{"id":22,"date":"2005-12-07T06:46:20","date_gmt":"2005-12-07T13:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=22"},"modified":"2005-12-07T06:46:20","modified_gmt":"2005-12-07T13:46:20","slug":"close-but-no-cigar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/22\/close-but-no-cigar\/","title":{"rendered":"Close, but no cigar…"},"content":{"rendered":"

The idea of a Downtown in Phoenix is cursed by the most pernicious force of hell. Not the devil, just the heat. A Downtown is a place where virtually all transportation takes place on foot, and you cannot walk outdoors in Phoenix in the summer. Not far, not for long and not without ruining your clothes with sweat stains.<\/p>\n

There are two fairly obvious conclusions to be drawn from this datum. Either: Phoenix cannot have a true Downtown–which explains why it doesn’t–no matter how much money is wasted on cargo cult projects devised to mimic a Downtown. Or: Downtown Phoenix, wherever it emerges, must be entirely indoors. I wrote about this<\/a> a while ago.<\/p>\n

Today comes news<\/a> of a yet another city-within-the-city that is just ambitious enough to succeed as a project, but nowhere near ambitious enough to work as a city:<\/p>\n

Phoenix’s largest mall developer says it will build a cosmopolitan city within a city in the northeast Valley that will feature the state’s most upscale shopping, restaurants, nightclubs and spas, plus a boutique hotel.<\/p>\n

Going after the Valley’s most deep-pocketed residents and tourists, Phoenix-based Westcor and its partner, Landmark Land Co., said they will turn 2,200 acres of desert into a giant urban hub with buildings reaching 17 stories high, piercing the northeast Valley’s low-slung skyline.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here’s the kick in the teeth, though:<\/p>\n

Plans are most firm for Westcor’s 72-acre regional, outdoor<\/u> shopping center, which will include 1 million square feet of high-end retail and restaurants.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I added the emphasis. So how do you suppose people are going to get around this huge parcel of land?<\/p>\n

But wait. There’s more:<\/p>\n

Creating upscale, outdoor shopping centers where people also live and work has been a hot trend among developers who want to renovate their old centers or build new ones.<\/p>\n

The souped-up shopping centers are meant to look like minidowntowns or Main Streets but often feature high-end shops instead of dentists and dry cleaners.<\/p>\n

That is in part due to the strength of the luxury retail market, said Patrice Duker, spokeswoman for the International Council of Shopping Centers.<\/p>\n

“(Mixed-use) is what’s in the air in regard to development trends,” Duker said. “It’s Read more<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The idea of a Downtown in Phoenix is cursed by the most pernicious force of hell. Not the devil, just the heat. A Downtown is a place where virtually all transportation takes place on foot, and you cannot walk outdoors in Phoenix in the summer. Not far, not for long and not without ruining your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-general","8":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":344,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/344\/why-are-we-building-an-asu-campus-in-downtown-phoenix\/","url_meta":{"origin":22,"position":0},"title":"Why are we building an ASU campus in Downtown Phoenix . . . ?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"September 17, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"In an involuntary spasm of honesty, the Arizona Republic admits the truth:The journalism school is considered the most crucial component of the new campus' second phase, in part because it boasts an enrollment of nearly 1,800 students. Most of those are undergraduates who are more likely to live in downtown\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marketing"","block_context":{"text":"Marketing","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/marketing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/30\/lilliputians-win-downtown-phoenix-to-be-erected-in-downtown-tempe\/","url_meta":{"origin":22,"position":1},"title":"Lilliputians win: Downtown Phoenix to be erected in Downtown Tempe","author":"Odysseus","date":"December 22, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"This just in:The Phoenix City Council yielded to pressure from residents Wednesday and decided to reverse its decision to allow more high-rises in the upscale Camelback Corridor. The action effectively kills several projects, most notably the $200 million condominium\/hotel development proposed by Donald Trump and development partner Bayrock Group near\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/20\/how-downtown-phoenix-extinguishes-itself\/","url_meta":{"origin":22,"position":2},"title":"How Downtown Phoenix extinguishes itself","author":"Odysseus","date":"December 5, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"\"My father wasn't one to stand in the way of progress,\" said Robert Tang, who now lives in Apache Junction. \"I just think the Chinese community really wants something preserved of our history.\" Here's a solution, Mr. Tang: Pay your own way. The quote is taken from an Arizona Republic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/56\/an-open-letter-to-the-citizens-of-phoenix-why-i-oppose-the-bonds\/","url_meta":{"origin":22,"position":3},"title":"An open letter to the Citizens of Phoenix: Why I oppose the bonds","author":"Odysseus","date":"February 26, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"If you drive through my neighborhood of North Central Phoenix, you'll see plenty of little signs entreating you to support the seven proposed bond issues to be put to a vote in the March 14 election. But if you drive through other neighborhoods of the city, you'll see few if\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":418,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/418\/blogoff-post-41-ask-the-broker-what-will-it-take-to-make-phoenix-a-true-city\/","url_meta":{"origin":22,"position":4},"title":"Blogoff Post #41: Ask the Broker: What will it take to make Phoenix a true city . . . ?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"September 26, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"The is another one of Cathy's questions:What will it take to make Phoenix a true city?It's actually pretty simple. All Phoenix really needs, to become a true city in the way that people think of New York City or Chicago, is... Cooler weather. What makes other cities look and feel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ask the Broker"","block_context":{"text":"Ask the Broker","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/ask-the-broker\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":238,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/238\/i-think-theyre-trying-to-turn-this-into-a-little-new-york-city\/","url_meta":{"origin":22,"position":5},"title":"Phoenix rising: “I think they’re trying to turn this into a little New York City . . . “","author":"Greg Swann","date":"August 24, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"That's a debatable point, but Angela Cara Pancrazio of the Arizona Republic has a sweet feature in today's paper on how cranes are remaking the skyline of Phoenix:Phoenix is rising again. And the cranes have arrived, reaching into a city and stretching its torso upward. With the exception of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Real Estate"","block_context":{"text":"Real Estate","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/real-estate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}