The Camelback Corridor to us runs from approximately 44th Street, west along Camelback Road, to about 12th Street. It also runs north and south from Camelback Road from about Bethany Home Road to about Osborn or so. Some of the condo communities to the right do not fit exactly within these parameters but they fit better in Camelback Corridor than any other geographic category. Camelback Corridor is largely defined by Biltmore Fashion Park and the intersection of 24th Street and Camelback. The area thrives with high rise condo buildings like Esplanade Place, 2211 Camelback, and Optima Biltmore as well as equally intriguing but less obvious developments like Galleries at Turney, the future Aura at Camelback, and George Lofts.

For decades high rise condos in Phoenix were rare. In fact until 1990 there were only four high rise condo buildings in the entire Valley, all located in the Phoenix Midtown area. And those four towers, constructed in the 1950's and 1960's, were built as rental apartments and only later converted to condominiums.

In 1990 construction began on Crystal Point, the first high rise condos in Phoenix. Unfortunately that was the same time that the Savings and Loan crisis hit the country and sales of these Phoenix condominiums were slow for almost a decade.

It wasn't for another ten years that the next high rise condominium, Esplanade Place, was built. Sales were robust and made headlines. This marked the start of what became the Phoenix high rise boom.

Urban living in Phoenix is diverse, exciting and convenient. From Phoenix high rise towers in Phoenix Downtown, Phoenix Midtown and the Biltmore to architecturally interesting lofts and condos in small established neighborhoods. Most are close to hip and cool restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques, premium shopping, entertainment, and in some cases the light rail. Urban enthusiasts enjoy convenience, a sense of community and seem to have more time to do what they enjoy. All three of which are in short supply in today's world.

We loosely define various areas througout town to help us when discussing options with our buyers.

Two bedroom two bath condo in Las Palomas' newest and nicest building. This 7th floor condominium has fantatic views of the beach, four swimming pools, the lazy river, downtown Rocky Point and the old port (the best "city light" views in this sleepy town).

This 1700 square foot condo has a big open great room feel with the living, dining, and kitchen looking out onto a 45' long 500+/- square foot balcony. Contemporary decor with dark woods, chocolate leathers, platform beds, designer bedding, custom window coverings and modern lighting. Amenities include three flat screen tv's, three dvd players, desktop computer with high speed internet connection FREE, unlimited calls to and from USA FREE, HD Satellite tv with premium BASEBALLL and FOOTBALL packagess in master bedroom and living room FREE, XM satellite radio in living room and balcony FREE, full sized washer and dryer, side by side fridge with ice maker, and more.

My previous post on the topic stated the purchase price as being $15M.  The actual amount was closer to $16M.  Optima reportedly purchased the 278 unit apartment complex with the intent to tear it down and build upscale luxury condominiums on the 8.54 acre site.  I am very curious to know what the proposed time frame is.  It is my guess that we are years (maybe even five years) away from enjoying a real estate market strong enough to support new construction of mid-rise luxury condominiums.  We will see.....

Hire We Know Urban Realty and rent your high rise, loft, or urban condo fast.

Put the power of the WeKnowUrban.com website to work for you. With 5,000 visitors every week and one hundred twenty rental inquiries every month we are THE agents to rent out your urban property right away.

In 2009 alone we will help over one hundred landloards and tenants with their high rise and urban property rental needs. So far this year we have helped over 82 people buy, rent, sell or rent out their urban properties. No other real estate company in the Vally works with as many urban property owners or urban enthusiast as We Know Urban Realty.

Every week, every month, that your urban condo sits empty costs you big.  Stop the bleeding now and contact We Know Urban Realty today. You'll be glad you did.

November 9, 2009 - 12:02 amOctober 5, 2009 - 1:34 pm

For years residents at Summit at Copper Square have had to turn a deaf ear to train horns blowing night and day just to the south of the high rise. Even though the street intersecting the tracks is very lightly used, Federal regulations required that the train conductors blow their horns as they approached the area. Some of the conductors were cool about it and only gave the horn a short tap during the wee hours of the night while other conductors really blasted it.

David Wallach, the developer of Summit at Copper Square, has been pursuing a exception to the horn regulations so that the intersection would be treated as a "quiet zone" by the conductors. It appears that his tenacity is finally paying off. Below is a copy of an email that Wallach shared with me written by the man who has been helping him wth this issue:

"The 21 day notification letter was mailed on September 15th. From what Chris Becker has told us in the past it is often 2-3 weeks after the 21 days have lapsed that the horns actually go silent so I would not promise residents that it will be quiet on October 6th. There are also 2 minor sign issues which hopefully does not delay things with UP. We removed two signs from the drawings because of property owner concerns. UP has been very challenging to work with and I am crossing my fingers that they do not balk at the change. Jen can you send this out to the tenants please.

Dan Klocke
Director of Planning and Economic Development
Downtown Phoenix Partnership
101 North 1st Avenue, 14th Floor
Phoenix, AZ 85003″

Call or email us at We Know Urban Realty if you have any questions concerning this matter or if you are considering renting or buying a high rise condo at Summit at Copper Square

October 5, 2009 - 8:39 pm

This is a We Know Urban Realty exclusive opportunity (meaning no other realtor has access to it yet). This one bedroom plus loft (or two bedroom depending on how you use it) is top notch. Its super clean, heavily upgraded and located just a half mile from Mill Avenue in the very popular Brownstones at Tempe community. You gotta see this to really appreciate it. Oh, and its the only town home currently for rent at Brownstones at Tempe.  Rents for $1850 per month. Contact We Know Urban Realty for more details or for a showin

We just heard that Optima Biltmore Towers (OBT) management made a major policy change last week that we believe will have an adverse affect on property values there.

