[Source: Kevin Tripp and Bob McClay, KTAR Radio] — Studies indicate growth and development across the country are moving away from the suburbs toward center cities and close-in suburbs. In Phoenix, downtown is changing, but it’s still a work in progress, said Mayor Phil Gordon. There’s a traditional definition: “roughly Seventh Avenue to Seventh Street, Jackson Street to Roosevelt,” the mayor said. But, with light rail, what’s thought of as “downtown” is expanding northward and the growing popularity of urban areas helps. “The term downtown really has become a marketing label now that people want to be downtown,” said Gordon.
“What’s unique about Phoenix is it’s becoming a linear downtown, connected by light rail and connected by a core — primarily old historic buildings scattered among a lot of new buildings in different shapes. Ours is a linear core now that goes all the way to Camelback.”
Downtown is still without some basics, but that should change as an A.J.’s grocery store and a CVS pharmacy open by early 2011, the mayor said, adding that the area is coming together piece by piece. “There’s all these new little cafes and little bars that have gone into old buildings with its own ambiance.”
As for the trend of people moving to the center city, Arizona State University Real Estate Professor Jay Butler said home values show central Phoenix is desirable. “There’s some evidence that home values are more stable in the older areas and that would tend to show that people are looking at, or maintaining, the old traditional areas,” Butler said. He said people want to be close to everything that’s important to them “close to work, close to friends, family, churches.” [Note: To read the full article, click here.]
Downtown Voices Coalition 