NE Corner of 7th and McDowell
 

Boutique Solie is going in between T-Mobile and Sernas Dry Cleaner.

http://boutiquesolie.com/

http://i40.tinypic.com/5nsxhc.jpg

EDIT:

Interior of Boutique Solie:

http://i41.tinypic.com/1zyimme.jpg

do those awnings actually provide any shade? it doesn't look like they do in the image.

NE Corner of 7th and McDowell
 

I'm somewhat impressed with the NE corner, and somewhat dismayed. As was noted above, the T-Mobile store looks great but the after-hour bars in the windows are disheartening as this is not a bad neighborhood. Moreover, the half-lit cheap-o sign and the banners really do not live up to the quality and historic character of the building.

http://i44.tinypic.com/34yqw78.jpg

On the other hand, the heavy doors and nice hardware look and feel really good:

http://i53.tinypic.com/23hsjti.jpg

No, at this point there are just metal frames. I'm not sure if there will be awnings in the future (I hope so!).

Yes, the NW corner of Jackson and 5th Ave.

View of downtown from the top of Summit at Copper Square. (Taken 3.22.12 with my cell phone).

http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/4352/imag0332rz.jpg

Anyone have any more info on PURL moving out of the Security Building
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/jac...ch_lab_pur.php

or the new "temporary" dog park at MTH Park?
http://downtowndevil.com/2012/03/16/...-t-hance-park/

Never been to this place but it always sucks when a place downtown closes...

Long time Phoenix restaurant closes its doors

PHOENIX - The Matador has been a staple of downtown Phoenix for 47 years. 

After struggling with the economy, rising lease rates, and expensive renovations, owner Mike Anagnopoulos decided to call it quits.

"I used to spend seven days a week here," he said sadly.

The Matador Mexican Restaurant has been at 1st Street and Adams for almost 30 years. Before that Anagnopoulos ran "The Little Matador" for several years. 

"Once we moved here we knew it was going to be great," he said. "I remember even 10 years ago, this was the place. We had lines out the door."

On Saturday regular customers trickled in throughout the day to say 'goodbye' to a man who had become part of the family.

"I've been coming here since I was four," said Mike Lowery. "I don't know what I'll do without this place."

"I doubt I'll survive a year," said Anagnopoulos. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

There's no word at this time if there are any other businesses planning on moving into the location.

Always sucks when a place closes, I'll echo that statement. Matador was some of the worst "mexican" food I've ever had, though.

^Yah it was pretty awful food. The bigger loss is that the place turned itself into a Mexican dance/night club at nights which I imagine attracted quite a few people to Downtown in the evenings which is always nice.

Thats a pretty huge space, I kinda hope its subdivided and we get at least 2 new places of the space.

yeah losing the gangbanger crowd that used to frequent that place at night is a blessing in disguise! Now just to get rid of PHX, Bar Smith, and Sky Lounge..... those places are a cause of a lot of downtown's crime.

A few years ago there was a shooting linked to a fight that started in the Matador (at least I believe that was the scenario). No one was killed but a couple of people were shot. That happened in 2008 or 2009.

PHX closed as well. It went under recently and the sign removed from the facade. I saw some folks in there looking at blueprints last week. Perhaps a new club owner/promoter?

No more Matador...now where can I find a restaurant that combines shitty Mexican food with shitty Greek food?

Good news, PHX is closed and gone. Rumor I heard is the city wouldn't renew their liquor license. Not sure if that's the case, but it does seem the city is trying to push these places out. A couple years ago they closed Bar Smith and Silver for a period of time over fire marshal concerns.

Also, regarding Matador, this comes from New Times "the city of Phoenix, who owns the building, would not renew its lease despite months of negotiations".

Weird, I walked by PHX about two weeks ago and it was open, with lots of blacks in line. Must have just closed, but good riddance. There have also been several fights in the past couple of years that have stemmed from those bars. The gross trash on the weekend mornings after parties, the dried gum on the sidewalks, just everything about those places is trashy and bad.

