Good news for Tempe urbanists and well-heeled ASU students as the posh West 6th Street Tempe Towers are finally open for business with move in scheduled for as early as August 1. Never heard of West 6th Street? Well, that’s because it was formerly known as Centerpoint Condos, i.e. the half-built high-rise towers that have been hulking over Mill Avenue for years now.

Take a full gallery of these deeeeluxe apartments in the sky-hi-hi after the jump. Or click here to learn more about this once-cursed project, including why it was one of dozens of high-profile projects that came to a crashing halt after Phoenix’s infamous ‘Tuxedo Suicide.’

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Timeless is not exactly the first word that comes to mind when one thinks of a 1980s stucco track home, but that was exactly the inspiration for the 6,000 square foot Fountain Hills Loisi Home. The contemporary design aimed to translate this standard design into a timeless jewel in the desert. The interior design by Est Est is both sleek and comfortable transforming this desert staple into something both beautiful and livable, outside and in.

As chosen by you, here are the most popular stories OF ALL TIME (aka last week). Just in case you missed it

[Editor's note: As of April 2011, the Centerpoint Condos on Mill Ave have been sold, renamed West 6th Street and turned into luxury rentals. Skip to the 4th paragraph if you are looking for the deets on the so-called Tuxedo Suicide]

So much for that. The Phoenix Business Journal is reporting that the sale of the abandoned Centerpoint condos looming over Mill Ave has fallen through. Now, mere months after everyone was high-fiving that an Ohio-based developer was going to turn the half-built towers into luxury apartments, the deal has imploded.

Then again, this project was probably doomed, if not from the beginning, at least from the day a prominent Valley businessman was found dead inside the master bedroom of his sprawling Phoenix mansion.

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As the Baseline Killer suspect finally goes to trial, we thought we’d take a creepy trip down memory lane by driving past his old home. Which, these days, looks pretty much like any other home in central Phoenix. However, if you’d walked past it back in 2006, when suspect Mark Goudeau was first hauled away and eventually charged with 74 felony counts including 8 murders, you would have taken one look and said, “Yup, that guy’s a serial killer.”

No seriously, the yard still looks pretty tidy, but five years ago it was immaculate. The front yard alone so blindingly green and perfectly-coiffed that it looked like it’d been cut with scissors. In fact, media reports at the time we’re peppered with comments such as this from his startled neighbors. “[T]hey couldn’t believe he would attack anybody. They described him as friendly, a cement worker who left early in the morning for jobs around the county and was a regular presence in his front yard where he’d keep meticulous care of his bushes and waved to neighbors.”

Yup, serial killer.

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Banker Scott Coles and his wife at a charity event mere months before he killed himself and his company collapsed into bankruptcy

Here at DLT/Scoop Factory, we always love to hear from our readers. Even if you just want to say we suck and don’t know how to spell (complementary complimentary copyediting services are always appreciated).

However, a recent comment was so informative and heartfelt, that we decided it deserved its own post. It came in response to yesterday’s write-up on the long-awaited resurrection of the Centerpoint/West 6th Street towers looming over Downtown Tempe, as well as the project’s connection to Phoenix’s infamous ‘Tuxedo Suicide.’ One reader wrote in to tell us that it wasn’t just shady real estate developers and crooked bankers who were left holding the bag when longtime local lender, Mortgages Ltd., went belly up follwing the death of owner, Scott Coles (pictured). In fact, plenty of innocent people lost their life savings.

“Hello Scoop Factory – I would kindly ask everyone for some compassion by being a bit less ‘breezy’ in descriptions of the financial disaster that was the Centerpoint Condo’s…

Yes, it was made sensational by the tragic and strange suicide of Scott Coles … But it represented just the tip of the iceberg of a huge, Valley-wide real estate disaster that wiped out the retirement savings of a good many people, who had invested, in trust and good faith, with his company, Mortgages, Ltd.

My mother was one of those people …

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Its been a tough couple of years for Valley urbanists as several high profile ‘live/work/play’ projects ground to a halt. However, we’re happy to report that things are finally looking up as both Safari Drive in Downtown Scottsdale and the 44 Monroe tower in Phoenix have been rescued from bankruptcy. This on the heels of the news that the all-but-abandoned Centerpoint Condos hulking over Mill Ave have been transformed into luxury rentals (and renamed West Sixth Street).

In fact, after attending the Safari Drive grand reopening, we’re happy to report that the real estate crash must officially be over, because they partied like it was 2005. There were red carpets, fine foods, classy parting gifts and even aerialists pouring Champagne while twirling through the night sky. That said, one thing was definitely 2011: the prices.

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As Valley homeowners continue to struggle with a historically bad real estate market, one local industry is rolling in the green. Green paint, that is. Yes, companies such as Turf Painter are busier than ever as more and more Valley residents save money by letting their water-gulping grass lawns go brown. However, as anyone who’s ever lived in an HOA- monitored neighborhood can tell, the fines for not maintaining a green yard can dwarf any savings from turning off the sprinklers. Which is where these grass painting services come in. For about $200, they can paint your yard with a vegetable-based dye, which lasts for three months or so.

No word on whether they will also paint your green pool a nice shade of blue.

