Photograph by Bill Timmerman
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
March 1, 2006
Until recently, luxury living in Scottsdale was relegated to the north end of
town—in high-desert communities such as Troon, Estancia and Desert Mountain that
offer world-class golfing. The formerly lackluster downtown area consisted
of rows of art galleries, a smattering of good restaurants, a few antiquated
resorts and a popular shopping mall, but had a dearth of high-end residences.
This state of affairs is rapidly changing.
After years of wondering how to
enliven its wilted urban center, Scottsdale is now enacting a $2.5 billion
face-lift on its 786-acre downtown. Plans include the construction of luxury
condominiums, townhomes, lofts and boutique hotels with residential
components—all currently selling strongly, with a healthy portion of buyers
hailing from outside of Arizona. Both in-state and out-of-state sources will
contribute to the revitalization of the area, which will include updates for
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Loloma 5, a residential structure in Scottsdale’s blossoming Loloma Arts
District. Photograph by Bill Timmerman. (Click image to enlarge)
“The downtown
market is in its birthing process,” says Mackey Martin, owner and Realtor with
Re/Max Discover, which specializes in downtown properties. “There is extreme
pent-up demand for this type of product. Downtown is rising up daily to reveal
itself as a player for the high-end, sophisticated buyer.” Current buyers range
from empty nesters and boomers searching for a less maintenance-driven
lifestyle, to out-of-state second-home buyers and academic professionals: a
diverse demographic that is expected to enrich the city’s cultural life.
“The
2000 U.S. Census numbered 1,500 people living in downtown Scottsdale,” says John
C. Little Jr., executive director of Downtown Scottsdale, the city organization
charged with maintaining, developing and revitalizing the image of the area.
“That number will increase fivefold or more in the next five to six
years.”
“Development in downtown Scottsdale is finally coming of age,” says
Scott Jarson, coprincipal of Jarson & Jarson (along with his wife, Debbie),
a local firm that specializes in marketing architecturally unique homes in and around Phoenix. “The variety of projects coming to the downtown area
reflects this growing sophistication. There is a synergy and dynamism that’s
fantastic.”
The Jarsons have represented a number of the smaller boutique
developments in downtown Scottsdale, including the Will Bruder–designed Loloma
5, a forward-thinking live/work project downtown that features five
1,550-square-foot units. The project sold out a year ago at $400,000 per unit,
but now, Jarson estimates, these spaces exceed $600,000 in value. They were
among the first multiunit structures built under the city’s Green Building
Program, which encourages a “whole-systems approach through design and building
techniques,” says Jarson, to reduce energy consumption and minimize
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The Upton development will include 10 Will Bruder–designed courtyard residences. Photograph by Will Bruder Architects Ltd. (Click image to enlarge)
The Duke, another new entry built under the city’s
Green Building Standards, is an eight-unit gated community of three-level
condominiums just south of the Loloma Arts District. The two-bedroom units are
painted in vibrant desert colors and were designed by Scottsdale’s Circle West
Architects. The 1,350-square-foot homes will be priced just below
$500,000.
Only a half block from the planned 224-room W Hotel, the Upton
development comprises 10 courtyard residences, also designed by Bruder and
compliant with the Green Building Program. Homes range from 1,900 to 2,400
square feet in size and from $995,000 to $1.25 million in price. Full build-out
should conclude by fall 2006.
Bruder appeared at a meeting of the Scottsdale
Design Review Board in December to applaud the new $250 million Optima Camelview
Village, designed by the Chicago firm of architect David Hovey, who maintains
his spectacular Sterling Ridge home at Desert Mountain. Bruder described the
project as, “architecturally, the finest development proposal ever made in the
city of Scottsdale in my residency since 1968.”
Another “green” property,
the 1.6 million-square-foot parklike Camelview will include 750 residential
units with roofs topped with private garden terraces in 11 buildings,
underground parking and interconnected public and private courtyards. It is
scheduled for completion by 2008, with initial occupancy starting in spring
2006. Eileen Hovey, broker for Camelview, says the condo homes range from the
$400,000s to more than $4 million.
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