“I live in Arcadia.” That has to to be the million dollar answer these days. It seems as though the southern boundary now runs half way to Tucson and Arcadia Lite has somehow moved close to Buckeye. Jokes…I know…but maintaining the boundaries of our neighborhood goes a long way to upholding our home values. Boundaries allow the Arcadia name to remain exclusive and more desirable especially as other neighborhoods outside of the area begin to blossom.
Our neighborhood is made up of three distinct sections. Arcadia Proper, Arcadia Lite, and Lower Arcadia. The boundaries of these sections depend on who you are talking to, but the map below will show you what I consider to be the most accurate depiction of those neighborhood sections.
Boundaries: 44th Street to 68th Street, Camelback Rd. to the canal
Arcadia Proper was home to the original citrus orchards that formed the area in the early 1900’s. These citrus orchards gave way to developers in 1919 who began to assemble large tracts of land that would be surveyed, platted, and marketed for single family homes. The tracts were sold in 5 acre lots and no home could be constructed for less than $5,000 at the time. This cost requirement was implemented in order to attract only the most wealthy investors in order to make Arcadia into an exclusive rural community.
While Arcadia is no longer rural 😉 the original founders including Seymour Jordan, Robert Grace, and Charles Keafer did a great job upholding the standards of Arcadia. To this day, Arcadia Proper is still one of the most exclusive and desired neighborhoods in the state. The boundaries of this portion of the neighborhood are drawn in ink and are non-negotiable.
Arcadia Lite
Boundaries: 32nd Street to 44th Street, Camelback Rd. to Indian School Rd.
The hip trendsetter, Arcadia Lite is home to all of the neighborhood favorites including La Grande Orange, Postino, North, Chelseas, INGOS, The Madison, and many more. While the original Arcadia Lite was just a little pocket that lies to the south of Campbell, I have expanded it to include everything north of Indian School between 32nd St to 44th St. since it has evolved over the years.
In my opinion, Arcadia Lite is undervalued and will see the most growth out of all of the Arcadia neighborhood sections in the years to come. New builds in this area have been selling between $280-$320/sq.ft. which is well below that of Arcadia Proper. I think that you will see this area start to drive a lot of millennial traffic and younger families who want some of the best walkability in the Valley.
Lower Arcadia
Boundaries: 44th Street to 56th Street, Indian School Rd to Thomas Rd
Lower Arcadia is home to most of the parks and schools of the Arcadia area. This part of the neighborhood has always been a throwback to the old school days of Arcadia living with most of its original 1950 homes still intact. There has been significant turnover in the past few years that is leading to a boom in new home construction and even some retail development on the southwest corner of 56th St and Indian School Rd. The Veritas Prep Academy is also driving a lot of families to this part of the neighborhood so that they can be closer to school.
The Arcadia name is a brand. It is authentic. It has character. It is desired. As residents, lets make sure that we are working together to keep the integrity of our brand intact. Our neighborhood traditions and culture are second to none, and I look forward to building our futures together. As always, give me a call or shoot me a text anytime at 602-561-0445 to talk about the neighborhood.