The Diversity of Scottsdale - north, central, and south sections (Phoenix: 2009, apartments)

[homlish560]

Found some interesting pics of Scottsdale that show the contrasts between northern, southern, and central sections. Quite a difference I would say!!!!!!!!!

north Scottsdale




south Scottsdale




central Scottsdale - including Downtown and Old town

[Valley Native]

Excellent photos as always! I haven't been to downtown Scottsdale lately, but I always enjoy the Fashion Square and Waterfront areas whenever I'm there. The last I heard, they were extending the Waterfront eastward across Scottsdale Road. Does anybody know if that is completed yet ... or is it being constructed in different phases? Maybe some photos could be posted here of the "new" Waterfront when it's all done.

[azdr0710]

re: area E of the Waterfront.....

on the N side of the canal E of Scottsdale Rd, a condo/retail area is sprouting...not bad looking, but that specific spot has always felt, to me, a little out of the way and difficult to access....just my feeling on that....

on the S side of the canal E of Scottsdale Rd, a developer is haggling with the city and various neighbors over his plans for that spot....one issue is they want to move a pesky electric substation that's right in the way to an area where others will then be affected....this development is called something like Solis or Solaris, I think....city and developer are obviously trying to squeeze what they can out of each other and the economy is slowing things, too....older apartments in the area will be torn down....decent location if it ever goes....

[joninaz]

The canal development on the East side is moving forward. The substation is being moved and that got the final OK. It's all going to be high end stuff, so not my thing. But the plans are quite cool.

What I like is the redevelopment of the older, southern housing stock. There are thousands of ranch homes which were the cutting edge neighborhoods for metro PHX in the 50s and 60s - one of which is picture #5 in the original post. This was when Thomas or Indian School & Scottsdale Rd. was the extreme NE valley. These days the houses seem bland. But they have great bones, sit on nice lots, and the location is great.

A number of savvy folks are snapping them up and giving them face lifts. If you like Trader Vics, the Clarendon, Valley Ho, Tuck Shop, etc. - these are similar DNA. I'll have to drive around and take pics of some faves.

[azdr0710]

joninaz.....

what is the Tuck Shop?....yes, those older S Scotts 'hoods are an awesome location now.....could be the next hotspot??....does have a bit of a negative rep right now, but.....

[Ghost of the Desert]

South Scottsdale is a bit rough around the edges, but still a pretty cool place to be (at least where I hang out.)

[homlish560]

Now here's the north-central section of Scottsdale that oozes with greenery!!!!!!!!!

[azdr0710]

homlish....

great shots that give a more real and candid view of the city - not some C of C brochure giving highly-posed promotional views....

but calling Scottsdale Shadows "north central"??....maybe 75 years ago it'd be!!.....

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by azdr0710

but calling Scottsdale Shadows "north central"??....maybe 75 years ago it'd be!!.....

Scottsdale didn't even exist as a city 75 years ago. In fact, up until about 15 years ago, it was known as "the West's Most Western Town" ... not too different from Tombstone's image as an old west type of tourist attraction. Only recently has it become more cosmopolitan and diverse.

In any event, I really enjoy the various photos of the Phoenix metro area ... especially seeing all the places with greenery. The Valley in general still has a reputation of being mostly rows of subdivisions with rock lawns & cactus. It's good to see there's a lot of greenery to be found, particularly in the older parts.

[Rogarven]

I had an aunt and uncle that lived in one of those older type houses on Granada(?) back in the late 70's that was nothing fancy but it had big rooms and a big yard. I don't think that it was all that expensive then as they were not rich people. It was a very handy location to everything, IIRC.