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It's been almost a decade since Money magazine named Prescott the best retirement city in the United States, but locals still cite it as a watershed event in the town's "discovery" and subsequent growth.
These days, much of the growth in the city roughly 100 miles from Phoenix has taken a decidedly upscale turn that belies the $34,215 median income. New money, a lot of it from Valley residents, is pouring into Prescott and stoking a market for everything from pricey new homes on a private golf course to trendy bistros, art galleries and stores.
Real estate, "without a doubt, skyrocketed in the last couple of years," said Kathleen Yamauchi, owner of Russ Lyon Realty Co. in Prescott, where she's sold upper-end real estate for 12 years.
A dozen years ago, the high-end market was $250,000 to $300,000, but "the high end that's actually selling, I would say, is in the $500,000 to $650,000 range," she said. Yamauchi had a record June with five sales between $500,000 to $700,000. She has sold a couple homes for more than $1 million. The average housing price in Prescott last year increased almost 15 percent over 2001, to $214,000, according to MLS listings. The median price increased more than 13 percent, to $187,000. One house sold last year for $1.7 million.
What's happening?
"I just think Prescott's a great place to live," Yamauchi said. "People have discovered that (and it is) people wanting to get out of the cities for safety's sake."
An estimated 80,000 people live within 10 miles of the Yavapai County Courthouse, 60 percent more than counted in the 1990 census. Another 14,000 people are expected within the circle by 2007 and 156,145 are projected to be living within 30 miles of the local airport by 2007.
Prescott's growth, though, also is fueling complaints about things like traffic.
Mayor Rowle Simmons says the demand for high-end homes on Prescott's limited land is creating a shortage of affordable housing. The more-affordable housing tends to be found in Prescott Valley and Chino Valley, residents say.
But not all homes in Prescott exceed $500,000. Del Webb is offering its Cottages-Prescott Lakes from $169,400 to the high $190,000s.
While Prescott's growth has drawbacks, it also has benefits, locals say.
"We have more of a multicultural feel now," Simmons said.
A strip mall in west Prescott is being revitalized to include the town's second Wal-Mart. There are three Starbucks coffeehouses and eight golf courses in the area.
Changes downtown
New money also is pouring into downtown.
"We're seeing . . . the most concentrated private investment in downtown that we've seen here in the last decade, at least," said Greg Fister, economic-development coordinator for the city.
City Council approval is expected next month for what Fister called a $12 million, 65-unit "timeshare-hotel-condo" project and new 425-space parking garage behind Whiskey Row.
Local investors also are considering a $9 million financial center anchored by a ground-floor bank, but it faces challenges over height.
And another project under consideration includes offices topped by apartments.
But the city center, with its historic courthouse square, big trees and cool grass, has maintained its health and charm, despite the large Frontier Village and Gateway malls east of town packing retail heavyweights that include Home Depot, Target, Wal-Mart, Dillard's, Sears and JCPenney, not to mention a nearby Costco.
A 'Mayberry' feel
Despite the growth, Prescott still feels like "Mayberry of the West," restaurant owner Barry Barbe said. But it's also more sophisticated than people give it credit for, added Barbe, who is feeding Prescott's evolving tastes with country French and Creole cuisine at his cozy new Belvedere's Bistro downtown.
John Olvera, a downtown barber for 38 years, misses the old Prescott but doesn't decry the new.
"It's changing, but not to the point that you can't still enjoy the town," said Olvera, 65, who sees the new money continuing to transform what once was a "workingman's town" into a "retirement and tourist place." But those new people also are new customers, he said.
Olvera acknowledged that driving, once a "pleasure," is now a "chore." But he knows people seek nice areas.
"You can't blame 'em for wanting to get away from that mess (in the Valley)," he said.
Talking Rock
A developing slice of the upper-end pie is rising out of the ground one large, custom house at a time at Talking Rock, a new private golf course and housing development on a former cattle ranch 14 miles northwest of town. Touted as blending architecturally into the countryside's pi??landscape and ranching heritage, a dozen homes are under construction, with one just-completed, 2,786-square-foot spec house listed for $725,000. More than 100 lots have sold for up to $245,000.
That's about midrange for Talking Rock spec homes, said Peter Gooding, director of marketing and sales for developer Harvard Investments Inc. of Scottsdale.
The smallest custom houses will be 2,400 square feet, and the larger ones will range up to 8,000 square feet, he said. Talking Rock also will include more modest single-family homes of 1,800 to 2,300 square feet priced in the high $300,000s to high $400,000s, he said.
9 to 12 years to finish
Talking Rock - with mountain backdrops and a 7,350-yard golf course designed by Jay Morrish to fit with the gentle terrain - will include 1,400 to 1,600 units at build-out in nine to 12 years. More than 1,000 of the development's 3,500 acres will remain open.
Mesa builder Dan Boylan is constructing four homes at Talking Rock, three for clients and one that he intends to use for his family. The 28-year-old likes the area for its family- and child-friendliness and lack of country-club stuffiness that he said can accompany private golf courses.
Buyers typically are "pre-retirees," ages 45 to 55, said Doug Zuber, a Harvard partner in charge of the project. "The target market isn't primarily the indigenous marketplace," but rather the Valley, where about 65 percent of buyers reside, he said. Many are buying second homes that later will be primary residences capable of comfortably accommodating visiting family members, he said.
Sales growth
It's buyers like those at Talking Rock who are providing a spurt of new business for Kimberly McClain, who owns Bella Home Furnishings & Sylvan Collection Ltd. Interiors. The 18-year businesswoman opened the store, six times larger than her previous one, about a year ago. She now travels to Europe to buy furnishings that Prescott's new residents seek.
She can make in one sale what she used to in a week.
Prescott's changes are good, too, for artists at Van Gogh's Ear, a new gallery on Whiskey Row. While concerned about pressure on water supplies, increased traffic and dwindling open space, they know that new homeowners mean new art buyers.
"We survive off of them," said part owner Alex Horst, who grew up on ranches in the area and knows ranchers are having to sell to survive. "That's just the way of the West."
John Stearns
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 14, 2003 12:00 AM
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