Scottsdale Arizona Real Estate Blog

by Krystal Klei – Jul. 13, 2010 02:18 PM
The Arizona Republic

Scottsdale is one of the best cities to call home. Just look at Parenting or Money magazine for confirmation.

Both magazines compiled a list of what they considered the top cities in the nation, and Scottsdale made an appearance in both. Parenting magazine, which focused on the family environment, ranked Scottsdale eighth, while Money magazine, which looked at the top small cities, ranked Scottsdale at No. 71.

Parenting’s top three cities for families were Arlington, Va., Austin, and Madison, Wis.

Money magazine’s top three places to live were Eden Prairie, Minn.; Columbia/Ellicott City, Md., and Newton, Mass.

Parenting created its “Best Cities for Families 2010″ list by surveying women who were members of the magazine’s MomConnection research panel, a nationwide group with 5,000 members, said Parenting magazine’s deputy editor, Stephanie Wood.

The women provided opinions on the most important factors for raising a family. In order of priority, they chose quality of schools, affordability and availability of quality housing, low crime rates, job availability and growth, number of registered sex offenders, recreational opportunities, quality and quantity of pediatricians and family physicians, commute time and distance, proximity to good children’s hospitals, quality and quantity of child-care facilities and preschools, and air quality.

The information led to rankings in five subcategories: economy, safety, health, recreation and education. Scottsdale ranked exceptionally high in safety and recreation.

Next, the magazine created a list of the top 100 most populated cities, according to the Census Bureau. Cities near other large cities that would display similar data were removed from the list, and smaller but widely known cities were added.

Scottsdale was considered the safest city in America based off its low number of violent crimes in 2008 and low number of registered sex offenders according to the state sex offender’s registry.

Becky Hornack, marketing and public relations specialist for Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale, said she believes Scottsdale has become more family-oriented as people who grew up in the area have begun to settle there. In response, the Boys & Girls Clubs have expanded and developed outreach programs, she added.

“It’s our goal to develop our members into productive future citizens,” Hornack said.

The magazine ranked Scottsdale third in the nation for recreation, a ranking that Scottsdale Parks and Recreation manager Terry Erickson said makes sense.

Erickson said Scottsdale has 27 neighborhood parks and a little less than 1,000 acres of parkland. In addition, the magazine looked at the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, which covers about 14,000 acres.

“The parks are really accessible to a lot of Scottsdale residents,” Erickson said. “I’ve always thought the parks were something that made us special.”

Scottsdale ranked 46th in education, 59th in economy, and 82nd in health. Other cities that made Parenting’s list were Phoenix, 44;, Tucson, 52; and Mesa, 62.

Money magazine looked at crime, schooling and the local economy, when creating their best cities list, which is in the August issue.

Money praised Scottsdale for its dining, shopping, resort spas, and “zillions of golf courses.” The magazine also recognized Scottsdale’s many hiking opportunities in the Sonoran Desert and McDowell mountains and considered Scottsdale’s one downfall the severely hit real-estate market.

Gilbert also made Money’s list, ranking 36.

“It’s an honor to be on both lists,” Scottsdale’s Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Rick Kidder said.

He said that, in his opinion, Scottsdale is a “wonderful and safe community” that should have ranked even higher on each list.

by Edward Gately – Jul. 8, 2010 09:02 AM
The Arizona Republic

Future expansion and improvement at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center and a multilevel luxury-condominium project on the southeastern corner of Camelback Road and 68th Street were given the green light by the Scottsdale City Council.

Both requests originally were among items on the council’s Tuesday consent agenda, which required a single vote for approval. The Scottsdale Healthcare request remained on the consent agenda, and the council unanimously supported it.

The condominium request, however, was moved to the regular agenda, and Councilwoman Marg Nelssen cast the only vote against it. She questioned the effect of the project on the adjacent residential area.

Scottsdale Healthcare’s long-term plans include the construction of two patient towers. The expansion could add more than 240 beds to the Osborn Medical Center, bringing the total to more than 630.

The medical campus, on the northwestern corner of Osborn Road and Drinkwater Boulevard, was established in the mid-1960s.

The council’s approval allows Scottsdale Healthcare to move forward with development plans over the next 20 to 25 years. Plans call for expanded inpatient and outpatient surgical services, more private patient rooms and additional intensive-care beds.

Plans also include developing a new main entry, more parking, a neurosciences center and a conference center.

“Scottsdale Healthcare can now move forward planning for the future . . . with a campus that is well planned, well thought out and will hopefully serve the future needs of the community for decades to come,” said John Berry, a zoning attorney for Scottsdale Healthcare.

It also operates two other hospital campuses and is the city’s largest employer.

The council also approved zoning changes to allow the high-end condominium complex on the site of the abandoned Orchidtree apartment complex.

Optima,, which is developing the Optima Camelview Village condominium complex at Scottsdale Road and Rancho Vista Drive, purchased the property last year and requested the zoning changes.

Optima Sonoran Village will include 493 residential units and 40,000 square feet of commercial, retail and amenity space, for a total of about 726,700 square feet of floor space. Five buildings will be arranged around two courtyards.

Four of the buildings will be seven stories in height, while the fifth building will have five floors on its north side and fewer floors on its south side.

Rick Robertson, a nearby homeowner, spoke in support of the project and asked Optima to maintain a wall to keep people from walking from the complex into the adjacent neighborhood.

Cathy Kent Croom, another nearby homeowner, spoke in opposition to the project, saying its height and density are inappropriate for the area.

“It’s going to have more than double the number of units than were previously there and two levels of parking underneath the unit that are going to bring twice as much traffic to the area,” she said. “The main entrance for the residents is about a half a block from my street.”

She said area residents weren’t properly notified of the plans.

“It’s a massive thing … there’s going to be more vibration with more cars, these people who live up high are going to have lights on, they’re going to have balconies and they’re going to look over (into the neighborhoods),” she said.

David Hovey Sr., Optima president and owner, said Optima Sonoran Village is an “exceptional design specifically for this neighborhood and responds positively to all of the neighbors we met with, especially the neighbors that are closest to the development.”

“We can’t think of a better design or architectural solution to this particular site,” he said. “This will be the highest-quality development anywhere in Arizona or the United States for that matter.”