Saturday, October 16, 2004

Downtown digs in sudden demand

DAVID PITTMAN

Tucson Citizen

Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance, Paul Simon wrote. But who knew high-end homes would sprout 30 feet from the tracks?

Though housing continues to boom on the city's periphery - on the Northwest and Southeast sides, in the Sahuarita area - there is also considerable growth in the central city.

Sprawling Tucson is turning inward.

"There had been little interest in building in the central core of the city because land prices were too steep or the available parcels were too small," said John Strobeck, publisher of the Tucson Housing Market Letter and owner of Bright Future Business Consulting. "What has happened to change that is builders have found enough land in the central city to build on or have come up with innovative, higher-density designs."

The wave of new homes being built in central Tucson ranges from conventional suburban-type homes to loft-style urban condos.

The Ice House Lofts, a project of Deep Freeze Development, involves the renovation of the 1920s-era Arizona Ice and Cold Storage Co. building at 1000 E. 17th St.

Homes in the project do not come cheap.

Prices range from $263,200 for a 1,284-square-foot loft with a balcony, to $457,100 for a 2,344-square-foot unit with three bedrooms and a courtyard. In addition, there are monthly homeowners fees of $175 to $225.

Nonetheless, developers report the lofts are selling briskly. Forty-three of 51 Ice House units were said to be sold as of late August.

The Ice House sits just 30 feet from the Union Pacific tracks. Other features include a swimming pool, spa, gym and living rooms with ceilings up to 21 feet high.

Armory Park del Sol, at South Third Avenue and East 16th Streets, blends state-of-the-art energy technology with high-quality building techniques, an environment friendly to walkers.

The developer is John Wesley Miller, who has built a reputation as a "green builder" over more than three decades of doing business in Tucson. Miller was the general contractor of Biosphere 2 and was among the masterminds behind Civano, a Southeast Side neighborhood billed as the nation's largest sustainable housing community.

"When we began building at Armory Park del Sol we elevated our standards to the same levels as our custom home s," Miller said. "I just felt the market was ready for high quality as part of the renaissance downtown."

The homes feature solar hot water and electric systems, masonry walls with exterior insulation and are built on 10-inch to 14-inch concrete slabs, compared to a conventional 4-inch-thick slab.

Miller said one of the model homes costs only $277 per year to heat and cool.

Residences at Armory Park del Sol aren't for entry-level buyers. Homes, which range from 961 to about 2,500 square feet, start at $263,000 and go to more than $600,000. NEXT PAGE» 1, 2