Is Downtown Living Right for You?

It might be more right for you than you think. Downtown gives you history, food, art, and a front door you can walk out of to all of it. It also asks you to trade a big yard for a front porch, and single-level living for stairs. Here’s how to tell whether that trade fits your life, using one very special new home in the historic Roosevelt neighborhood as our example.

For most of my life, I thought downtown Phoenix was out of reach.

It felt like it belonged to someone else. Someone cooler, maybe, or someone with a different kind of life. I was born and raised in the Valley, and I still would have told you downtown just wasn’t for me.

Then downtown changed. Or maybe I did.

The landscape has grown so much. The history is still everywhere you look, in the old homes and the brick and the tree-lined streets. The food scene is one I love. The art is on the walls, in the galleries, and sometimes right there on the sidewalk. Now one of my favorite things to do is simply walk downtown and take in everything it has to offer.

Here’s why I’m telling you this. If you’ve ever looked at downtown and thought, “That’s not for me,” I want you to know I thought the same thing. And I was wrong.

Meet The Steward

On 2nd Avenue in the Roosevelt neighborhood, the city’s first historic neighborhood, there’s a set of six new townhomes. Each one is named for an artist archetype, and they’re built by the same developer behind the restorations this street already loves. It’s the last development phase in Roosevelt. Brokers Hub Realty has this new project listed, and I’d be telling you about it either way.

The model home at 804 N 2nd Ave is called The Steward, and it lives beautifully from the front porch to the rooftop.

It looks like it has always belonged there. Brick, a wraparound porch, Mission-style window casings, and metal awnings. Picture morning coffee on that porch and evenings a short walk to dinner.

It’s built new for the way you live now. Two bedroom suites, two and a half baths, 15-foot ceilings, and a home office with its own separate entrance. Behind the walls, you get spray foam insulation and 2×6 framing, which your summer power bill will thank you for.

Every level has a purpose. Gather on the ground floor. Cook and celebrate in the middle, with a large private deck right off the kitchen. Rest at the top with the skyline out the window.

The questions to ask yourself first

How do you feel about stairs? The Steward lives on three levels. For plenty of people, that’s built-in daily exercise. If you’re planning to stay for the long haul, it’s worth knowing the home was built with elevator shafting behind the walls. Ask what adding an elevator later would involve, so you can plan ten or twenty years ahead.

What’s the street like at 9 PM on a Friday? Roosevelt sits in the heart of the arts district, and First Friday brings people and energy to these streets. Walk it on a First Friday evening and again on a Tuesday morning. You’ll know fast whether that energy feels like home.

How will you use your outdoor space in July? A deck in Phoenix is pure magic from October to May. Picture your summer mornings out there, and think about shade before you fall in love with the view.

What does the fine print say? The Steward is offered at $895,900, with an HOA of $350 a month. Know what the HOA and the builder warranty each cover before you compare the price to an older home a few blocks away.

Who this fits

The downsizer who wants to walk to dinner and lock the door for a two-week trip. The professional who needs a real home office. Anyone who has always loved the historic look, and never loved the idea of fixing a historic home. And anyone who, like me, spent years thinking downtown wasn’t for them.

If that sounds like your next chapter, I’d love to walk 2nd Avenue with you. If it doesn’t, that’s a helpful answer too, and we’ll find the neighborhood that does fit.

Whenever you’re ready, I’d be honored to walk beside you with Jennuine support.

Joyful real estate that feels like home.

WITH JOY,

P.S. What’s Jennuine Living, again?

We’re a gaggle of REALTORS®, Lenders, and Creatives that makes joyful real estate feel like home.

We bring creativity, peace of mind, and a sense of delight into one of life’s biggest transitions, so that our clients’ experience:

-> More joy, less stress and fewer ‘oh crap’ moments.

-> No guesswork, no surprises, just honest communication.

-> Connection first – here, you are family.

We love new friends, so visit our website, see a bit of our good work for our community, or follow us on the ‘Gram to join the family.