Scottsdale Arizona Real Estate Blog

by Edward Gately – Aug. 23, 2010 10:39 AM
The Arizona Republic

The developer of Scottsdale Waterfront wants the city to modify its development standards for the vacant parcel immediately south of the Nordstrom parking garage to allow for a building or buildings that would rise nearly 150 feet.

The 4-acre site, called the Goldwater parcel, is on the east side of Goldwater Boulevard and the north side of the Arizona Canal. It is zoned downtown/regional commercial office type 2 planned block development downtown overlay.

The maximum height allowed on the parcel is 85 feet excluding rooftop mechanical, and the request is to increase that maximum to 149 feet including rooftop mechanical.

The applicant is Bret Sassenberg, CEO of Ground-Up Development Services. He manages the development and operations of Scottsdale Waterfront. Seven acres of the Waterfront, the Camelback parcel, have been developed, including 704,375 square feet.

Sassenberg did not return calls for comment.

Sassenberg’s request will require the Planning Commission’s recommendation and approval by the City Council.

Development of the Camelback parcel has been “a catalyst for the continuing revitalization of downtown Scottsdale, transforming it into a vibrant destination” and helping Scottsdale Fashion Square maintain its status as the Valley’s “premier shopping destination,” Sassenberg said in his application.

Sassenberg’s request is for the city to make the development standards for the Goldwater parcel consistent with approved heights and densities within the city’s Downtown Infill Incentive District. Last month, a divided council approved the district that Councilman Bob Littlefield warned could bring 150-foot-tall buildings into the downtown area.

Creation of the downtown district was quickly followed by Gray Development Group’s proposal to build a $200 million luxury apartment complex just east of Scottsdale Fashion Square. Citizen input led the developer to scale back the maximum height from 148 feet to 125 feet, and reduce the apartment unit count from 1,196 to 957.

“The Waterfront itself is in its own infill incentive district,” said Dan Symer, senior city planner. “They’re looking to amend the standards, which would be similar to the standards of the downtown infill incentive district.”

The downtown district establishes a height maximum of 150 feet in the downtown regional multiple-use area, north of the Arizona Canal, and the downtown medical type 2 area, surrounding Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center.

Sassenberg hasn’t yet submitted a specific plan or use for the Goldwater parcel, but his request does specify that the development would be set back from Goldwater Boulevard, and would include tiered building heights to appease nearby residents, Symer said.

Building heights would not exceed 54 feet including rooftop mechanical closest to Goldwater, and would gradually increase to no more than 96 feet and then 149 feet farther from the street.

“There is a development plan for the site and that’s what they’re amending,” Symer said. “Nobody knows what is going to be built there, but it gives them some flexibility.”

The tallest building in Scottsdale is the AmTrust Bank building at 69th Street and Camelback Road. The Waterfront condominium towers are just below that height and the maximum height Sassenberg is requesting for the Goldwater parcel is roughly equal to the towers, Symer said.

The city has drawn a horizontal line across the city from the top of the AmTrust Bank building and said no buildings will exceed that height, he said.

by Beth Duckett – Aug. 5, 2010 01:17 PM
The Arizona Republic

Photos of the work at McDowell Sonoran Preserve Gateway

Scottsdale is gearing up to acquire 2,000 acres of state trust land for its McDowell Sonoran Preserve, a move that would allow a future trailhead in the city’s northern reaches.

The land, appraised at $44.1 million, will be sold at auction in October.

Kroy Ekblaw, the city’s strategic projects and preserve director, said a grant from Arizona’s Growing Smarter conservation funds could reduce the cost by half.

“We think that is a good value,” Ekblaw said.

Barring other bidders, Scottsdale could spend about $22 million, or $11,000 an acre, to expand its preserve by nearly 13 percent, to 18,000 acres.

The 3 square miles of desert east of Pima Road has rock-covered washes and views of Pinnacle Peak, the ridge of Four Peaks and the McDowell Mountains.

A trailhead, tentatively dubbed the Alma School access point, would connect to existing trails north of Dynamite Boulevard, said Scott Hamilton, preserve trails planner.

More land, trailheads planned

If the city’s Gateway trailhead is an indication, residents want preserve access.

Scottsdale raised the curtain last year on the Gateway east of Thompson Peak Parkway between Bell Road and Union Hills Drive. Claire Miller, the city’s preserve manager, said the trailhead is “wildly popular, especially when the weather was nice.”

“Clearly, this year we were busting at the seams,” Miller said. “We would have folks parking around the perimeter of the parking lot.”

To handle the flood of visitors, the city is adding about 100 parking spaces and other enhancements this summer, she said.

The $500,000 cost will be paid with savings from the Gateway project along with city tax funds earmarked for preserve trails and access improvements, said Robin Rodgers, project manager.

Scottsdale has trailheads planned along the outer edges of future preserve lands, including the access point 1 1/4miles north of Alma School Parkway and Dynamite Boulevard, Hamilton said.

The trailhead would be smaller than the Gateway, with parking spaces and a possible ramada, he said. The city will maintain a portion of existing trails and clear away others.

“Historically, trails have resulted (from) people on mountain bikes, horses (and) lot of ATV access,” Hamilton said. “We asked (a group) to look at these maps and tell us which trails they couldn’t live without. We also asked them to cross out the ones that aren’t important.”

Scottsdale has acquired and protected about 16,000 acres of land so far within the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

That includes 400 acres the city purchased last year for $6.5 million.

Scottsdale used a grant from the state’s Growing Smarter program to cover half of the cost. The rest was paid for by city tax funds collected for the preserve.

For the next 2,000 acres, Ekblaw said, Scottsdale submitted a Growing Smarter grant application in June. The grant likely will go before the Arizona State Parks Board for approval in September.

“We’re trying to move at a time when it’s best from a point of view of land prices,” said Gerald Miller, chairman of the city’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission. “There are lots of other reasons, too. Some of the lands we’re looking at may be bid on by other people. And we want it for the preserve.”

Growing Smarter, adopted by voters in 1998, pours $20 million a year from the state’s general fund into the land-conservation fund to conserve land and shape growth in communities.

Long-term acquisitions eyed

Arizona State Parks manages the program, which ends in 2011. Ellen Bilbrey, state parks spokeswoman, said there is $124 million in the fund.

That could change if voters approve a ballot measure in the fall.

Proposition 301, designed to combat the state’s budget woes, seeks permission from voters to redirect money from the land-conservation program and use it for general purposes.

Scottsdale’s goal is to secure the matching funds before the 2,000 acres goes to auction, Ekblaw said. Future land acquisitions might be more difficult.

If the funds are diverted, “that simply is dollars that will have to come from the city’s funds,” Ekblaw said. “It doesn’t mean we won’t move forward.”

Miller said he hopes voters reject the proposition. “Beyond that, we have to live with what will happen,” he said.

Down the road, Scottsdale is eyeing another 1,940 acres of state trust land west of 136th Street, in the Dynamite Foothills area for the preserve.

In June, the City Council gave a thumbs-up to applying to acquire the land. An auction could be scheduled in fall 2011, Ekblaw said.

If Growing Smarter funds still are available, Scottsdale could apply for a grant in the spring or summer of next year.

Much of the land abuts McDowell Mountain Regional Park to the east, which would link the park with existing and future preserve lands in the city’s fringes.

If all goes well, Scottsdale could also attempt to purchase 1,425 acres east of Pima Road between Dixileta Drive and Legend Trail Parkway, Ekblaw said.

Estimated costs have not been determined. Miller said the McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission will meet soon to discuss long-range planning and funding for the preserve

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