Urban redo: Brothers creating infill projects in historic Phoenix neighborhoods

Urban redo: Brothers creating infill projects in historic Phoenix neighborhoods
The Business Journal of Phoenix ~ April 27, 2007
by Jan Buchholz
The Business Journal

Jag Development, a Phoenix-based urban infill developer, has broken ground on an ultra-modern, multifamily project northeast of downtown in the North Garfield Historic District.

The Portland 38 project at Seventh and Portland streets is 25 percent presold, even though the sales office hasn't been open for long. Prices for the three-story townhomes, ranging in size from 1,200 to 1,500 square feet, start in the low $300,000s.

"This is probably the first new project in the Garfield District since World War II," said Jag co-principal Ben Gutkin. "It's really the best-situated historic district to downtown."

Gutkin and his brother, Allan, grew up in the area, and are committed to turning downtown Phoenix and nearby neighborhoods into a vibrant urban core. Their grandfather, who bought a gas station at First Avenue and Madison Street in 1935, was one of downtown's first successful businessmen. Their other grandfather was a duplex developer in Milwaukee.

They combined their love for urban Phoenix with the family's real estate legacy by creating Jag Development several years ago. Since then, the Gutkins have been on a buying spree with an eye toward creating unconventional, chic housing projects.

The company owns about 340,000 square feet of vacant land and commercial property in the urban core. They've completed one residential project nearby -- the Willetta 9, north of Interstate 10 and west of Seventh Street -- and are developing several others.

The Willetta 9 sold out quickly, convincing the Gutkins they are on a successful home-building track despite a suburban housing slump.

"This area has really turned around. Ten years ago, no one would look at it," Allan Gutkin said.

The principals predict that most of the Jag units will be purchased by an eclectic mix of people in the 25- to 50-year-old range.

"We'll have buyers from the creative class and entrepreneurs," Ben Gutkin said. "We hope to get some medical workers, para­legals and professors, too."

The Gutkins expect long-range plans for transforming downtown Phoenix into a medical and educational hub to drive demand for their unusual housing models, which feature polished concrete floors; oversized, double-paned windows; high ceilings; European wood finishes; contemporary kitchen and bathroom fixtures; and open spaces in the tradition of Manhattan warehouse lofts.

"We're doing something in this price range that's unknown, with (high-end) appliances and countertops," Allan Gutkin said.

He credits architect Michael Underhill for bringing something special to the Jag projects. Underhill, an expert on modernism and a noted architecture professor at Arizona State University, said he was thrilled to discover the Gutkins shared his love for contemporary, urban design and were willing to risk building homes with an edgier silhouette.

"I was attracted to them right away. Four or five years ago, you didn't find anyone building modern homes," Underhill said.

Although Underhill applauds the construction of luxury high-rise homes downtown, he and the Gutkins believe the area needs other residential options.

"The great, big high-rises help, but there needs to be more moderately sized infill projects that have a presence right on the street," Underhill said.

Those need to be more moderately priced, too. The sticker shock involved with some new high-rise developments -- many in the million-dollar range -- has left some would-be urbanites out of the market, Ben Gutkin said.

"The cost of what we're selling is far lower than the cost of most high-rises," he said. "To make downtown vibrant, you've got to have alternatives in housing."

A range of socioeconomic classes also is needed, he said.

"It's important to have areas where there's a whole mixture of society," he said. "That's what makes life interesting."