Further Notes on Retail

Please take a look at this post I just completed for my other, more professional, blog.  It relates to an upcoming article I'm writing about our wonderful new transit stop planned for Laveen (hint: I'm being slightly sarcastic).

On Civility

It's really quite amazing when you think about all of the various community groups we have in Laveen and the fact that it actually feels like a community.  Neighbors tend to know each other, we all tend to share a concern about what happens around us, and from my experience I'd say we're pretty good people as a whole.  However, there are certainly times when I wish that we would remind ourselves of these positive attributes and use them to promote better resolutions to our trivial day-to-day problems.

I feel compelled to share a story that made me laugh last week, although I was actually quite disappointed by the lost opportunity for community members to work together.  I'm sure that by blogging about this encounter, I risk further irritating an already stressed individual who shall remain anonymous; but hopefully she'll understand that my intent here is positive...... And so, with that preface out of the way, I'll add that this is a person who I looked forward to meeting eventually so that I could compliment her well kept front yard and hopefully inquire about her landscaping choices and trade notes.  But our first meeting was anything but this kind of neighborly exchange.  Here's how it actually went down....

As I walked up to our daycare provider's home to pick up my son one day last week, I caught a glimpse of the neighbor storming out of her garage to "greet" me.  Almost as soon as I saw her, I was surprised to hear a rather angry tone as she yelled, "Stay off my property!"  Surely, there's a misunderstanding, right?  I may have noticed her front yard on the many occasions that I've driven by her house, but did not recall ever setting foot on her property.  This concerned me -- I'm really not accustomed to people approaching me in such a way, so my assumption in this case was either that there was a misunderstanding or she's simply crazy.  As it turns out, there may have been a little of both at play.

I may have smirked a tiny bit with discomfort as I said it, but I replied genuinely that I hadn't been on her property and would never trespass onto her property.  She must have me mistaken with someone else, I said.  To this, she snarled back at me, "I see you turn around in my driveway every day because I'm sitting in my office right there!"  Now, I realized that we aren't even on the same page.  I have in fact made a u-turn in front of her residence a few dozen times, this afternoon included; but I didn't exactly cross over her property line, even if I may have driven up the curb.... at least I didn't think so.  This is the point in a stressful situation when my analytical mindset often gets me in trouble.  I felt duty bound to explain the technicalities of property lines and public easements (thankfully she didn't give me a chance to get into the deeper technical issue of roads/sidewalks as possibly being both private and public at the same time, which was not really relevant anyhow).  But before I could even properly defend myself and explain that this person was wrong, she informed me that she would call the police next time and she stomped back into her cave garage (oops).

Here's my main problem with this whole scenario: Obviously, this person was just as eager to meet me as I was to meet her, although we had very different intentions.  I had built up my expectations to what would hopefully be a pleasant exchange, as I've come to expect from other random encounters with fellow Laveen residents.  She, on the other hand, had obviously been building up enough resentment to finally go yell at a total stranger, and she finally found the opportunity.  The problem with the actual encounter, from my point of view, is that it literally crushed a good deal of my desire to send good vibes toward this home and homeowner (plus, I learned to doubt that there were ever any good vibes headed my way).  Instead, I was faced with a battle between my ego (which is almost always up for a good argument), my inner adolescent (wearing a devil costume on my shoulder, it said "hey, let's go get a carton of eggs. Hehehe"), and the optimist in me (thinking "wow! This person really cares about her neighborhood").  Don't worry, I've long since learned to ignore the inner adolescent, but I can't say that I've completely settled the dilemma between the other two forces.

If I weren't as concerned and thoughtful about this encounter, however, this woman's behavior would merely be an invitation for passive aggressive retribution on a constant basis.  I can only imagine how many kids she yells at who then return the favor with TP and/or eggs (they still do that, right?); or how many other parents like myself would respond by letting off a little steam every day with an extra slo-mo turn in front of her house.  I'm not condoning this kind of incivility, but let's face it -- it happens.

