How would you describe Phoenix to someone who has never visited?

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by loose cannon

It's an endless stream of circle ks and dairy queens. Apartment move in signs, 1st month 699. rent no longer low. But, you should go where you wanna go. Sit at the bus stop of Valley Metro. Ride East, Ride west. It still is the best. Call Center workers rush to their connections. Struggling to cross the busy intersections.

True about Circle K: we have hundreds of them. I haven't been to a Dairy Queen in years, and I don't even know where they are anymore. Are they even still around? Good attempt at the poetry, but I'd advise keeping your day job.
()

Originally Posted by locolife

While at the same time it's an urban renewal, with vibrancy and energy, a city rising from the ashes like the bird which name it bears.

I've been hearing about "urban renewal" since the early '90s when the Mercado and AZ Center were supposed to bring life to the central core. Overall, downtown has improved considerably compared to 30 years ago, but there are still large pieces of the puzzle missing. No global company HQs like there are in many other major cities ... and even the regional HQs of Chase, Wells Fargo, and US Bank have vacated their downtown offices. AZ Center is pretty much dead despite all the new apartments & ASU in that vicinity. Also, what's the deal with Astra? There hasn't been any movement on that project since it was announced three years ago.

[loose cannon]

I have a day job, but when inspired I write poetry. A rising city of urban renewal. If it's not the scorching summer go in the pool. In the winter you can laugh at the freezing fools

[locolife]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

I've been hearing about "urban renewal" since the early '90s when the Mercado and AZ Center were supposed to bring life to the central core. Overall, downtown has improved considerably compared to 30 years ago, but there are still large pieces of the puzzle missing. No global company HQs like there are in many other major cities ... and even the regional HQs of Chase, Wells Fargo, and US Bank have vacated their downtown offices. AZ Center is pretty much dead despite all the new apartments & ASU in that vicinity. Also, what's the deal with Astra? There hasn't been any movement on that project since it was announced three years ago.

Nobody is saying downtown is comparable to Chicago or New York. But why fail to even recognize progress in a city that could easily still be long forgotten as it was through the 80s and really most of the 90s? Roosevelt Row didn't even exist in the early 90s and it's a burgeoning arts district now with 100's if not 1000's of new apartments, restaurants, and bars? Cityscape also did not exist in the 90s, it was a defunct/outdated/neglected park which is now a busy area and home to one corporate HQ in Alliance Bank. Dodge Theater, whatever they call it now, did not exist then.

Geez, in the early 90's the Suns had just moved to America West Arena, the D'baks didn't exist yet... The more I think about it the change is pretty incredible since say 1990. AZC feels like a mis-managed property, there is an apartment tower going up on the property called Palm Court, maybe it will help. A hotel opened last year, seems to have helped foot traffic a bit. They recently rolled out Drunk Shakespere at the "Rose Theater" I haven't been yet but might be interesting...

According to another forum which focuses on development "A trusted source I spoke to said Astra will break ground 4Q this year. Delays around the financing piece but has since been resolved. Moving full speed ahead!" Since that time more permitting has been approved for the site showing continued activity. It's definitely a challenging time to build with cost of capital skyrocketing now.

Other projects downtown-

Central Station has heavy activity lately, 2 towers with the taller one around 400' 1 or 2 cranes here seem to be imminent https://imgur.com/a/L4vweqW
X Phoenix Phase 2 crane is up, around 320'
On 8/26 Hatteras Sky has broken Saiya, 23 story tower
There are 4 other cranes up right now so in total we could have 7 or so soon.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by locolife

Nobody is saying downtown is comparable to Chicago or New York. But why fail to even recognize progress in a city that could easily still be long forgotten as it was through the 80s and really most of the 90s? Roosevelt Row didn't even exist in the early 90s and it's a burgeoning arts district now with 100's if not 1000's of new apartments, restaurants, and bars? Cityscape also did not exist in the 90s, it was a defunct/outdated/neglected park which is now a busy area and home to one corporate HQ in Alliance Bank. Dodge Theater, whatever they call it now, did not exist then.

Geez, in the early 90's the Suns had just moved to America West Arena, the D'baks didn't exist yet... The more I think about it the change is pretty incredible since say 1990. AZC feels like a mis-managed property, there is an apartment tower going up on the property called Palm Court, maybe it will help. A hotel opened last year, seems to have helped foot traffic a bit. They recently rolled out Drunk Shakespere at the "Rose Theater" I haven't been yet but might be interesting...

According to another forum which focuses on development "A trusted source I spoke to said Astra will break ground 4Q this year. Delays around the financing piece but has since been resolved. Moving full speed ahead!" Since that time more permitting has been approved for the site showing continued activity. It's definitely a challenging time to build with cost of capital skyrocketing now.

Other projects downtown-

Central Station has heavy activity lately, 2 towers with the taller one around 400' 1 or 2 cranes here seem to be imminent https://imgur.com/a/L4vweqW
X Phoenix Phase 2 crane is up, around 320'
On 8/26 Hatteras Sky has broken Saiya, 23 story tower
There are 4 other cranes up right now so in total we could have 7 or so soon.

I said that the central core has improved considerably in the last 30 years. CityScape & Roosevelt Row are definitely more desirable than what used to exist at those locations, but Roosevelt Row is really more of a work in progress. It's up & coming, but not quite there yet. Even so, I'm really disappointed in what AZ Center has become. It was active in its early years, and the architectural design blends very well with the streetscape (not just another shopping mall). It's a shame to just let it sit empty and fall apart.

The nation's 5th largest city should have the 5th tallest skyline, as well as the 5th most active downtown area, and rank 5th in the nation for Fortune 500 company HQs. I'm kidding of course ... but seriously, forget about Chicago or NYC. I'd be impressed if downtown Phoenix was more like Dallas, or even Denver in some ways. Our central core has come a long way and continues to evolve, but it still has a long way to go.

[john3232]

Sorry wrong fourm