Waterfront property in the Valley used to be a punchline - the thing we were all going to get when The Big One struck and California fell into the sea.
But with the advent of the urban-living trend, real-estate buyers with the desire and the cash can make the punchline a reality and live the luxe life on the water.
On the banks of the canal
The star of the waterfront living trend, the Scottsdale Waterfront project, barely has any waterfront to speak of - but customers still can't resist. Situated on the southwest corner of Scottsdale and Camelback roads, this two-building condominium complex will overlook the canal that runs past the intersection. Part of the construction plans includes beautifying the canal banks for Scottsdale Waterfront residents and the general public.
"We consider the canal bank an amenity - a great amenity that's never been used," says Geoffrey Edmunds, president of Geoffrey Edmunds and Associates, a joint-venture partner in the project with Opus West. "The entire canal bank will be landscaped, and it will provide open space and walking areas for the residents and people who live in the city of Scottsdale."
When complete (sometime in 2007), the Scottsdale Waterfront will comprise 198 condominiums ranging in price from approximately $500,000 to $3.5 million. Square footage starts around 1,200 square feet for condos on the lower floors, while the 13th floor penthouses occupy almost 5,000 square feet each. More than 90 percent of the properties sold in the first eight months they were on the market.
One couple already waiting to move into their Scottsdale Waterfront condo is Harvey and Fran Friedman of Phoenix. The Friedmans moved here from Cleveland more than 25 years ago and have owned homes in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. Three years ago, they moved into Esplanade Place, the granddaddy of Valley urban-living projects, located at Camelback Road and 24th Street in Phoenix. Esplanade Place is also an Edmunds project, and through the grapevine, the couple heard about the new development long before construction started.
"We got involved with (the Scottsdale Waterfront) when it was still in the early stages," explains Harvey Friedman. "There had been a lot of discussion about it for years and years, and it piqued our interest.
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More than the waterfront aspect, the Friedmans were attracted to the location of the project, which is right near Scottsdale Fashion Square and the Fifth Avenue and Old Town areas.
"The location is excellent," Harvey Friedman says. "You've got all you need to do, and a lot of it's within walking distance, which is what we really enjoy." The Friedmans expect to move in around April 2007.
Lakeside living
Buyers who want a little more water in their waterfront are snapping up space in urban-living projects on Tempe Town Lake in north Tempe. The perimeter of the manmade body of water is filling up fast with condos, the first of which was Edgewater at Hayden Ferry Lakeside, created by SunCor Development Co.
Buyers will soon start moving into Edgewater's 40 units, which sell for $390,000 to $2.15 million and range in size from approximately 1,100 to 3,100 square feet. SunCor broke ground last month on Bridgeview, the second of the four planned Hayden Ferry Lakeside condo towers. Bridge-view has a large percentage of its 104 units still available. Prices start in the low $400,000 range and run up to around $5.5 million; square footage ranges from 1,100 to 5,000 square feet.
On the other side of the lake and closer to Rural Road is Northshore Condominiums, a WestStone Communities urban-living project that broke ground in December 2005.
The 134 units are 95 percent sold out, which doesn't surprise Marilyn Pfaff, WestStone marketing director. She says that the lakefront location was a factor in "100 percent" of sales.
"So many people are attracted by what's going on around the lake," she says. "They don't want to be one of those people who drive by in five years and wish they would have bought. They got in now, and they're smart."
Northshore, when complete, will be built in a U-shape around a central courtyard with pools and fountains. The "U" will face the lake, allowing for the maximum number of lakefront views. Other units will overlook Arizona State University's Karsten Golf Course across Rural Road. All but two units are equipped with outdoor fireplaces on the balconies, "so you can sit out on your balcony with a glass of wine and look out over the lake," Pfaff says.
Other upcoming Tempe Town Lake urban-living projects include the Regatta Pointe Condominiums on Rio Salado Parkway, one section of which will offer lake views, and the Mondrian @ Tempe Town Lake apartments.
WestStone is also planning another condo tower next to Northshore, a high-rise with 190 units and a sky lounge, which should break ground in the fourth quarter of 2006.
"It's all about the location," Pfaff says of the lakefront building boom. "It's all about trying to be close to whatever lake we have in the desert. So much is happening around that lake, and I know that all of the great property seems to be spoken for. There's big plans for it all."
Buyers and sellers
Water or no water, the people buying into lakefront urban living are generally the same customers purchasing in similar landlocked projects.
"One is the investor, two is the empty-nester and three is a bachelor or a young executive," says Evan Katz, a member of the Katz Group of Realty Executives.
Edmunds says, "The most important single ingredient is the change in lifestyle for people." The bulk of future Scotts-dale Waterfront residents are "people between the ages of 50 and 70 who are looking for a new lifestyle that allows them to lock and leave, and not have to maintain a large single-family home on a large lot. So we get a lot of buyers from North Scottsdale and Paradise Valley who are moving out of their single-family home and moving into the urban lifestyle."
That description fits the Friedmans perfectly. "We bought a condo in California a few years ago, and we decided we liked that kind of living," Fran Friedman says. "It was easy because we travel a lot; we just lock the door and go."
In other urban-living communities such as Northshore, the main buyer is the young professional, a fact that may partially be attributed to the lower price points.
The young professionals "really love Tempe and the lake and the lifestyle," Pfaff says. "It's a great mix - you've got what's going on in Tempe, and you're close to Scottsdale."
The best news for waterfront property owners may come when it's time to sell, Katz says.
"I think the waterfront environment - that feeling of being on the water - is a very unique thing here in the Valley. I think in the long term the waterfront properties, the ones facing the water, will probably resell better than others. You can compare it to a golf-course lot; anything that is unique always will deliver a premium, especially on resale."
That may be, but the Friedmans aren't looking to sell their waterfront property any time soon.
"We're a good year, 14 months away from moving in, and the excitement and anticipation starts to grow as it gets closer and closer," Harvey Friedman says. And after moving day finally arrives, "We're going to be there for a while."
For her part, Fran is looking forward to decorating the new place.