So in an effort to create a win-win situation, I propose that this woman and I each step back a few paces and consider what it is about ourselves that created this encounter, versus another.  Think about all the positives that could have arisen from a meeting of our minds: I could improve my own landscaping thanks to her tips, which would then create an ever-so-slight improvement to the community as a whole (ok, that may be a stretch, but perhaps I could offer some advice in exchange); or, even more importantly, it's a chance for three vigilant community members (her, the daycare provider, and me) to get together and discuss what we're seeing around the neighborhood.  In any event, we could have created more empathy, which is like gold on a social currency scale.  Seriously, if this woman were not so high strung, I couldn't imagine a better block than one with a home daycare provider and someone who works from home, both keeping an eye on things.  If we could sit down and discuss best practices for an active daytime blockwatch, this could be excellent information to spread to the rest of the community.  But this requires a meeting of the minds and a civil discussion.

I really hope that she reads this blog so that next time we run into each other I'll have already safely communicated my desire to make peace, and we can cast aside any need to argue the finer details.  As a peace offering, I'll even promise to make my u-turns before or after her property to ease her concerns about tire marks or whatever the issue is.  But I urge everyone else to try harder to approach any such situation with a more open mind -- I know that I'm still frequently reminded of this, as I make my own mistakes in dealing with people.  But I really do strive to coast along and make everyone happier and better off for having met me.  It's just my nature.

And as the optimist should always win over the ego, I'll end with this silver lining:  Regardless of whether I ever get to speak to this person again, I'm pleased to know that there's yet another set of eyes on our daycare provider's property.  I just hope that this person has some sense of gratitude to match.

Laveen Retail Activity Heating Up!!!

Here's what we know:  Scooptacular has opened in the old Cold Stone location near Fry's and Starbuck's.  The bonus here is that this is a Laveen family-owned homemade ice cream shop.  From what I've heard about their soft opening yesterday (or is it a soft serve opening), they are amazing!  And judging by friends' facebook status updates, it's worth taking more than one trip per day.  I kid you not.  Just go to the Laveen page (linked on the right) and see what people are saying.  If only I were an ice cream fan....

L.A. Fitness is finally finishing construction at the SW corner of Baseline/51st Avenue.  The company's targeted construction schedule is nine months, which I think would put them at an early fall 2010 opening.  This is exciting for most of us, not to mention a great sign of the times for Laveen.  L.A. Fitness is usually quite picky when it comes to evaluating market demand.  And if only you knew all the issues that could have killed this deal....  You've got to hand it to Terrazona for making this happen.  (Speaking of Terrazona, please stay tuned for further updates.)

You've probably seen the signs for Goodwill and Mi Pueblo Supermercado in the old Mervyn's building at Southern/35th Avenue.  Both are confirmed as future tenants in the otherwise mostly empty space.  Also, I learned today that a Pizza Patron is expected to move into the small strip of stores closest to the corner (end cap near US Bank).  And then I had to dig a little deeper for info about a yet unfamiliar concept, dd's Discounts, which is planning to build their store adjacent to the Goodwill.

Last but not least, let's go back to Baseline/51st Avenue.  The Safeway shopping center will soon be full, according to the owners, Evergreen.  TheraPro and Stewart Chiropractic have both committed to occupying the inline spaces in the 'elbow' of the shopping center, and the word on the streets is that a financial services company is eying the space as well -- again, a great indicator of Laveen's economic vitality, I can hardly wait to share further details.  And didn't I say that the space was nearly full?  Yes, how about the end cap.....