Mi Patio on 7ave and Osborn.

That's actually a pretty nice pic for a cell phone, nice :tup:

Comparison of Coors Field to Chase Field
 

...

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/job...-stadium/1593/

It's an interesting read but I disagree that Chase Field was a bust. Chase Field did what it could do with the downtown we have.

Some of the comparitive stats they throw out about Denver County and the City of Denver vs Metropolitan Phoenix are terrible comparisons. You can't compare Denver County to Maricopa County in the way they did:

Are they seriously comparing the City of Denver (ie, the city-county of Denver) to the entire Metro Phoenix area (Maricopa County, which is HUGE and hugely unpopluated and a desert in many areas and not at all similar to a County like Denver County)?? WTF? Apparently they don't know Denver has a metro area and suburbs too.

How stupid can this "stat" be? Denver County's boundary basically is only 10 miles around downtown. If they want to use Maricopa County (Metro Phoenix), they'd have to use Metro Denver (which includes a ton more than just Denver County). I'm sure the percentage for Denver would likely be a little bit higher, but no where near the 99% vs 41%.

Aside from the ridiculous stats and comparisons in the article, it's true Chase Field really didn't have as much benefit to downtown Phoenix as did Coors Field. IMO, in a perfect world, Chase Field and America West Arena would have been built at some other perifery location around downtown Phoenix, maybe just east/southeast of 7th Street and Jefferson, but still within walking distance of downtown and the (future) light rail. That way they wouldn't have destroyed blocks and blocks of great dense historic buildings (warehouses, the old Chinatown, etc.), which could have been upgraded/renovated and would have more likely become a great "new" urban neighborhood... filled with bars/restaurants/residences in the historic buildings with new developments scattered about, similar to Denver.

U-Haul numbers showing more migration to Phoenix (a reversal of recent years):

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/n...ng-top-50.html

Phoenix, Tucson among Top 50 U-Haul destination cities

Phoenix-based U-Haul International Inc. has released its annual list of the Top 50 destination cities in the nation, and both Phoenix and Tucson made the cut. The ranking reflects destinations for movers traveling more than 50 miles, and considers every city in the country, regardless of size. The destination cities list is part of the annual U-Haul National Migration Report. Phoenix was the No. 14 destination on the list. Tucson was No. 31. Click the image above to see each city in the Top 50.

--don

Phoenix housing market rebounding (I knew this already; in my condo complex, foreclosures have dwindled from a lot to a few, and prices are increasing from $18,000 last year to about $30,000 to $35,000 this year - still absurdly low but moving in the right direction):

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/n...ws-strong.html

Phoenix housing market shows strong rebound

According to a report authored by Michael Orr at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, Phoenix-area housing supply is down 42 percent from a year ago, foreclosures are down 52 percent from February 2011 and single family home prices have been trending upward since September 2011.

CoreLogic, meanwhile, also shows a local drop in foreclosures, so much so that the Phoenix foreclosure market is tracking below the national foreclosure rate of 3.43 percent of outstanding mortgages. That number locally in January was 2.85 percent of outstanding mortgages, a decrease of 1.93 percentage points compared with a year earlier. The 90-day delinquency rate was 7.35 percent in Phoenix as compared with 10.07 percent in January 2011....

Including new home sales, median prices for single family homes were up from $115,000 in February 2011 to $124,500 in February 2012, or 8.3 percent....

--don

true, but the 2009 foreclosures are hitting the market and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac have not really started to unload 2010 foreclosures

They've been saying banks are going to flood the market for the last year and a half and cause prices to drop again but it hasn't materialized. I'm not buying it.

I just read yesterday that most American housing markets continue to decline, including SD, and are expected to continue to decline. This is why the stock market had a minor hiccup a few days ago.

