Tempe embraces urban transformation (Phoenix, Mesa: apartment complexes, credit, townhouses)

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

I would move to Tempe in a heartbeat if I could be within walking distance to the growing urban core but also in a nice, upscale-feeling neighborhood.

I would too but I think that is still 10 years away at the earliest realistically speaking.

[observer53]

What's walking distance for you?

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by observer53

What's walking distance for you?

I would say within a mile. I walk much more than that on a daily basis, but for going to dinner, etc., I think somewhere around a mile seems reasonable.

[SillyButtons]

College kids are already beginning to be priced out of some of the nicer apartments/ condos in certain areas. It is happening, but slowly.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by SillyButtons

College kids are already beginning to be priced out of some of the nicer apartments/ condos in certain areas. It is happening, but slowly.

That's what we need; make a college town too expensive for college students. Why not just close ASU and build luxury apartments? Maybe Tempe ought to stay what it is instead of undergoing an "urban transformation".

[new2colo]

Originally Posted by AlohaFriday

Phoenix better watch out or suburbs will overtake it in coming decades. Tempe and Scottsdale are far more progressive about growing and attracting business. Although, Scottsdale's snafu was not getting light rail up there. Hopefully that changes in the future. They should build an L. (elevated train)

Overtake it how? In terms of urban centers, yes. In terms of population and the central city status, no. Phoenix has 1.6 million people compared to 170K in Tempe and 230K in Scottsdale. Unless Tempe achieves the density of Tokyo, that city will never challenge Phoenix and Scottsdale is not growing that fast.

Phoenix will always be the state capital and the dominant city no matter what Tempe does.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by new2colo

Overtake it how? In terms of urban centers, yes. In terms of population and the central city status, no. Phoenix has 1.6 million people compared to 170K in Tempe and 230K in Scottsdale. Unless Tempe achieves the density of Tokyo, that city will never challenge Phoenix and Scottsdale is not growing that fast.

Phoenix will always be the state capital and the dominant city no matter what Tempe does.

In terms of jobs and economic growth, Phoenix is already beaten out. Not one city has done it of course but the burbs attract virtually all of the new job centers and much of the new population. Phoenix proper is in decline with falling tax revenues, budget problems, rising crime and urban decay. It has lost its football and hockey teams to Glendale, baseball teams that came went to the burbs, the few big employers who are coming here are going to Chandler or Tempe or other cities in the area. Phoenix has even turned Democrat which is a hallmark of a city in decline. Phoenix is not Detroit, but it is not what it once was either.

[Craziaskowboi]

My favorite thing about Tempe is this band:

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

As I've mentioned in the past, Tempe will be the most talked about and lauded city in the Valley. It is receiving it's own Austin-like resurgence. I really love the direction the city is taking. It's a clean, liberal, well located and educated city. It's suburbs to the south are also very nice. I'm surprised more people don't consider Tempe as an option.

The title of this thread really should be: "Tempe embraces MORE urban transformation". The downtown/Mill Avenue district/ASU area has been quite urban and dense for a while now. With all the infill and upward development taking place, it will be even more of an urban center. South Tempe, on the other hand, is still suburban and probably will be that way in the foreseeable future.

As far as why more people don't consider Tempe as an option, keep in mind that the city is landlocked. It has no further room to grow outward like many other Valley cities do ... so the only way it can keep growing is to build inward & upward. Because it is landlocked, it is growing at a slower rate than a suburb like Gilbert or Surprise which still have lots of vacant land within their city limits to build upon. Many people still prefer to live in a suburban setting, but there are also a growing number of people (especially younger ones) who would prefer to live in a denser urban environment.

Originally Posted by BoiWonder13

I think the additional of Marina Heights well set Tempe off, I saw the view last night of the construction site and it was beautiful...

Yes, most of the construction cranes are along & near the lakefront. As criticized as the Tempe Lake was in the beginning, I believe it has paid off, and is now attracting lots of new business and residents.

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

That's what we need; make a college town too expensive for college students. Why not just close ASU and build luxury apartments? Maybe Tempe ought to stay what it is instead of undergoing an "urban transformation".

What's it to you? I thought you lived in an exurban paradise, and didn't care about what goes on in the more urbanized areas. I highly doubt what Tempe does will affect your life one way or the other.

[Jukesgrrl]

I love Tempe. I, too, think the recent transformations are beautiful and could keep the town growing. I would love to buy there when I move to the Phoenix metro. But what I will want is a condo and to be perfectly honest with you, I don't feel comfortable investing in Tempe. First, many of the new multiple-unit dwellings in Tempe are meant for college students.

But I've heard horror stories (they've even been covered on local TV news) about condo buildings miles from campus being taken over by students who turn the building into party central. And it tends to be the very worst students who do this — people who have worn out their welcome on ASU property. They just move the party several miles away. And there's very little long-time unit-owners can do about 24-hour comings and goings if multiple units fall into the hands of fraternity boys who have been banned from campus.

I had first-hand experience with this problem when I lived in Pittsburgh. I owned a house on that city's South Side for 13 years. When I bought there, it was on a slightly down-at-the heels street ripe for gentrification. The majority of homes were owned by elderly people. As they died off, their children either ran the homes as rentals themselves or sold them to entrepreneurs who turned them into multiple-unit dwellings and rented the apartments to students. The entire street became flooded with students from both Pitt and Duquesne University, both a short drive away. Every house suddenly had 3 and 4 cars attached to it, so parking became a daily war. Weekends were filled with loud music, people hanging out in the street (it was a dead-end), yelling, and vomiting.

Two different times I had to call the police when drunk-out-of-their-minds boys broke into my locked patio because they "were looking for someone." I finally sold my house. And guess who bought it. Yet another couple looking for an investment. They turned my 1,800 sq. ft. house (without permits, I might add) into three cramped apartments. A friendly multiple-ages street of single-family homes has become part of what is now the French Quarter of Pittsburgh. The change happened in a little more than a decade.

A similar thing happened to my friend who was living in a very expense condo building in the city's Shadyside neighborhood, about two miles east of Pitt. Multiple units in her building were sold for cash to wealthy buyers from overseas who were sending their kids to Pitt. She had Saudi, Turkish, Mexican, and kids from several Asian nation living in her building, sharing their apartments with multiple friends so Dad's investment would pay off. She had to move, too. Do not make the mistake of thinking expensive properties are exempt from this problem. Many college students have parents who are well-to-do. They are the people most likely to see buying property over paying dorm fees as a great boon to their bottom lines. People in my own family have done it in Flagstaff, AZ.

It's a problem Tempe is going to have to consider very carefully. Pittsburgh's city leaders didn't take it seriously when people complained about what was happening to the South Side and they've lived to regret it. The universities aren't going to complain about these kids living off campus ... they don't want to be responsible for students more interested in partying than studying. They collect tuition money and if these off-campus students fail classes, who cares ... the U. still got paid.

I don't want to bad-mouth all students. I went to grad school myself. But cities need to get a handle on what can happen when a large university washes its hands of housing out-of-control students and turns the job over to private enterprise. Responding to these residents' behavior can get VERY expensive and it's the citizens not even related to the university who pay the biggest price.