North Central Phoenix

Some neighborhoods are easy to search for and other's are not. The difference is often how the neighborhood is named and the source of the name. For instance, searching for homes in the Windsor Square historic neighborhood is easy since that's the official name while searching for homes in the Willo historic district is not easy since Willo is an arbitrary name for a conglomerate of many individual subdivisions. 

That's the same for the Royal Palm neighborhood in North Central Phoenix. An easy way to search for it is to find a website, like this one, that features that neighborhood with all the Royal Palm homes for sale.  Another way is to use one of the rate advanced Phoenix homes search based on custom map alogrithm allowing you to freely pick an…

Answering such a question is not so easy. Good means something else to each individual and a quick reply of yes or no would not really answer the question. On the other hand when most people ask that the easy default answer will most likely be yes rather then no. 

In fact, I can't think of a reason to say no in general terms: not unless, you want a pure urban lifestyle or you can't stand trees and green lawns or if you want all new stucco homes or you hate the view of mountains or people strolling or riding their bikes on the streets or kids playing in cul-de-saces or established neighborhoods of mixed home or ranch homes for that matter or being 15 minutes to midtown and downtown Phoenix or great restaurants or living in a central city area that…

The area once developed as Orangewood in the area North of Camelback along Central Avenue in the late 18th Century had developed over much of the 20th Century into a rather high demand suburban part of town.  It still has that suburban feel and also the location and ammenities of and urban city.

It's part of the greater Central Phoenix area and there are no clear boundaries for this neighborhood as many others in Phoenix, so North Central Phoenix is roughtly an area from the Arizona Canal in the north, I-51 in the east, 19th Avenue on the west and Camelback on the south.  Some call North Central Phoenix or at least the southern part, Uptown Phoenix.

Just north of North Central Phoenix is Sunnyslope, the Biltmore area to the east and west…

The light rail station on 19th Avenue and Montebello is an end station.  You can't go any further North, at least not for a few more years.  Extensions are in the works, but it's will take some time.  This station ends at a mall and a busy intersection.  It's amazing how open the space around it is.  It an area ready to be built up, awaiting another boom or a deluge of people to Central Phoenix. 

It's not easy to find the public art here.  You'll need to look up and the description below the photo from the Metro Art Book, describes it well.

(Photos: Artur Ciesielski)

Light Rail Public Art From The 'Metro Art Book'

A terminus station on the METRO light rail starter line, the 19th Avenue and Montebello station is one of the tallest.…

Central Park West is a collection of individual condominiums in North Central Phoenix with an 16x20 atrium as the focal point, designed by architect Michael Defiel, the modern architecture has its roots in Roman antiquity and Spanish Patios providing both privacy, security: light and space: a tranquil space surrounded only by the living space and open to the clear sky as if a sanctuary.

The complex is a great surviving example of mid-century modern condo projects many of which were built in central Phoenix after the war and particularly in the 1960’s when the population of Phoenix was growing rather fast.

Many of the units now fit in well into contemporary living, especially the remodeled ones. They provide ample natural light through the…

You're probably familiar with the often travelled Murphy's Bridle Path running along Central Avenue in North Central Phoenix, but there is a shorter yet also unique bridle path along 15th Avenue.

photos: Artur Ciesielski

The path runs along the west end of 15th Avenue from north of Glendale to short just short of Northern right before reaching Royal Palm.  I don't have much history about it.  There are many huge horse properites on which horses prounce around on lush green grass.  Over the years a few of these horse properties have been replaced by smaller subdivisions. 

There is a lot of character here: huge mature eucalypust trees, olive trees and a sense of place that comes only with the passing of time.  It's very unsual to be…

Video by inPhoenix Realty Parnters

Sometimes a gem of a property comes on the market and this is one of those cases.

Top to bottom 2009 renovation. I write renovation instead of remodel because it's more then the visual tile and counter-top job: it's like a new place with new plumbing, drywall, insulation, roof, A/C and other mechanicals and on top of that a collection of exceptional finishes that will leave one in admiration. 

No detail was missed: high quality finishes and fixtures include Ann Sacks, Bisazza, Bosch, GE Monogram, Northland, Cambria, Grohe, and Plyboo.

It's the simple clean designs that are the most difficult to execute well and they are certainly well executed here.

The unit provides privacy, has an open layout, interior atrium,…

photo: Artur Ciesielski

It's not that this home appeared from nowhere. It's been there since 1929, one of the earlier homes built in this subdivision, but for many years if was hidden behind a thick mix of trees and bushes obscuring not only its presence but also the architecture.  

This type of architecture, tudor, is more typical of homes in Willo then the Uptown's Windsor Square.  It's is a rare piece, one of only a few if not a couple of other similar homes in the neighborhood mostly characterized by ranch homes.

In the Windsor Square neighborhood since Jun 1st 2010, there has been one sale, a short sale. At time of writing, 2 homes are pending one of which is a short sale and 2 homes are AWC-under contract with contingency- both short sales.  

5 properties are active at an average of $202 per square foot, while those fortunate enough to have a contract were active at $174 per square foot.  So far in 2010 there have been 7 sales plus 2 additional non-MLS sales.  

Overall those home in the lower price ranges tend to sell best while several higher priced homes that were for sale have been cancelled.  The most expensive sale this year was a 1929 Spanish Revival home for $420,000

The data below shows sales since January 1st, 2010 from the MLS, there were…

When you think of a historic neighborhood in Phoenix the architectural styles that come to mind are all sorts of revival or ranch homes, but modernism is not one of them, but a few neighborhood have at lease a few examples of modern homes and Windsor Square in North Central Phoenix happens to have three of them.  One is currently for sale and I have to say it's one of the most intriguing homes in this part of town.

photos via IDX Exchange - ARMLS

3 bedrooms and 2 bathroom - broken down into a home which is 2 bedrooms and one bath plus a guest home with 1 bedroom and 1 bath.

2,414 total square feet.

Built in 1950 and remodeled in 2005 this home is a bit inconspicuous in the front.  It's hidden behind a rich well planned landscaped yard,…