Apartments Planned for Surface Parking Lot at Struggling Scottsdale Retail Center

Article originally posted on AZ Central on August 9, 2023

A developer plans to add about 240 apartment units in the parking lot of a Scottsdale retail center, a $100 million project that aims to add housing and boost business activity.

High Street Residential, the residential development arm of Trammell Crow Co., submitted plans to Scottsdale to redevelop a portion of the retail center at 7000 E. Shea Blvd. The redevelopment would keep most of the existing retail space on the site and develop apartments in what is now a parking lot.

A vacant retail building also would be redeveloped as part of the project, named Sundown Commons. Underground parking is planned to be added to make up for lost surface parking.

The new building will be “stepped up” to range in height from two to four stories and will reach a maximum of 48 feet.

The plan “promotes revitalization of an underutilized commercial center,” representatives for High Street Residential wrote in a submission to the city. The retail space on the site is about one-third vacant, according to the application.

Existing tenants in the retail portion include The Herb Box, Vixxo, Beginners Edge and Arizona Bread Company. They will remain on the site during and after the redevelopment. The nearby Black Rock Coffee Bar, which is not part of the development, will remain. The addition of residential units to the area will strengthen businesses in the area, the applicants wrote to the city.

Smaller units, publicly accessible pickleball planned

The apartments will focus on smaller units, such as studios and one-bedroom apartments, which are designed to be less expensive and more accessible to people who work in the area. About 239 units are planned in the proposal.

In addition to the apartment building, two publicly accessible pickleball courts are also planned on the southeastern portion of the site.

A spokesperson for High Street Residential said the project is in very early planning stages and more details will be available as the process moves forward.

The proposal will have to go through hearings with both Scottsdale’s Planning Commission and City Council. Dates for those hearings have not yet been set.

Infill development in parking lots is common

Redeveloping surface parking lots into apartments has become more common across the Valley, especially as a way to breathe life back into aging retail centers.

In central Phoenix, Kimco Realty, the owner of Christown Spectrum, has proposed building a 760-unit apartment complex on a surface parking lot. That apartment complex is planned to be the first step in a decades-long redevelopment of the shopping center.

At Park Central in Phoenix, the expansive surface parking lots have been used as new locations for a hotel, apartments and the Creighton University medical school building, with plans for additional buildings still to come.

In Phoenix and Tempe, Holualoa Cos. is working on apartment complexes in parking lots of two different office buildings, aimed at creating “attainably priced” infill housing.