As you all know, we were expecting a Denny's to move into the end cap location (near Sonic), but the Denny's franchisee decided not to move forward on the deal.  Logically, I thought this was perhaps an opportunity to get something nicer than Denny's -- it's a great restaurant site, after all -- but there just isn't much opportunity for a restaurant in that location at the moment.  This is for a variety of reasons that I will cover later.  But for now, let's just be glad that the space is being considered primarily as a dentist's office, and secondarily as a potential restaurant location......  That's right, there is a potential restaurant user still considering this location, although I cannot share the details.  Soon, my friends... Soon.  In the mean time, please accept my apology for slacking on the retail updates and know to expect much more going forward.

P.S.  If this kind of subject matter is particularly interesting to you, what would you say to a quick Saturday morning retail workshop in the next few months?  I bet we could get several of our property owners/managers together to discuss things like space requirements, demographics, investment considerations, location, location, location, and other related subjects.  Anyone in?  If so, I'll start putting something together.  And if you think you even might have a bit of an entrepreneurial bug, we could perhaps expand the scope to be a small business workshop....  You game?

Home Ownership and Community Development

After posting this article to my other blog, I wondered how we might apply the discussion to Laveen.  I think that homeowners' intent to stay put can be a powerful mechanism to creating a more vibrant community -- especially when looking at residential regions lacking in a strong daytime population, such as ours (nearby, yes, but not exactly in our village).  There was an article recently, in the Las Vegas Sun, which highlighted the fact that 40% of the Las Vegas area's residents want to move out of the area, and the housing numbers don't appear to demonstrate that there are many people willing to replace that kind of exodus of residents.

Anecdotally, it seems that we're in a much better position than the likes of Las Vegas (and even other areas of Phoenix), having recently voted to grant our school districts an override (investing in our future) and judging by the relative stability of our housing market at the moment -- not to mention the renewed interest in retail and a few other green shoots.  But I would love to challenge this assumption with a survey.... maybe on the Laveen group's facebook page?  Also, what are your thoughts?  Please comment.

More on the Housing Market

In case anyone doesn't already follow my other blog, Western Development News, I just posted a new article that applies in Laveen as much as anywhere.  It is quite maturely titled, "Seriously?  Still Talking Trash about the Phoenix Housing Market?  Get Over It Already:" http://bit.ly/cuFac2

Interesting Criticism on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway

While I obviously disagree with his overall stance on the subject, I can at least take a little pride in helping push Jon Talton to discuss the Loop 202 from his well-informed perspective: http://bit.ly/bqjuF3.  I'll restrain from elaborating much on my comments here, since I already posted them on his article's comments section (and have written ad nauseum on the topic already), but this is a worthy dialog for us as Laveen residents and for others impacted by the proposed freeway.  After all, it makes sense that fellow Phoenicians might see this as yet another unnecessary freeway for most -- it's our job to convince them otherwise.  While I hope to have sufficiently addressed these claims, I'd love to know what others think.


***And btw, I've mentioned him before on this blog, but just to be thorough I highly recommend that you follow Mr. Talton's "Phoenix 101" series of articles.  I first discovered his AZ Republic business columns in 2005, shortly before he was ousted for his controversial views [at least, that's how I understand it].  His move to Seattle since then would have been a much greater loss, were it not for his continued impassioned blogging about Phoenix as the "Rogue Columnist."

City Budget Hearings

I just returned from the city budget meeting at the Burton Barr Library.  It looks to me as though people are generally unconcerned about the food tax, and instead focusing on the somewhat false dichotomy proposed by the city: either pay the food tax or see further reduction of emergency response services, which are already stressed to maintain adequate staffing levels.

I think there must be other alternatives.  Please visit http://www.phoenix.gov/budget and see where the cuts are currently proposed.  Also, please join my plea in asking for a more transparent system that allows residents to view the city manager's complete budget.  If this is made possible, perhaps we can make more informed recommendations without needing to say yes or no to police officers, depending on whether or not we want a food tax.

There were a few great ideas presented tonight, including one person who suggested we could consider a targeted food tax on junk food items, and then some guy in a mask talking about the Federal Reserve (???).  Please bring your thoughtful suggestions to the meeting next week at Cesar Chavez H.S.