Imagine downtown Phoenix alive with people, 24 hours a day.
In a downtown where a 24/7 climate seems implausible, we’re open 15/5 at best. Yet a round-the-clock atmosphere is the city’s future urban center, as seen through the eyes of municipal planners. Kind of like . . . New York.
However, as is the case with Valley cities such as Scottsdale and Tempe, which also are striving for urban environments, we’re missing a key component: critical mass – more people and more businesses, especially ones willing to stay open past rush hour.
For the most part, downtown Phoenix, which is roughly bound by Seventh Street on the east, Seventh Avenue on the west, Roosevelt Street on the north and the railroad tracks on the south, closes when commuters leave.
If we want Greek food for dinner, we’d better plan ahead. Athenian Express, a Greek restaurant at 814 N. Central Ave., closes at 5 p.m. on weekdays. Don’t expect to pick up a bagel and coffee at Calabria Italian Grocery & Deli, 1001 N. Third Ave., on your way to work; the business opens at 10 a.m. When owner Maria Capogreco started the deli nearly four years ago, she opened the doors at 6 a.m. but changed the hours after finding there weren’t enough early-morning customers. Nor is there enough business to stay past 7 p.m. on weekdays, she said.
Catch 22
It’s a Catch 22 equation: If we had more people, we’d have more businesses. If we had more businesses, we’d have more people. If we had more people, businesses would stay open later.
There are some choices for nightlife. We can join the sports crowd at Marjerle’s Sports Grill, 24 N. Second St., which closes at 2 a.m. We can have an intimate dinner or our favorite wine just north of downtown at Cheuvront Wine & Cheese Café, 1326 N. Central Ave.; it’s open till midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and closes between 9 and 11 p.m. the rest of the week.
However, "We’re still in a maturation process," said Brian Kearney, president and chief executive officer of Downtown Phoenix Partnership. In other words, a "work in progress," said Hauns Peter of Re/Max Excalibur, who specializes in urban real estate throughout the Valley.
"We can live where we work," said Catrina Knoebl, producer of Urban Affair, an urban lifestyles event Saturday at Phoenix Convention Center. "We can play where we rest."
Specifically, we don’t have to drive. We don’t have to commute. We can walk to work. We can walk to the coffee shop, the theater, the sports venue, our favorite downtown restaurant and the farmers market on Saturday mornings. We’re close to services such as grocery stores, dry cleaners and medical centers.
Amenities such as those give downtown Phoenix characteristics that other parts of the Valley don’t have, said Jeff Gary of Realty Executives, who lives a few blocks north of downtown in the Roosevelt Historic District.
Kearney, of Downtown Phoenix Partnership, thinks that Phoenix will attain critical mass in 2008 or 2009 as a result of more development, more residents and more students.
So does deli owner Capogreco. "I knew when I moved into this spot that it would take a good six or seven years to build up," she said. Barbara and Dan Rempel, too, wanted in on the ground floor. The couple moved to Artisan Lofts on Central two years ago; their home is featured during the Urban Affair tour.
"If you live downtown, you really feel the momentum of downtown movement," she said.
Knoebl said there is no magic number of people that will turn Phoenix into a 24/7 community. Instead, expect a shift in perception: People will come to realize that downtown living is viable, she said.
Urban Affair is one example of how perception has shifted already. The event, in its first year, includes a loft tour, fashion show and displays and booths pertaining to urban-style furnishings and products. Knoebl said she is hoping the event will reach existing urban residents as well as wannabes.
Build it, they will come
Between 1999 and 2004, 2,000 new residences were built in the downtown Phoenix area, said John Chan, Phoenix’s acting director for downtown development. Phoenix’s Downtown Strategic Plan, adopted in December 2004, calls for another 10,000 new housing units by 2014. Currently, there are 2,500 units either under construction or proposed, he said. Additionally, the proposed CityScape project at Patriot’s Park, slated for a vote Wednesday before Phoenix City Council, includes 1,200 condos.
Although the Valley’s slowing housing market has affected buyer traffic in some downtown residential developments, interest in downtown living is still high, Chan said. For example, at Portland Place, 1001 N. Third Ave., 44 of 54 condos in that project’s first phase have been sold.
Urban living is attractive to baby boomers and young professionals who want maintenance-free lifestyles, Chan said.
With the expansion of Arizona State University’s downtown presence and the opening of Phoenix’s biomedical campus next year, college-age students are joining the mix. Additional amenities such as retail outlets and services will follow, once there are more students, he said.
Sue Doerfler – The Arizona Republic
