Wal-Mart Supercenter opening in Metrocenter in 2016 (Phoenix: landlord, living, versus)

[Potential_Landlord]

Originally Posted by Juram

And new places such as Outback Steakhouse, First Watch, Hooters and Buffalo Wild Wings have opened up.



The area is pretty centrally located to just about everything and there's still a ton of restaurants and commerce there too. New places such as In N Out have popped up in recent years. Your comment about people not going there simply isn't supported if you drive through that area on a Friday night, restaurant after restaurant is packed.

No doubt the area has big potential with the right concept. I think one of the problems we have here in Phoenix is the "grow on the fringes and neglect the core" policy. We are good at building out nice new neighborhoods at the fringes but we are not so good at preventing older neighborhoods from slipping into less and less desirable areas.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by Juram

And new places such as Outback Steakhouse, First Watch, Hooters and Buffalo Wild Wings have opened up.



The area is pretty centrally located to just about everything and there's still a ton of restaurants and commerce there too. New places such as In N Out have popped up in recent years. Your comment about people not going there simply isn't supported if you drive through that area on a Friday night, restaurant after restaurant is packed.

Yes, they opened up after several places closed down. And those are chains located all over the Valley, so you are not really going to attract anyone to venture to the Metrocenter. That area is not close to Scottsdale, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Fountain Hills, Queen Creek...yeah pretty much half the Valley so your claim that it is centrally located to everything is a bit far fetched. Being centrally located in the 1980's does not mean it is centrally located now. And you fail to understand how dangerously close it is to becoming a blighted area. It has a bad reputation. It got a Wal-Mart because it couldn't get anything else.

"It (Metrocenter) had the potential of turning into a slum," said District 1 Councilwoman Thelda Williams. "Now, it will bring confidence to neighbors, businesses and will bring potential retailers seeking space inside the mall."When the council designated the area a blight using state laws in February 2013, it asked residents, businesses and other stakeholders what they would like to see it become. The council asked for economic development, light-rail extension, such recreational amenities as swimming pools, college campuses and a cleanup.


http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/...cline/6657193/

Originally Posted by grmi66

Have you ever been around Metro at lunch time? There are a bunch of people that work in the business parks and office complexes just on the east side of the freeway. Never said that it would attract people from downtown or even central Phoenix. On top of that there are a lot of business travelers that stay at all of those hotels along the freeway. All need a place to spend their expense accounts.

While not considered central Phoenix, Metrocenter is centrally located to everywhere in the valley. When I lived in the area it took me 30-45 minutes to get to most places in the valley. Took me 30 minutes to Scottsdale and 30 minutes to Goodyear.

I have dined there during lunch both now and back when it was actually busy. I have many friends who are consultants that worked for American Express. If you are using the 30 minute criteria, a lot of places would be considered centrally located. North Chandler is pretty centrally located then. I can drive to Tempe, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Avondale, Tolleson and Glendale in 30 minutes. A lot of places in the Valley would qualify under that criteria. Places that are genuinely centrally located are central Phoenix, Paradise Valley, North Tempe, and South Scottsdale. No one in the East Valley would consider Metro Center to be centrally located.

[YAZ]

Hey River,

It has been "iffy" around MC for a while now.....

[Potential_Landlord]

What percentage of our older neighborhoods -say 30+ years old- are blighted or at least undesirable in your opinions? Is Metrocenter rather the exception or the norm for older Phoenix areas? Also, does that mean you have to live in newer, fringe neighborhoods or you run a serious risk of ending up in a questionable area?

[grmi66]

Personally I think it's a step in the right direction. For too long Phoenix has worried about growing it's fringes, rather than invest in the center core. Still think the area has a lot of potential for working class and middle class folks. Even if you are not wealthy, you still want a decent place to shop or grab a bite to eat. I'm really into doing stuff outdoors and the Metrocenter area has great access to bike paths, Rose Mofford Park for things like soccer and softball and North Mountain is minutes away with miles of some of the best hiking in the city.

If you can't tell, I'm a big fan of that part of the city. So I'm hoping for the best and can't wait to move back to area soon. Would rather live in a funky neighborhood in north central Phoenix than out in the 'burbs.

