As the housing market recovers from the financial crisis, cities are encouraging more residents to move closer to downtown and metropolitan areas. In order to do so, new housing is being built in convenient areas at lower housing costs than surrounding neighborhoods.
According to the Downtown Devil, Landmark Homes recently broke ground on a planned three-story townhome development near downtown Phoenix, AZ. These Center 8 townhouses were strategically placed only minutes from the Roosevelt Row arts district and the downtown area.
The influx of development in the area came as no surprise for the city. District 7 Councilman Michael Nowakowski, stated that the city of Phoenix had been preparing for this situation for years.
“We created this whole triangle of arts and culture that stretches from Roosevelt Row to Grand Avenue, including many new businesses and restaurants,” Nowakowski said, claiming that 45 restaurants were built within the last 8 years.
The vice president of strategic marketing for Landmark Homes attributes the increase in desire to live in the area to the growing number of students from both Arizona State University and the University of Arizona, as well as the easy access to public transportation.
With an average of 45 million people in the U.S. moving residence each year, even larger cities, such as Washington, D.C., are taking advantage of more affordable housing.
Multi-Housing News reported that Urban Pace has begun offering pre-sales on their all-new Washington, D.C., condominiums.
Built by Lock 7 Development, the complex will include 22 home-style two- or three-bedroom residences. Each condominium will offer two-level living, private outdoor space, as well as designated outdoor parking.
These townhouses are also strategically placed in up and coming areas, such as near an array of popular new restaurants and within walking distance of two metro stations.
By choosing the townhouse-style condos, Lock 7 Development was able to keep unit prices fairly low by building the complex as one large structure and using one set of utility connections, offering more value for their buyer’s money.
“We think the site will appeal to buyers looking for more space but who still want to stay in the city,” Lock 7’s David Gorman told MHN.
If these new complexes are as successful as they project, there may be an increasingly large influx of homes moving further into metropolitan areas.