Mercado Courtyards. Credit: DAVIS/City of Scottsdale
(Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Caliber.)
By Roland Murphy | AZBEX
Had they taken place at the same time, Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega’s introductory comments and the responses of the Multifamily development panel at last week’s Bisnow Scottsdale State of the Market event would have added up to a spirited debate.
As it was, with Ortega giving the event’s keynote speech and the panel closing out the morning session, it almost felt as if the participants were discussing activities on two different planets.
Ortega’s Keynote
Mayor Ortega began his remarks by saying, “Scottsdale is the intersection of talent and investment.” He noted most of the city’s challenges, historically, have been external, including those derived from the activity of investors in other parts of the country.
“What we’re dealing with today,” he said, “is a clash. We have a clash, and that clash is happening around us. It’s called ‘climate change,’ but I call it ‘business climate readjustment.’”
He noted cultural climate impacts in the rest of the country – including weather, quality of life and business conditions – are driving people to Arizona. He added that with Scottsdale in particular, those new arrivals are looking at all the city’s best attributes in deciding to relocate.
He described the challenges associated with making trends and desires “fit into the Scottsdale envelope, where we have high expectations, we’re very systems-driven, and we got something done called the General Plan.”
