PHOENIX: It is a man’s mission to turn part of the valley around.
For police officers, it’s one of the busiest neighborhoods in Phoenix when it comes to evictions – zip code 85008 near the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. But there is an Arizona man who is trying to change that – one property at a time.
It is a neighborhood that Constable Darlene Martinez used in her four years’ service in Maricopa County – a neighborhood on Van Buren Street between 24.
Inside, the tenant is nowhere to be found, but his belongings are everywhere. The law requires landlords to keep them for 14 days, but that’s not all the renter left behind.
“The door was deliberately damaged,” stated property owner Shawn Petree. “The last time I was here it wasn’t like that.”
Most people would flee from such a neighborhood, but not Shawn. “It comes with business. I’ve gone deaf over the years,” he said.
Shawn owns more than a dozen properties in the area in hopes of getting around Van Buren Street.
“We all go through our bumps and bruises. We will clean it out and fix it and hope we can find a decent tenant to move in, ”he added.
Nick: What’s stopping you from renting here when you’re dealing with this headache?
Shawn: The hopes of changing Van Buren. I’m from the Valley and I’m trying to clean up Van Buren with a couple of partners.
Nick: You want to be here so you can revive it. What makes you do that?
Shawn: Just to be a Phoenician. A few years ago I met with one of my partners and we had the same vision to clean up Van Buren. So we aimed from 24th to 32nd place.
Shawn has owned these properties for about a decade. He hopes to buy more properties here to turn this area upside down. Someday, he wants to see it resemble the Camelback and Central area, with residential, retail, and walkable neighborhoods thriving.
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