Scottsdale project stirs height, parking worries

A potential 13-story development in Old Town Scottsdale faces concerns about the building height and limited parking in the area.

The project, called Museum Square, is proposed just south of Main Street between Marshall Way and Goldwater Boulevard.

It’s billed as a luxury condominium community that will reinvigorate the arts district downtown.

The Macdonald Development Corporation’s proposal is for a hotel, four residential buildings and a 40,000 squarefoot landscaped plaza surrounding the hotel.

Residents concerns about building heights and a lack of parking have temporarily held up the project.

Parking in Old Town

The developer would buy seven acres from the city for $27.5 million for the project, according to planning documents submitted to the city.

Museum Square is planned with 190 hotel rooms, 300 condo units and 619 dedicated underground parking spaces, according to planning documents submitted by the developer.

Scottsdale City Councilwoman Suzanne Klapp told she has asked the city manager to look into building more parking on a nearby city lot on First Avenue between Scottsdale Road and Marshall Way.

The price for two additional levels of parking totaling about 120 spaces would be approximately $4 million she said. Klapp suggests the city could use money from the land sale to pay for the additional parking.

Councilwoman Solange Whitehead disagrees.

“I just don’t think we should have the proceeds of the project paying for parking because we didn’t demand sufficient parking out of the developer,” Whitehead told The Republic.

She wants to see the developer provide sufficient parking, or two spaces, for each of the condos and hotel rooms, as well as additional parking for hotel employees and visitors.

The plan has allocated more than enough underground parking for the residences, according to Jason Rose, who is handling public relations for the developer.

Inadequate parking in Old Town is a separate issue from the Museum Square project and has existed for years, he said.

Klapp said it can be difficult to get voters to approve funding for parking projects as part of bond requests, as they may not see the need unless they are going to be parking in that specific area.

A bond election that would have created a public parking structure downtown failed in 2013, with some saying it was the responsibility of private developers to build more parking.

“These issues are why you go through the planning commission, why you go through council, to make sure you get it right,” Rose said. “This project can and will get it right.”

Too high for Old Town?

The hotel in Museum Square would rise to 150 feet, or 13 stories, with an additional 6-foot spire.

The four residential buildings would range from 75-149 feet high, or five to 13 stories.

Whitehead held a meeting for residents to share their concerns about the project last month. She said the height of the buildings is one of the primary concerns among residents.

A petition started by resident Luisanna Arismendi asking the city to limit building height in Old Town to 60 feet had 254 signatures as of Thursday morning.

“Our historic, charming and walkable Arts District is about to be consumed by this ill-conceived plan,” the petition reads.

In July, the City Council approved a downtown plan that allows buildings just outside its downtown core, from 5th Avenue to 2nd Street, to rise 150 feet.

They were previously limited between 64 and 84 feet, with some exceptions.

Museum Square falls just inside the southern tip of the downtown core, which only allows for buildings to be built up to 40 feet high. To get around that, developers must apply with the zoning board and present a case showing how it would provide public benefit before building higher than allotted heights.

The developers will contribute to the expansion of the nearby Museum of the West, as well as supporting improvements to the nearby Stagebrush Theater and contributing 1 percent of the building’s value to the city’s public arts fund, Rose said.

He also noted that the parking associated with the project will be underground, as opposed to an unsightly above-ground parking garage.

“Today that land is the home of tumbleweed,” he said. “You’re finding a way via the public sector to help some of the nonprofits down there.”

Next steps for the project

A planning commission meeting to discuss the development this month was postponed as the developer and city staff work through concerns. A new date has not been set.

The issue must go before the planning commission before it is heard by the City Council, according to planning director Tim Curtis.

“I believe it is our duty to create a new legacy by investing the proceeds in a way that enriches our community for generations to come, and that elevates Scottsdale’s allure and quality of life,” Whitehead wrote in an email to Scottsdale residents.

Rose says that organizations including the Scottsdale Gallery Association, Honor Health, the Scottsdale Firefighter Association, the Museum of the West, Stagebrush Theater, Legacy Art Gallery and Larson Art Gallery have all signed on in support of the project.

The city council also voted earlier this year to enter into the sale of the property 7-0.

“To me this is government at its best, taking a dormant piece of land that’s producing zilch for citizens right now and turning it into a dynamic new use,” Rose said.