[NY Times]

While the Valley’s real estate market is still in the tank, things are looking up in one market segment: mansions for the ultra-wealthy. Yes, Russian billionaire, Yuri Milner, just shattered the record for the most expensive home sale in US history with his $100M purchase of a 25,000-sq-ft mansion in Los Altos, CA. Overlooking the San Francisco bay, the nine-bedroom home boasts both indoor and outdoor pools, a ballroom and a wine cellar, as well as a tennis court tucked on the 11-acre grounds, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Learn how Milner made his billions after the jump. (Hint: He really ‘likes’ Facebook.)

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Spanning more than 80 feet over a desert Arroyo in Cave Creek, this minimalist masterpiece strikes a rare balance between bold and delicate. “This is one of the purest houses I’ve ever designed,” said home designer Michael P. Johnson, “The floor plan is simple and the details were executed to perfection.” Speaking of perfection, click here to take a tour of this famed Valley-based architect’s most stunning work, including a one stunning residence cantilevered off the south side of Camelback Mountain (search for the Yoder-Doornbos residence).

Written by David Tyda/Dawson Fearnow, Photography by Bill Timmerman

As chosen by you, here are the most popular stories OF ALL TIME (aka last week)…Just in case you missed it.

For  years, the abandoned Centerpoint condos hulking over Tempe’s Mill Ave have stood as a stark reminder of the Valley’s go-go real estate mania. (Although no mere mania can explain how someone thought hundreds of millionaires were just itching to live above Fat Tuesday, Chili’s and countless drunken Frat boys.) However, it seems that these twin fiascoes, and the curse of the Tuxedo Suicide, might finally be wrapped up soon.

Yes, the Phx Biz Journal is reporting that Centerpoint has been bought for $30M and renamed West Sixth in honor of the project’s location on 111 W. Sixth St. So who’s the (un)lucky new owner?

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For years, the abandoned Centerpoint condos hulking over Tempe’s Mill Ave have stood as a stark reminder of the Valley’s go-go real estate mania. (Although no mere mania can explain how someone thought hundreds of millionaires were just itching to live above Fat Tuesday, Chili’s and countless drunken Frat boys.) However, it seems that these twin fiascoes, and the curse of the Tuxedo Suicide, might finally be wrapped up soon.

Yes, the Phx Biz Journal is reporting that Centerpoint has been bought for $30M and renamed West Sixth in honor of the project’s location on 111 W. Sixth St. So who’s the (un)lucky new owner?

»READ MORE

[See a pic of the home after the jump] The distant Valley suburb of Maricopa just received the sort of publicity that real estate agents and local chambers of commerce dream about. Yes, Bristol Palin, the 20-year-old daughter of governor, politician, Reality TV star/author/bloviator, Sarah Palin, has bought a home in Maricopa.

What’s next, we’ll find out that Mama Palin bought that 154-acre mountaintop estate that was up for auction in Maricopa? Or that Bristol is joining Sheriff Joe’s Anti-Immigration Posse?

Images via Fox News, Pacific Coast News

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Maybe it’s just a spillover from the holiday shopping season, but the rumblings of a real estate rebound keep getting louder. Previously, we wrote how real estate developers are back in the posh party-throwing business, as several high profile projects have relaunched with much fanfare in past few months. And now we hear things are looking up in the long-slumping North Scottsdale condo market.

Image via RightBrainPhotography’s Flickr page

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As chosen by you, here are the most popular stories OF ALL TIME (aka last week). Just in case you missed it.

So much for that. The Phoenix Business Journal is reporting that the sale of the abandoned Centerpoint condos looming over Mill Ave has fallen through. Now, just two months after everyone was high-fiving that an Ohio-based developer was going to turn the half-built towers into luxury apartments, the deal has imploded.

Then again, this project was probably doomed, if not from the beginning, at least from the day a prominent Valley businessman was found dead inside the master bedroom of his sprawling Phoenix mansion. »READ MORE

[Editor's note: As of April 2011, the Centerpoint Condos on Mill Ave have been sold, renamed West 6th Street and turned into luxury rentals. Skip to the 4th paragraph if you are looking for the deets on the so-called Tuxedo Suicide]

So much for that. The Phoenix Business Journal is reporting that the sale of the abandoned Centerpoint condos looming over Mill Ave has fallen through. Now, mere months after everyone was high-fiving that an Ohio-based developer was going to turn the half-built towers into luxury apartments, the deal has imploded.

Then again, this project was probably doomed, if not from the beginning, at least from the day a prominent Valley businessman was found dead inside the master bedroom of his sprawling Phoenix mansion.

»READ MORE

Last Big Queen Creek Farm Yields to Homebuilders [AZ Central]

Police: Man Kills 5 Coworkers, Self in New Mexico [CNN]

Pete Best of the Beatles: ‘Memba Him? [TMZ]

This crazy-cool interactive map illustrates the migration of all Americans in and out of each county in 2008. Here’s Greater Phoenix’s report card (black lines are in and red lines are out):

Looks like the Midwest is still our biggest importer, while Valley expats seem to prefer Salt Lake City and the Lone Star State.

[Click here to see other maps]