When Robert Chaffeur moved his worldly possessions into storage on July 19, Phoenix was experiencing its 20th consecutive day of temperatures above 110F. Chauffeur, who schlepped his stuff wearing a wet handkerchief to keep cool, was gearing up for an extended road trip, but not to beat the heat — or at least not forever. In October, he’ll return to Phoenix, sell his camper and move into Culdesac Tempe, a car-free community in a city of scorching summers.
Led by co-founders Ryan Johnson and Jeff Berens and fueled by $47 million in venture capital, Culdesac aims to show that car-free living is not just greener but better, even in high heat. The startup’s plan is to build about 700 apartments on a 17-acre lot in Tempe — a suburb of nearly 200,000 on Phoenix’s southeast edge — along with a restaurant, grocery store, coffee shop and other retail. There will be shady courtyards, ample bike parking and a stop on the Valley Metro light rail. There will not, however, be a single parking spot for residents.