Will Phoenix Builders Tackle Infill With Tech?

I read an interesting article about the “Next Tech Hub” coming to Downtown Phoenix, and it confirmed some of what I have been thinking of this area for many years. That’s the notion that the Phoenix Warehouse District south of the arenas seems to be a severely underutilized part of the Downtown Phoenix development discussion.

Each of the remaining buildings in the District are full of history and charm: brick walls, wood ceilings, former employee etchings on the walls from decades ago, and much more.

Back in the late 80’s, before US Airways Center was built and before there was a Chase Field, I worked in the Warehouse District in an old building near Central and Jackson. My father owned a business and leased warehouse space here. Basically, we would buy the inventories of failed businesses, store the inventory and re-sell it. This part of town always fascinated me. I’ve seen many changes over the years and have heard about some grand plans for the area, but none of them seemed to materialize.

Back in 2010, I was involved with a “Jane’s Walk” event that was held in the Phoenix Warehouse District and we toured some really cool old buildings that certainly will be part of the tech industry revitalization in this area. Like many revitalization efforts, these things don’t happen over night, but they do tend to have a snowball effect once they get started. To me, this area seems like a great fit for tech companies, the arts community and many other types of businesses looking to expand in an area where there is still relatively affordable land and housing options.

As a REALTOR, I’ve wondered why housing was being overlooked in this area. People seem to be scared of crime, unkept storefronts, etc. in the area. Legitimate concerns, for sure. To me, it seems like an area with a convenient location that is close to freeways, jobs, entertainment, transit options, etc. should be a place where people want to live, work and play.

Phoenix’s Warehouse District is loosely designated as the region starting on the south side of Jefferson Street to a block south of Grant Street between Seventh Avenue and Seventh Street. The area is dotted with some still-in-use and some abandoned train tracks and large brick buildings with plenty of grit and charm. – AZ Big Media

Within the warehouse district, there is very limited housing. You have a couple of condo buildings in the area, but there’s really no single family housing there until you get south of Grant.

But, if you go south of the warehouse district from, say, Grant to Buckeye, you’ll find some single family homes. During the past year, the average sales price of these homes have been less than $91,000 for an average home size of 1239 square feet. These aren’t numbers you can find near many other downtown areas around here…

Phoenix Warehouse District – Land Available

If you look at the area, you see that several vacant parcels exist within the warehouse district and in the surrounding areas. There are other parcels in the area that have buildings in disrepair. As per Sloane Homes, potentially those buildings could be demolished to help assemble parcels for builders to construct new housing for people wanting to live near where they work. Time will tell how this all shakes out. One thing for certain is the fact that it will be fun to watch.

I’ll leave a search of active homes and condos from this general area so you can see what is currently for sale. This search is approximately Jefferson to Buckeye and 7th St to 7th Avenue. Please feel free to give us a call at 602-803-6425 if you’d like to check any of them out.