With that said, I've been thinking about buying property in Phx because everything is so dirt cheap that one could turn a nice profit by renting it out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7856517...7629348063462/

Check out image at link above to see the new Sheriff's Office HQ. i'm not sure from/to what direction the image/building is being presented. Also:

The Maricopa County Facilities Management Department is overseeing the design and construction of a new county building for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. Construction of the facility will impact visitors and employees to downtown Phoenix, so please note the following if you are driving or working in the downtown area.

Location:
The project is located in downtown Phoenix at 222 South 5th Avenue, directly to the east of the Downtown Justice Center. Additionally, during construction, the lot directly north of the Downtown Justice Center will be used to house temporary construction offices.

Street and Sidewalk Closures:
Extensive underground utility work in 5th Avenue between Madison St. and Jackson Street, and Madison Street between 5th Avenue and 7th Avenue will require closure of these streets for the duration of the project. Detour signs for vehicles and pedestrians will be posted to safely direct people to the best route around the site. Employee and juror shuttle routes are also modified to accommodate these closures.

Duration:
April 2012 to August 2013.

For more information, please contact:
John Magnuson, FMD Project Manager.
john.magnuson@fm.maricopa.gov

So the word around Facebook is that the old Beef Eaters is going to be converted to a changing hands! :) This is terrific news, Uptown already has lots of cool boutiques, that building has lots of potential and this could serve as an anchor to the other boutique/local shops in the area.

Downtown proper still desperately needs its own unique bookstore, but this is terrific.

That's too bad. A dying business in a building that's used to being vacant.

Huh? How is Changing Hands dying? Its packed every time I'm there and if they're expanding to a new location they must be doing OK.

book stores are dying.

5 years ago people were asking me all the time hwere the nearest book store is, now I can't remember someone asking me recently. Everyone reads books on their kindles and ipads now. I also think the younger generation's attention span is lacking and sure, there will always be people who will read and buy books, but that customer base is shrinking and shrinking.

That's awesome news. Ideal location, maybe not ideal, but it brings a cooler vibe to West Camelback. You've got a park & ride right there, a very cool neighborhood to the north and potential for a coffee shop or a Wildflower to join forces with like in Tempe. On the issue of bookstores, traditional chains like Barnes and Noble and Borders are a dying breed but local bookstores are actually on the rise because they are more than just places to get books. They are gathering places and are heavy on bringing authors in. I'm very excited. Thanks for the news Hoover!

Exactly, big chains are dying because you can get what they carry online or on a device. Old out of print stuff, unique local books, etc that local places carry you can't find online. Local bookstores are as much community gathering places as they are sales places. There will always be a place for well run local bookstores.

Bar Smith Owners Transforming PHX Nightclub into The Monarch Theatre

The skinny of the article: Hip Hop/R&B club -> Electronic Dance Music club/sophisticated art bar with a Latin night here and there. Works for me, and at least one other member on this forum. :)

yay! less cholo nights!

Portland 2 Update
 

This is kind of an advertisement but it has good information and floor plans.

Urban Connection Realty - Portland 2 Condos

http://urbanconnectionrealty.com/wp-...dos-2-of-9.jpg

http://urbanconnectionrealty.com/wp-...floor-plan.jpg

I like the look of the condos but am not crazy about the sample floor plan. It looks like the second bedroom has a high ceiling that is open to the "Arizona Room." That doesn't make sense. You wouldn't have privacy if people are in the Arizona Room, and what if you wanted to use that as a bedroom also. :koko: In general, however, I just don't like high/open ceilings, especially in AZ - you're just pissing money away air conditioning all that extra unusable space.

People in $300k houses pretty much expect high ceilings.

If the house is built well, a modern home with 12' ceilings throughout will be much more energy efficient than almost all of the houses built in Phoenix before 1980 or 1990.

