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Can anyone tell me about the neighborhood between 28th St and 36th St in North/Northwest Boise? It seems to be much more affordable than the Northend and Highlands area but it still has a central location and close to the foothills.
Does anyone have an opinion or insight on this area? Is there more crime in this area or have housing prices taken a bigger hit?
There's some good schools tucked away in those neighborhoods. Taft and Lowell Elementary come to mind along with St. Mary's, which I believe is just outside the area you mentioned. All are schools that have good reputations within the community.
Average price of sold homes for the past few months have hovered around 300K, so it's very affordable considering the closeness to the city and the foothills. If you're concerned about crime, probably the best thing to do is contact the Boise Police department. Find out what officer patrols that area and see if they can pull up that jurisdiction and give you a report on specific crimes. Whoever patrols that beat should be able to give you a good idea if there's any problem in that neighborhood. I can't imagine it being all that bad, maybe some petty crime... there really aren't a lot of "bad" areas in Boise.
I used to attend a private high school at the site of the new(er) Albertson's on State and 36th. Since my fam lived in the Highlands, that whole neighborhood you're referencing was my commute. It's a great area and pretty much maintains the Boise North End vibe.
Some streets through there get some heavy through-traffic, so speeding can be an issue. If you have kids and want to put in a driveway b-ball hoop or play in the street, you'll definitely want to look into traffic survey stats. Both 28th and 36th will put you at major through streets, whereas in the back there are just certain connections that work out for drivers who know the area. (When I was a pizza delivery driver [and a thoughtless teen with a tunnel-vision conscience] for what was formerly Roundtable on State and Glenwood , I used to haul a** through some of those streets to make time on busy days.) A lot of uncontrolled intersections, so responsible drivers have to be vigilant.
One street, Irene, that cuts eastward of 28th and connects to Harrison Blvd, actually got so bad that they had to install stop signs, lower the speed limit, and build "nuisance" structures to dissuade traffic and force speeders to slow down. It was a neighborhood street (30 mph back in the day) and people would go in excess of 50 mph down it. Crossing it via perpindicular streets was terrifying, so I can only imagine how the neighborhood residents felt. Last time I visited, I noted that a lot of streets had followed in Irene's notions, so maybe those neighborhoods don't have that wiley traffic problem any more.
Also, speaking of wiley factions, some of those neighborhoods will have younger crowds due to the affordable housing. The demographic mix is mostly elderly retired folk, lower income conservative families, and working youth, so "flop houses" aren't as tolerated around there as they would be in Garden City, around Front and Myrtle, and in some areas of South or West Boise. Nonetheless, you'll get a lot of the multi-tenant service sector demographic who keep odd hours and want to "let loose en masse" several nights a week. Personally, I like those kind of neighbors, 'cause I have a sound machine and am still young and a veteran of the service sector, allowing me to appreciate regular parties within an easy commute (easy to arrive and just as easy to leave). Still, a lot of folks understandably can't stand those sort of neighbors. If that's you, you'll want to be wary of neighborhoods in that area that have rental homes. Neighborhoods where everyone owns and lives in their house are more likely to be quiet and family-friendly.
TruckingBronco,
As you've noted, this area is close-in and a great deal more affordable than the true North-End and the Highlands. The housing will differ as well with perhaps not the quaint charm of the North-end homes, but generally the lots will be larger. This area does have a larger percentage of rentals (on an average of 35% for the area bordered by State/Hill and 28th/Collister) but there are wonderful pockets of neighborhoods where that percentage is much lower (i.e. Oak Park is only 8% rentals). Some of this area is outside the specific streets you've inquired about, but same general area.
Housing prices are down throughout Ada County, and in that particular area, the average value is down 11% from the previous calendar year. Great news for buyers and there is a fair amount of inventory to choose from (44 current listings ranging from 100K - 400K)
You can compare crime stats at www.adaweb.net/mapping/ Type in an address and start clicking the various crimes to see what has been reported in the neighborhood.
Thanks everyone for the good info. After a little more searching, the area that I'm interested in is east between 36th and Sycomore and north of Taft. Does anyone have an opinion on this area? It seems to be an established area and it's near the new Garden Center Development (not sure if this is a good or bad thing). Thanks.
Truckingbronco:
Being near the Garden Center Development is a good thing as it will help not only the resale value of neighborhoring communities, but also provides the convenience of having a community center nearby with retail, coffee shops, dental offices, etc. Within the smaller area you've defined, you'll have fewer housing choices (6 current active listings, 2 of which are in the Garden Center Development), but there are wonderful neighborhods such as Oak Park (mentioned in my previous post), Stone Creek sub, Sycamore sub which are largely owner occupied, close to Catalpa Park and foothills hiking. The well priced and presented listings won't last long so it may be a watch and wait game for you if you stick to this area.
That area is a nice one. Collister, Taft, and Catalpa have heavy traffic, but I believe the streets among those are okay. If traffic bothers you like it bothers me, you may want to look at streets that don't go through from Taft to Catalpa (ones that go off and onto the same road or dead end). If you find a house you like, you should be able to get a feel for the traffic just by standing out front and watching during morning rush hour (when school and work crowds will blend). You'll be a short drive through Garden City to get to the connector, which will make the entire Treasure Valley quickly accessible. You'll also have State St and Hill Rd nearby, one being a major street of Boise and the other offering minimal traffic lights on the way to Downtown.
I believe a lot of the houses in that area have nice yards and plush vegetation, too, so you won't have to share a kitchen window view with your neighbor.
Trucking Bronco,You have picked a great area for ease of access and convenience. I am a realtor and have a listing on 36th that is both afforable and a good value. Everyone that I talk to loves that area because it is close to everything but not in the thick of downtown. It is close to the foothills, greenbelt, downtown, BSU and quick access to the I-84 connector.
I like the idea of the big lots. The northend is nice, but I don't think I want to deal with the hassles associated with an old home. It also seems like there is alot of "bad" pockets in that area associated with flop houses and rentals. The eastend also seems great but it's a little pricey.
Thanks again
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). Still, a lot of folks understandably can't stand those sort of neighbors. If that's you, you'll want to be wary of neighborhoods in that area that have rental homes. Neighborhoods where everyone owns and lives in their house are more likely to be quiet and family-friendly.