[Potential_Landlord]

Originally Posted by grmi66

Personally I think it's a step in the right direction. For too long Phoenix has worried about growing it's fringes, rather than invest in the center core. Still think the area has a lot of potential for working class and middle class folks. Even if you are not wealthy, you still want a decent place to shop or grab a bite to eat. I'm really into doing stuff outdoors and the Metrocenter area has great access to bike paths, Rose Mofford Park for things like soccer and softball and North Mountain is minutes away with miles of some of the best hiking in the city.

If you can't tell, I'm a big fan of that part of the city. So I'm hoping for the best and can't wait to move back to area soon. Would rather live in a funky neighborhood in north central Phoenix than out in the 'burbs.

This makes a lot of sense. We should not come to a situation where we have to rename the city core to "Detroit".

[Juram]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

Yes, they opened up after several places closed down. And those are chains located all over the Valley, so you are not really going to attract anyone to venture to the Metrocenter.

Yet there's a reason why they opened up. Your original post made it sound like the entire area was just dying away and no new businesses were opening which simply isn't true. The actual mall has been struggling but the area as a whole has seen an increase in investment and more new businesses opening up over the past couple of years.

That area is not close to Scottsdale, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Fountain Hills, Queen Creek...yeah pretty much half the Valley so your claim that it is centrally located to everything is a bit far fetched. Being centrally located in the 1980's does not mean it is centrally located now. And you fail to understand how dangerously close it is to becoming a blighted area. It has a bad reputation. It got a Wal-Mart because it couldn't get anything else.

From that point in the Valley I can get to Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Chandler, Tempe, Mesa, Ahwatukee, Laveen, Glendale, Peoria, Surprise, Avondale, Goodyear, Buckeye, Anthem, the vast majority of Valley cities, all within 30 minutes. That's the veritable definition of being "centrally located" whether you agree with that or not.


Chandler is not centrally located, neither is Scottsdale nor Fountain Hills. From Chandler to Surprise is over an hour's drive for example.

[YAZ]

Originally Posted by Potential_Landlord

What percentage of our older neighborhoods -say 30+ years old- are blighted or at least undesirable in your opinions? Is Metrocenter rather the exception or the norm for older Phoenix areas? Also, does that mean you have to live in newer, fringe neighborhoods or you run a serious risk of ending up in a questionable area?

It's "hit or miss."

A friend of mine lives just south of MC (Dunlap & 35thave)....can't seem to keep a basketball hoop in his driveway. Just keeps running away from home......?

We're over on 39th ave & Peoria and while we keep the doors locked, we don't have any issues. Some graffiti when we first bought the place in 2009, but that was a one time thing.

Knock on wood.

When shopping around, I would concentrate on the number of rentals in the immediate vicinity. Not saying that every rental community is "undesirable", it just seems all too often it's a "common denominator."

We really like the older neighborhoods of Phoenix; there's a certain charm. Houses look different from each other, old growth landscaping, no HOAs, etc. You can actually use your RV gate for an RV, build a tiki hut that MIGHT be visible from one of your neighbor's yards, etc.

I mentioned HOAs....

We have enough of those threads.....sorry.


Many of our neighbors like to use the term "gentrification", while describing our little neck of the woods.

[YAZ]

North Mountain redevelopment planned

I'm glad that you posted this, River.

Expanding Ottawa U and creating some upscale office space would be an excellent start. If we made the perimeter of MC a little more "walker friendly" then it would have a solid chance of rebounding. There are some fun places to have dinner & drinks on the northern edge.....It'd be cool to see more of that all around the MC.

Gotta be a market for it though.......

I hope it happens sooner rather than later.....it's depressing to see that ocean sized parking lot.

[grmi66]

Originally Posted by YAZ

It's "hit or miss."



We're over on 39th ave & Peoria and while we keep the doors locked, we don't have any issues. Some graffiti when we first bought the place in 2009, but that was a one time thing.

Knock on wood.

My old neck of the woods, lived near that intersection for almost 8 years and left in 2007. Worst thing we had was some graffiti out in the alley, called the city and someone sandblasted the wall for us within a couple of days. Had a couple of Section 8 rentals next door to me, so it was hit or miss on the renters it attracted.