On the Waterfront
By K. Robert Wendel

A long vacant-but prime parcel of land at the nexus of downtown Scottsdale is getting a makeover in a big way.

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Crews from the Phoenix office of the Weitz Cos. recently started work on the Scottsdale Waterfront, a massive, mixed-use development that will reshape the corner of Camelback and Scottsdale roads.

The ambitious project will feature a variety of high end finishes along with high end tenants said sources familiar with the plan.

More than 900,000 sq. ft. of space is planned on the 12.5-acre parcel that borders the Arizona canal in downtown. The proximity of the canal to the project led to an engineering investigation by civil engineer Brooks Engineers and Surveyors Inc. of Phoenix.

"We had some concerns about seepage," said Baird Fullerton of Brooks. "We went in and did a reinvestigation and didn't find any seepage, but the canal is pretty close to the second phase."

Chicago-based Golub & Co. is developing the first phase that consists of 120,000 sq. ft. of retail space, 100,000 sq. ft. of office condo and a 200,000-sq.-ft., two-level underground parking garage. Most of the six buildings are two-story, although one building is three stories.

The Phoenix office of Opus West is developing the second phase that features two, 13-story residential towers. When both phases are completed, there will be 930,000 sq. ft. on four acres.

Since the buildings are so large, architects wanted to bring the massing and scale down to a more human level, so the buildings are broken up, but still connected with a central service corridor.

"The city of Scottsdale wanted us to come up with a 'Scottsdale' look," said architect Fred Abrams of Chicago-based Solomon Cordwell Buenz and Associates.

"You will see a lot of different styles of buildings. Some are from a modern standpoint and use a lot of steel and glass, but others take on a more traditional Southwest feel with clay tile roofs."

The long awaited project has taken many different forms since it was first conceived in the 80s. The project went through 15 different designs before the final look was chosen. The owner, the city and the tenants thoroughly discussed the design before moving forward on construction.

"Everybody had very definitive ideas of how they wanted the project to look, so it was a matter of getting all those to work," Abrams said.

In addition to high-end retail and restaurants, the project will also be the new home of the Fiesta Bowl museum. Other tenants include Isaac Jewelers, P.F. Changs, the restaurant Sauce and Borders Books and Music.

The project's location next to the Scottsdale canal figured significantly in the design. Plans call for a landscaped walk on both sides of the canal. Plans call for a bridge to be erected over the canal as well as patio space and an amphitheater.

"This is going to be a huge improvement for the north side of the canal," said Bret Sassenberg, president of Ground Up Development Services, the owner's rep on the project. "The city is also planning on building a very nice bridge so people can get to the Fifth Avenue District," which is famous for its art boutiques.

The project relies on rooftop packages with a combination of heat pumps and fan coil units for climate control. The builds are mostly steel framed, although some offices are using cast-in-place concrete. The underground parking is all tilt wall construction. Plans call for a fall 2005 opening.

"There's a lot of finishes to the project, so it's not going to be some plain building," said Weitz Cos.' project manager Melissa Jones. "It's a very high profile building."