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Hotel-condo project planned for downtown Scottsdale
Development along canal would link to prime spots

Peter Corbett
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 17, 2007 12:00 AM

A six-story luxury hotel and more than 200 condos, some of them going for more than $1 million, would be built in downtown Scottsdale, according to plans a development group plans to submit to the city Monday.

The unnamed project would be built on 10.37 acres southeast of the Arizona Canal and northeast of Camelback and Scottsdale roads along a nearly half-mile stretch of aging apartments on 73rd Street.

It would include improvements to the canal bank and two pedestrian bridges, linking the development with the Safari Drive condos under construction northwest of the canal. It also would be linked to Scottsdale Fashion Square to the west, and Scottsdale Waterfront to the southwest.

In addition, 73rd Street would be realigned with Buckboard Trail, allowing a safer crossing at a traffic signal for pedestrians going to and from the W Hotel Scottsdale and nightclubs south of Camelback.

"This ties all the quadrants together," said development attorney John Berry, representing Scottsdale Canal Development LLC.

The two principals, John Wanninger and Mark Madkour, have development experience in the Minneapolis area.

They are seeking a rezoning that would allow a 72-foot-tall hotel and condos of up to 65 feet high. Parking would be underground.

Their plan includes 190 condos plus 16 penthouse units of up to 5,200 square feet. They would feature far more outdoor living space than other luxury condos are offering, Wanninger said.

In addition to 80 guest rooms, the hotel would have 120 condos that the owners could lease back to the hotel for overnight guests.

No hotel brand has been selected, but Madkour said discussions are under way with three luxury brands that are not currently in the Arizona market.

The developers, who assembled nearly 30 parcels of land, intend to add desert landscaping along the canal and a 1-acre park at the northern edge of the property to buffer it from the Villa Monterey neighborhood.

Discussions also are under way with Salt River Project to relocate a 5-acre electrical substation adjacent to the proposed development.

Dick Hayslip, SRP assistant general manager, said the utility is agreeable to moving away from downtown's premier intersection of Camelback and Scottsdale roads.

The developers and an SRP consultant are studying the costs and looking for new downtown sites for the substation.

Scottsdale may be asked to help pay for the relocation, Berry said, adding that it would benefit downtown by removing the unsightly power facilities.

Scottsdale Canal Development hopes to start marketing the condos this fall and break ground in the first quarter of 2008. It would take about 30 months to complete, well into 2010.

The developers said they are confident their condos will sell despite a softer housing market and a surge of new condos opening downtown.

"We're not worried about it" because Scottsdale is such a growing and dynamic market, Wanninger said.

Sounds pretty exciting. That's a prime corner.