Real estate agent lock boxes are no longer allowed on the property!  This means that agents looking to show OBT to prospective buyers or renters will have to make appointments with the various listing agents to do so.  Can you imagine trying to coordinate a client's schedule with three or four or more Realtor' schedules?  This policy will discourage agents from showing the building.

It is true that some other high rise buildings prohibit lock boxes.  However, those buildings have doormen or other on-site personnel who make it easy to show the property.  OBT is one of the only buildings, perhaps the only building,  in the valley which doesn't have a doorman or on-site personnel but outlaws lock boxes.  In contrast, some buildings have actually spent money to make it easier for agents to show their condos.  For example the Home Owner Associations at Third Avenue Lofts and Biltmore Square installed metal bars in central locations so that all Realtor lock boxes can be hung in one, easy to find and secure area.  Doing so eliminated the "clutter" of lock boxes being hung in random places around the property and it makes it super easy for an agent to show multiple properties.  I can tell you from personal experience that before Biltmore Square installed the bars I HATED showing the community and rarely did.  Now that the HOA installed the lock box bar it is super easy to show properties there.  It seems to me that Third Avenue Lofts and Biltmore Square are encouraging agents to show their condos.  In light of the current economic mess that sure seems like the right attitude to me.  Optima Biltmore, how 'bout making it easier to show condos there, NOT harder!

I understand and appreciate the value of security.  Great security is one of the reasons that I live in a high rise.  But there are better solutions that banning lock boxes.  This is a big mistake and believe me this policy will hurt property values in the building.  If Realtors find it very difficult to show a building then guess what?  They won't show it.  If people stop showing the building then values will go down.  If you are an owner of a condo at Optima Biltmore Towers then I strongly encourage you to contact your management company and insist that they come up with a better solution.

I got an anonymous and somewhat derogatory email from a person who was pretty indignant about my previous blog post.  One of his or her many points was "In my entire career, I've never seen a real estate firm post a "negative" about a building. The article states that removing the lock boxes will cause home values to decline. No, what will cause it to decline is a negative blog posting that will never be removed from the internet once it's indexed in all the browsers."

I'd like to respond.

First of all, I believe that we real estate agents have a responsibility to speak objectively.  Those agents who "sugar coat" things or never write a "negative" about a building aren't doing themselves or the buildings any favors.  The public is looking for reliable information.  The public also knows that there are several sides to every story.  If an agent only paints a pretty picture then his or her opinion will not be trusted.  Or at least that is my opinion.  I instead write things the way I see them.  If I really like something I say so.  If I think something doesn't make sense, I write that too.  Because of this people value my opinion and often hire me as their agent.

Secondly, I hardly see how a blog post about lock box policies can hurt condo values more than the actual policy itself.  Gang, if you believe that in order to get the highest price possible for your condominium it is better to show it to 50 prospects than 5 prospects then you should understand my point that interfering with agent showings of the condos is bad for values.  Is it possible for agents to show the condos if they have to make appointments with every single listing agent?  Of course.  Does it hamper and impede showings?  Absolutely.

Let's put this on a personal level.  Let's say I'm showing properties to a client who lives out of state.  I show them Camelview Village, I show them Galleries at Turney, I show them Scottsdale Waterfront, and I want to show your condo for sale at Biltmore Towers.  Unfortunately, for some reason your agent is not available to meet with us to show us the condo at a time that works for my clients.  Well, guess what?  We won't see your condo.  That's reality.

Here's another example of what I mean.  Let's say you want to buy a car and you visit a car lot that has a unique new concept that allows individual car owners to sell their cars on that lot "on consignment."  In this case, the lot manager doesn't own the cars and doesn't have keys to the vehicles and for security purposes locks each car up in its own private garage.  For a prospective buyer to see a car he or she has to schedule an appointment with the individual owner.  If the buyer wants to see multiple cars on the lot he or she has to schedule multiple appointments.  Pretty cumbersome huh?  Can I imagine cars actually selling?  Sure.  But who is most likely to sell thier car first and for the highest price?  Probably the seller who is most available to show his or her car at any given moment.  In contrast, the car owner who is the least available to show his or her car will have a much harder time getting it sold.  In fact, I would argue that the car owner who is least available to show his or her car will ultimately have to lower the price in order to entice buyers to work around the seller's schedule.

I'm sure you would agree that a car lot like my make believe example wouldn't work very well and yet that is the environment what the HOA at Biltmore Towers is creating by outlawing lock boxes.  Again, I understand the importance of security.  But for heaven's sake, lock boxes are used across this country and they are secure.  Certainly, there is a better solution for a modern high rise building than to ban lock boxes.  Other buildings have figured out solutions that offer a higher level of security for their residents AND a reasonable level of access for real estate agents.

I'm sorry that I ticked some of you off but in the long run I think you'll be grateful if posts like this motivates the HOA to find a more flexible and secure solution.

We're not posting all the details on the web but if you are looking for a live/work town home in Scottsdale then call us right away. 

There are a handful of 3 story, 3 bedroom, 4 bathroom, 3,000+ square foot town homes zoned for both light commercial and residential use located minutes from downtown Scottsdale about to go to auction.  The official "public" announcement won't go out until Wednesday so if you want the jump on everyone else then contact us now.