A big part of Scottsdale’s appeal is its unique geographic diversity, from its core urban setting in the south to the north with some of the most pristine desert in all of the Southwest. It didn’t happen by accident.
It started with city residents agreeing to tax themselves to buy the land to create the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. Now, 20 years and $1 billion later, the preserve stands as a signature draw that makes the city appealing to residents, businesses and tourists. It will remain that way in perpetuity.
It’s a perfect mix, appealing to preservationists who value what Mother Nature has provided while also serving as a signature draw for tourism and an amenity that attracts investors to the city.
Over the years, city leaders also have implemented land use decisions that preserve open spaces throughout the northern half of the city, offering residents a single-family lifestyle with lots of elbow room.
To sustain that geographic diversity while also providing the means to grow its economy — essentially to pay for it all without raising taxes — city leaders have focused development options for business growth to three areas: downtown, the McDowell Road corridor and the Airpark region.
With the national economy now in a growth cycle for next few years with a pent-up post-pandemic demand for business expansion, community, business and city leaders are working on ways to ensure investors know the city is open for business.
There is ample evidence to show that good ideas can stand the rigors required to get projects approved in Scottsdale — where quality and long-term sustainability have always required investors to bring their best to the city.
Many outsiders may be surprised to see the scope and magnitude of activity happening in all three areas with projects already approved and in various stages of development:
Downtown: A Strong Heartbeat
Downtown encompasses about two of the city’s 185 square miles, giving it a focused urban core option that serves as the economic heartbeat of the city. Numerous projects have been through the bulk of the city approval process and soon are on track to come out of the ground — and that’s in addition to a revamped Civic Center.
The Kimsey: The multi-use project will feature a 168-room hotel, 190 residential units, a restaurant and commercial space at 7110 E. Indian School Road. It also will preserve the Triangle building, designed by renowned architect Ralph Haver, which once served as Scottsdale’s City Hall.
Caesars Republic Scottsdale: The luxury hotel at the corner of Highland Avenue and Goldwater next to Fashion Square mall is set to open in 2023. It will be the first non-gaming branded Caesars hotel in the United States. It will have 265 rooms at 11 stories and include a 7,000-square-foot ballroom and a large meeting space for conferences.
Scottsdale Collection: The $450-million project will bring a new mix of uses over 10 acres in the entertainment district. It calls for replacing dated office and club properties with 580,000 square feet of commercial space, and hundreds of apartments and hotel rooms. The centerpiece is City Center, a 150-foot building at the northeast corner of Scottsdale and Camelback roads that could feature up to 400 hotel rooms, 100 apartments and more than 40,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
Marquee: A 150-foot-tall office building planned next to the Galleria Corporate Center, with 280,000 square feet of Class A office space.
Museum Square: A mixed-use development that includes a hotel tower and four residential buildings, three of which will be along the Goldwater Boulevard curve, and two public open-space plazas.
Civic Center renovation: The city is starting work to revamp the Civic Center Mall with $27.3 million in upgrades from the 2019 bond project, giving the open-space area a complete makeover. It also will be done in time to serve as a potential host event site for Super Bowl 23.
The Airpark Region Flying High
The Airpark region, which covers nearly nine square miles around the Scottsdale Airport, is one of the largest employment centers in the state with more than 2,900 businesses and more than 51,000 employees. It’s home to a number of company headquarters: AXON (Taser), JDA Software, Nautilus Insurance, Quicken Loans, CVS Caremark and Vanguard. Adding to that lineup are these new projects:
Cavasson: At full completion, the project’s mix of uses, which features a new office building for Nationwide Insurance, will include 1.8 million square feet of commercial office space, 1,600 residences, a full-service hotel, retail and restaurants. The 134-acre project is at the corner of Loop 101 and Hayden Road.
Axon: The company, formally known as Taser, is building its new headquarters building at the southeast corner of Hayden Road and Loop 101. Its campus will cover about 250,000 square feet for up to 1,500 employees.
One Scottsdale: A mixed-use development at the intersection of Loop 101 and Scottsdale Road. One Scottsdale could total as much as 2.86 million square feet at full build out with Class A offices as well as 400 hotel rooms and 2,000 residential units.
McDowell Road Corridor
In the past decade, more than $200 million of new investment has been made in this area, the southern gateway to Scottsdale, which now has more than 14,000 employees.
SkySong 7: A new Class A office building added to the project at the corner of Scottsdale and McDowell roads. It will total 340,000 square feet and will be six stories tall. SkySong already is home to 750,000 square feet of office space as well as restaurants, apartments and a hotel.
Papago Plaza: The plaza, a longtime shopping destination that fell into disrepair, is undergoing a redevelopment that includes a 274-unit apartment building and a 118-room hotel along with 30,000 feet of retail and a grocery store.
Scottsdale Entrada: The project at the northeast corner of 64th Street and McDowell Road includes more than 250,000 square feet of office space in addition to 7,500 square feet of retail space and 735 apartments, spread out across 33 acres.
Don Henninger is executive director for SCOTT.