As an example (this is based on two homes I've lived in personally here), comparing summer electric bills:

2004 house in northeast Scottsdale, 4,000 square feet, 12' ceilings = $350 per month AC
1909 house in central Phoenix, 1,100 square feet, 10' ceilings = $300 per month AC

The difference? Insulation, triple paned windows, low-E glass, better construction, etc.

As for the floor plan above, most people are not going to be using the Arizona room on level 4 while someone is sleeping in bedroom #2 on level 3. Now for myself, I'd rather have a bathroom on level 4 in lieu of the super tall 20'+ ceiling in bedroom #2, and then you could use the Arizona Room as a fantastic master bedroom retreat. But that's just me...LOL.

--don

My 20' ceiling creates a big pocket of hot air that my thermostat constantly wants to cool. Summer AC bills are usually 300 ish.

Damn thats good! Our summer electric bills sometimes reach $400 and it's a 1900 sq ft one story house. :shrug: Crappy insulation and exposure. :(

holy moly! i'm glad i never owned a house in phoenix. my 1599 sq/ft home, built in 1990, here in OKC had a high electric bill of $179 last summer (we had 52 consecutive days over 100... scorching, i know). energy costs are cheap here tho. $0.043 kwh off peak and $0.147 kwh 2pm - 7pm weekdays

Now, my electric bill is zero, and I can run the thermostat at 65 degrees all summer if I want. We have a liquid-cooled air conditioning system, which runs off of what essentially a giant central evaporator (like an enormous swamp cooler). In the summer, the system circulates cold water throughout all of the units, and each unit has an individual blower that pushes hot air over the cold water pipes to cool it, then sends the air into the unit. In the winter, the system runs hot water through the pipes. It is extremely energy efficient. We have 50 units here, and this system cools about 70,000 square feet of space (counting the common area gym, laundry room, etc.) for less than $5,000 per month in the summer. And this is with crappy 1979 single-paned windows and (probably) not the highest R-value insulation and construction techniques.

--don

Quoted From your link:
"When you climb the stairs to the fourth level you will find options. The builder can configure this area with an additional bedroom, office or leave it wide open for you do enjoy as you wish."

I'm thoroughly impressed with his message...especially from the 19:00 minute on....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDJdfnDgcmk

^ Can anyone give the jist of this till I get home and watch it? :)

Here's the actual transcript:

http://www.azcentral.com/ic/communit...ntonspeech.pdf

Page 6 - Page 9 of the PDF to me covers the essence of everything....especially his vision for downtown....

cliff's notes? fuck, I'm a busy man I don't have time to read a 9 page PDF.

I'm busy too... but anyways... here's some significant quotes which captured my attention:

I liked this part as well:

^Thats exciting. Someone needs to make Barron Collier get off their ass, they seem to sit on land for all eternity.

Im sure I've said this before, but I'd love to see the State, City & Barron Collier work together (or the gov't to just buy the lot) with the Indian Tribes of AZ to put an American Indian University there. There's Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, KS but its tiny (1K students) and pretty low profile. I think a school for American Indians* in an emerging city would be a lot more appealing. The State could get creative and allow the Tribes to slightly expand Slot operations or something to fund the school, and Im sure Federal money from the BIE & such could be found. We're insanely short on higher education options in this town/state, and that would be a step in the right direction.

*Note: Im not suggesting a school with a "no whitey's" sign on the front door. Just something thats in partly/wholly funded by the Tribes/BIE, thus allowing Native kids to attend for free/cheap. Others could of course also enroll and Im sure it would attract people interest in Native American studies, archaeology, etc.

I haven't had to use my AC or heat since I moved to SD nearly 2 years ago. My electric bill was $16 last month and at its peak reached $22.

It is a small place, especially compared to the norm in Phx, but it offsets the higher rent one has to pay here and makes SD somewhat affordable.

Boy, this went under my radar. Apparently there is a jazz community center and live venue opening at 1st and Roosevelt, looks almost done and looks extremely fancy.

http://nashcenter.wordpress.com/