FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2020
Contact: Mike Sunnucks
Rose+Moser+Allyn Public and Online Relations
Email: MSunnucks@RoseMoserAllynPR.com
Phone: 623.760.55435
Shade, solar, sustainability, boutique hotels and the arts highlight the Scottsdale Collective which is being formed through significant public outreach.
(SCOTTSDALE) — A redevelopment proposal would mature and take Scottsdale’s Entertainment District to a more sophisticated level when the community and local economy need it most, according to the owner of some 30 properties in the area. The Scottsdale Collective will help diversify the city’s economy with needed investments and new jobs while COVID-19 continues to decimate the tourism industry. Anchoring plans for The Scottsdale Collective is an estimated $3 million to $4 million private arts investment in the area — the most significant such investment in the city’s history.
Stockdale Capital Partners owners Shawn and Steven Yari own over 30 acres of land and buildings in the northeast part of downtown Scottsdale, 24 acres located east of Scottsdale Road and south of Camelback Road including the Galleria Corporate Centre. It includes portions of the Entertainment District and its popular bars and restaurants. The first request of The Collective entitlement effort is to replace the Dakota Bar with a boutique hotel.
The development will help attract jobs and businesses to downtown Scottsdale, diversifying the local economy and tax base to help bring back to life tourism, hospitality, restaurants, and major events. The Scottsdale Collective brings an economic shot in the arm at a time when city needs it most.
The Scottsdale Collective adds new public and green spaces to an area without any, and will substantially increase the amount of shade, solar and public art in a key part of downtown Scottsdale not known for charm or architectural significance. Sidewalks will be widened, and pedestrian circulation dramatically improved at one of the city’s most iconic intersections.
The Scottsdale Collective will add new restaurants, residences, and hotels to the Entertainment District under the new plans and help the area mature and grow beyond its current collection of bars under the new plans. The area would be transformed over a number of years into a multi-generational tourist destination and expand the area’s appeal to families, young professionals, and the arts community.
“We are excited to significantly upgrade and mature Scottsdale’s Entertainment District and invest in the community when it needs it most. We have a positive plan focused on the arts, shade, engaging architecture, and significant pedestrian improvements. We truly believe it can and should be Scottsdale’s next great neighborhood,” said Shawn Yari, managing partner and co-founder of Stockdale Capital Partners and its predecessor family business Triyar Companies LLC
Art installations will be incorporated into new shade structures throughout the area which sits south of Camelback Road and east of Scottsdale Road in the heart of Scottsdale.
Valerie Vadala Homer — who spent 25 years as the founding director of Scottsdale Public Art and is one of the creative forces behind the internationally recognized Canal Convergence event on the Scottsdale Waterfront — is leading the artistic efforts for The Scottsdale Collective.
Plans for The Scottsdale Collective are being formulated through an extensive, neighborhood focused community outreach program. Several town Hall style / charette meetings were held in November and December of last year. The public outreach continues to invite and engage Scottsdale community leaders and advocates. This project has something for everyone and so far, has been embraced by the community.
In addition to the public outreach meetings, Shawn Yari, prior to COVID-19, hosted numerous walking tours of the area with neighboring business and property owners as well as Scottsdale leaders outlining design plans and listening to suggestions and ideas. Architects for the project and Valerie have also been talking to community leaders about the goals of The Collective.
Yari also attended other community and association meetings to talk to Scottsdale residents and business owners about his hopes to evolve the Entertainment District.
Community advocates, residents and other business owners in the area were active partners in helping formulate the priorities and plans. Many of the art, shade and architectural features suggested by attendees at the outreach meetings have been incorporated into The Collective’s designs.
The redevelopment brings needed improvements and investments to several properties in the area while preserving other properties and the character of Old Town Scottsdale.
Design plans by architecture firm Nelsen Partners also look to create a new pop-up art park adjacent to the planned hotels. The new hotel offers a substantive boost to Scottsdale’s $3.7 billion tourism sector.
The southeast corner of Scottsdale and Camelback Roads would also be revitalized and activated through an architecturally creative and pedestrian focused infill development. The property is currently home to an older commercial building, and an ‘SRP trash collection station’ that is part of the Arizona Canal. As pedestrians know the corner is hardly inviting and to some degree, unsightly, which should be unacceptable to all, proponents suggest.
“Scottsdale and Camelback Roads are the Main and Main of Arizona real estate. This property deserves an iconic makeover. We want to energize and revitalize this prime part of Scottsdale with a creative and arts heavy project that will be inviting to tourists and residents,” Yari said.
Plans call for new restaurants, an elevated public space and iconic arts installations at the Scottsdale and Camelback parcel. The redevelopment will feature new for-sale residential building and hotel with significant setbacks and step-backs from Scottsdale and Camelback Roads.
A third parcel owned by Stockdale Capital Partners at Camelback Road and Saddlebag Trail is also slated for maturation and evolutionary redevelopment. A new residential building or hotel will upgrade the property, which is currently home to The Mint Ultra Lounge, another prominent bar in the area, along Camelback Road. This change is a welcome evolution to many neighbors.
Heights in the plans include one- and two-story makeovers, 90 feet, 141 feet and 150 feet. In all, square footage would not increase over existing zoning. Existing zoning does not include any of the open space, shade, solar and architectural ingenuity called for in the new plans.
