know what about Cityscape, who was it that gave you the info? What other info do they have on the condos...any specifics on price/sizes/number of floors and units?

[fcorrales80]

I've talked with Steve Graham... sgraham@reddevelopment.com and jdaniels@reddevelopment.com in Scottsdale. I will private message you phone numbers. I found out about the condos from a real estate agent working with Red and CityScape...I'll ask he for her info. But I'm sure the two contacts above can give you that info. I didn't get into the specifics but asked about the condos since they will not be ready until after 2010. But you can sign up to be among the first to get a sneak peak of the development.

Cityscape :: Priority Preview List (http://www.downtownphxrising.org/preview_list.asp - broken link)

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

I would ask "why"? We have been the fastest growing city (or 2nd to another one that has no light rail) in the US without light rail.

And massive growth is good for what reasons besides fueling the real estate empire and generating sales tax revenue? I have said time and time before that there comes a point where this area cannot keep sprawling itself to prosperity.

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Tourism is nice to have, but what we need for the future is job producing industry.

You are correct that our future should be reliant on industry and better jobs ... but the growth we have experienced over the past 50 years or so hasn't produced the amount of large industry, nor drawn very many reputable firms to base their HQs in the Valley. For a metro area this size, there is a sufficient lack of corporate HQs with competitive wages.

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

A quality education system is more important than light rail in attracting investment and yet we spend billions on a nice ride for yuppies while their kids go to substandard schools. Priorities...

Those so called "yuppies" (a term I haven't heard used in at least a decade) can find some good private schools to send their spoiled kids. We already spend a great deal of tax money on schools ... and it seems that no matter how much we throw into the public system, there will always be the complainers and bleeding hearts that fuss about how there isn't enough funding.

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Let's be honest, here. What do most people on this forum ask abou? I'll tell you. They ask for safe areas with good schools. Practically no one asks "is it served by light rail" - the urbanistas volunteer that info as in "move to Tempe, there's light rail there". But the only people who care are 20-somethings that can't afford a car, tree-hugging greens and assorted socialists, or people looking for NYC in the Sonoran Desert.

Nice labels. You, on the other hand, seem to be such an advocate for increased spending for public education (on top of the massive amount of burdening taxation we are faced with as it is). You tell ME who the socialist is!

Now, back to the light rail issue: in some ways I agree with you that it has been a huge hype, and there are other priorities that we need to focus on. Ever since 2000, I have had mixed opinions ... not strongly for light rail, but not completely against it either. What you and the other harsh rail critics seem to overlook is the fact that the vast majority of voters approved these transit initiatives TWICE. This is a pretty strong indication that most people here want better mass transit, including rail options. Light rail is running, and the ridership has exceeded expectations. It is not going away. Perhaps the outspoken critics need to either accept it, or else move to a smaller city/town where there is less of a threat for progress such as this.