Gilbert Real Estate

The Big League Dreams sports park in Gilbert is opening soon.

Since the future sports park is located just a couple of miles from my house, I stopped by over the weekend to see if I could take a few photos.

It appears the park is quite near completion as I only spotted a couple of workers there on Saturday. The gates were locked up, but I did manage to jam my burly arms through a couple of places and squeeze off a few photos before one of the workers there ran me off.

Big League Dreams sports parks contain multiple softball fields that are scaled down replicas of major league baseball stadiums. I *think* the Gilbert version includes replicas of Yankee Stadium, Fenway, Ebbett’s Field, Chase One (formerly Bank One Ballpark — home of the Diamondbacks) and more. There are also batting cages, restaurants, and an an indoor arena.

The original projected cost of the sports park was $23 million, but last I heard that had swelled to over $36 million. Located on Elliot road between Higley and Power, the sports park is set to open in early January. The Republic says the grand opening is Jan 12, notices at the park mention tryouts on Jan 9 and play beginning Jan 22.

The developers that build and operate Big League Dreams sports parks pitch a plethora of perks a sports park like this can bring a community. Only time will tell if it happens here. I can tell you though — the fields are very nice. We’ll see how that turf holds up in the summer heat…

View more photos at Flickr.

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Technorati Tags: Gilbert, Big League Dreams, Sports Complex

Somehow I’ve missed this from the Blogfather of real estate weblogging. I think it’s brilliant. Dustin, brilliant, there’s a shocker.

UT vs ASU in the Holiday Bowl. The bet is on. When UT wins, Jonathan has to write “I LOVE UT” (or I ?  UT) on his forehead, in Sharpie, and post a pic on his blog.  Should ASU happen to get lucky, Lani and I will do the same with “I ? ASU”.

The Gilbert Town Council will consider tonight whether to acquire 40 acres of land near Germann and Lindsay roads.  Despite falling prices, Gilbert real estate and raw land isn’t cheap — the Town expects to pay around $14M for the parcel ($350K/acre).  The purpose is to build a public safety training complex.

According to the Arizona Republic, there’s an interesting “buy now ask the taxpayers to pay later” thing going on here:

However, Gilbert officials hope to have those costs reimbursed through a future bond issue, a strategy that also must receive council members’ approval.

Huh. Wonder what would happen if voters reject that bond proposal after the land is purchased?

The Town of Gilbert has appointed an “informal Town Council subcommittee” to study whether to propose an ordinance banning or restricting the distribution of fliers at homes.

Seems some citizens of our fair city are growing weary of the junk left on their doors by pizza places, auto-parts stores and dare I say it — real estate agents.

Currently there are no such restrictions in Gilbert. Other Phoenix area ‘burbs do have restrictions in place.

From the East Valley Tribune:

Scottsdale code allows for $250 fines against companies that post fliers, notices or handbills “calculated to attract the attention of the public” on private structures without the consent of the owner. A Paradise Valley code makes it unlawful to leave fliers, but exempts nonprofits except in cases where “no trespassing” signs are posted.

Litchfield Park in the West Valley prohibits fliers where “no solicitation” signs are in public view, and maintains a registry of residents who don’t want to receive fliers, which companies must purchase.

Seems Gilbert residents are clamoring for such an ordinance. Some small business owners, as well as the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce, are opposed, saying it will hurt their business as well as reduce employment opportunities for teens.

Personally, I’m tired of removing all the crap people leave on my door and front porch. I tires of removing  the fliers and newsletters left at my neighbors homes that blow into my yard. Interestingly, real estate agents seem to be the worst abusers.

A ban on putting fliers out at homes won’t affect my business one iota. That practice, along with such old-school tricks of the trade as cold calling and door knocking, is something that isn’t in our marketing plan.

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Technorati Tags: Gilbert Arizona, flier ban, small business

Our booming little town of Gilbert, Arizona is nestled in the east valley of the Phoenix metro area. In the year 2000, there were 109,697 people calling Gilbert home. As of January 2007, that number had almost doubled to 190,331 — making Gilbert one of the fastest growing small communities in the country (source).

With a population explosion comes a host of issues. Ask any resident of Gilbert to name one thing the town needs to improve on and likely you’ll hear some form of the word “traffic” — be it congestion, road construction, traffic signals — traffic is a concern of many residents.

The Gilbert Police Department has posted a couple of interesting maps on their site, indicating the intersections in Gilbert with the highest rate of traffic accidents in 2005 and 2006. There’s nothing on the site that defines “accident”, but I think it’s safe to assume that these numbers represent reported accidents, ranging from fender benders to fatalities, and all points in between.

The top 5 (actually, wouldn’t that be “Bottom 5″?) intersections in 2006 were:

1. Guadalupe and Gilbert roads (55 collisions).
2. Elliot Road and Val Vista Drive (48).
3. Warner and Cooper roads (48).
4. Baseline Road and Val Vista Drive (47).
5. Baseline and Higley roads (46).

For 2005, they were:

1. Guadalupe and Cooper roads (54).
2. Warner Road and Val Vista Drive (53).
3. Warner and Cooper roads (50).
4. Guadalupe Road and Val Vista Drive (49).
5. Guadalupe and Gilbert roads (48).

Be careful out there!

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Technorati Tags: Gilbert, Gilbert traffic