Getting ready for the Phoenix Light Rail.
The opening of the first section of the Greater Phoenix light rail is just around the corner, Dec. 27th 2008 to be exact. Just a few years ago this areas was a wasteland of offices and and suburbanites who disappeared at the sun went down to their distant sleeper communities. It’s quite different now. The Phoenix downtown, midtown and uptown areas have a bigger and steadily increasing resident population.
(Photo: Artur Ciesielski, CCIM)
I think this will be a turning point for Phoenix. I don’t really know what it will mean for the entire city but it’s bound to have affect for those in the vicinity and even people who won’t use it or care about it; because of residual effects of how others, visitors and businesses view the valley as a whole.
For me the view is improving and the city is maturing.
Real estate investors should have their eye on the opportunities that the light rail presents. With it, there will be additional appreciation and cause for redeveloping a lot of the land, including large and small lots within walking distance to the rail.
It’s not too late. In fact, the slow down should spur investors to take advantage of the depressed prices. There is data out there showing the benefits a light rails system has to real estate owners.
In Dallas, Portland, San Diego and other cities where light rail projects have been completed there have been increased in values greater then properties not served by the rail. The possibilities are there, even for single family homes or small apartments.
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Reliable public tranist is also good for business. It allows tourists to get around without having to rent a car and spend money in shops, restaurants and hotels. It also moves workers around quickly and efficiently so businesses can staff up when needed and lower-income workers don’t need to buy a car to get to work. Look at all the places connected by light rail–Tempe and downtown Phoenix ASU campuses, numerous office, apartment and condo buildings, hospitals, the downtown arenas, the convention center, Spectrum mall, downtown Phoenix and downtown Tempe, Gateway College, the Technical College in Mesa, Papago Park, Tempe Town Lake, Indian School Park, Sky Harbor Airport (with shuttle buses), and many more I can’t think of right now. I heard the busiest station is the one at Sycamore Street in Mesa, which connects to several bus lines and has parking for 800 cars in a lot adjacent to the station. These people are going to work and to school, and the rest of us who drive have an easier time of it on less-crowded streets. Eventually, the system will be extended to connect Metro Center Mall, downtown Mesa, Chandler Mall, and eventually north Phoenix and Scottsdale. I may not ride it often, or at all, but it is a fabulous amenity for tourists, workers and students, and more of us with cars will ride it when gas prices again hit the roof.