Migration is Still Hot.
Phoenix is hot—for moving to that is. According to KPNX, 250 people move to Arizona’s biggest city every single day. Now that the area’s running out of undeveloped land on the perimeter, developers are looking up for expansion opportunities. AZ Big Media finds many of those migrating here are coming from larger cities and looking for an urban experience—this time Downtown Phoenix is taking its turn in the sun.
PHOTO BY Phoenix Arts District
Downtown Phoenix is on Fire—Infrastructurally.
For 20 years, Downtown Phoenix has been experiencing a reawakening. Large scale public investments have brought 18,000 seat Footprint Arena (home to basketball teams the Suns and Mercury), 11,000 student Arizona State University Campus, and a 28-mile Light Rail Line. Pioneering efforts from the community—with the help of two long-time Scottsdale galleries—have coalesced into a burgeoning Arts District.
PHOTO BY Valley Metro
Brighter Every Day.
All the attention has led to a critical mass of students, residents, businesses, and private development. 12,000 apartments have risen in the last 10 years, with DTPHX.Org pointing out 6,000 more on their way. With Silicon Valley a short flight away, tech workers are flocking to Phoenix—now affectionately termed Silicon Desert. Because of unique events at The Duce, cocktails at Bitter & Twisted, and rooftop views at Hotel Palomar, the hottest bars and restaurants can now be found downtown. DTPHX has even earned the biggest success of a thriving urban neighborhood—so much dog walking it necessitates a dog park.
PHOTO BY Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
Built for Heat.
With Downtown hitting a tipping point, ABC 15 Phoenix finds buyers are ready to commit long-term and developers are taking note. The long-revered Fairmont Hotel is joining the renaissance with a downtown presence of their own—a 25-story tower with 152 condos, 13-floor high-end hotel, retail spaces, and an international hotel training program. Once featured in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, Jefferson Hotel is also getting in on the action with a historic redevelopment and the addition of a new 27-story tower filled with 220 condominiums.
And with 100,000 people expected to move here every year for the next 5 to 10 years, the pieces are in place for Downtown Phoenix’s continued rise from the desert floor. Are you ready to rise with it?
