For those of us who live and work in Ahwatukee, the seemingly endless negotiation of the South Mountain Loop 202 freeway is always lingering in the back of our minds somewhere.  I’m not going to talk about whether the freeway is or is not going to be built or what the impact is going to be if the freeway is eventually built.  Today, I just want to address the impact the dialogue about the freeway is having on the Ahwatukee Real Estate Market.

You could pick up any number of publications and read that the freeway is going through or is not going through.  You could read that it is going on Indian land or that the Indians have passed multiple resolutions opposing the freeway.  You could read that South Mountain has been declared a sacred place and nothing can be built or that they are going to cut through the South Mountain ridges.  There is much speculation, but no answers.

The result of all this is, the freeway proposal is having a huge impact on the Real Estate Market.  For residents who have homes that are even remotely near the freeway, the proposal itself makes those homes almost impossible to sell.  There are whole neighborhoods that are proximate to the proposed freeway that are in limbo.  The values of their homes have dropped dramatically, and no one in their right mind would buy a home in those neighborhoods until the decision about the freeway is made. 

Currently, the proposal is to demolish 317 homes in Ahwatukee to accommodate the 10 lane freeway!  So, those homes are impacted, not to mention the homes that are next to those homes and would then have a 10 lane freeway in their backyard!

As a Realtor, I just wish they would make a decision and bring some closure to the endless dialogue and speculation about the freeway.  There’s really nothing we can do about the freeway, but it would be nice to be able to give our clients some information one way or another.

On a personal note, and as a resident of Ahwatukee, I pray they decided not to build the freeway at all.  Sure the traffic problems can be a nightmare, but one of the main reasons I moved to Ahwatukee was the beauty of South Mountain Park and how the community was nestled up into the foothills with the only way out to the East! I really like the fact that we are not a community that cars just buzz by on a 10 lane freeway.