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Scottsdale stench has boutiques crying foul

Megan Finnerty and Casey Newton
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 7, 2006 12:00 AM

At the glamorous Scottsdale Waterfront, a showpiece for high-end boutiques and restaurants, the stench of raw sewage overpowers the sweet smell of success.

Untreated grease flowing through the development's plumbing has created a smell so foul that the Waterfront recently hired an "odor investigator" to come up with a solution. Although the developer is working to stamp out the stench, for now visitors are still holding their noses.

Models at Friday night's Scottsdale Fashion Show by the Waterfront were upstaged by the odor, which has become a prominent and unwelcome resident of the $250 million retail and office project.

Inside the upscale boutique Mahsa, where a quilted navy bag by Zac Posen goes for $1,409, the air Friday evening was redolent of leather bags and fruity candles. But just outside the glass doors, the smell was so pungent shoppers could almost taste it.

"Customers were saying it smells awful, like they can't stand it, like they were going to leave," said Misty Guerriero, manager of neighboring Estilo Boutique. "It smelled really bad in here because we had our doors open. So we just started lighting candles."

Trays of chicken, beef and vegetables sat uneaten at the fashion show, as if the attendees had lost their appetites.

Merchants are growing concerned.

"My customer doesn't want to walk through a cloud of stink to get into our store," said Gina Cooper, who co-owns Estilo. "We get complaints a lot. That night was the most high-end crowd, and they all just said it smells like crap."

The odor quickly became the talk of the party.

"You'd be in a mixture of people and you'd be talking and all of a sudden it would waft on over," said Lesley Oliver, who attended the event. "People would give each other that look like, Do you smell that too?' "

The dense nature of the Waterfront forced developers to put grease traps in front of restaurants, close to shoppers, said Lisa Harryman, real estate manager for the project. The stench escapes from the grease traps and wafts up from the manholes.

Though the odor comes and goes, the Waterfront has received complaints since the development's five restaurants began opening earlier this year.

Following the investigator's recommendations, the development sealed its manholes before the party. A second odor-control measure, treating grease with chemicals to reduce the smell, will be implemented later this year.

"I'm just thankful we've figured out a way to address it so hopefully it won't be as offensive," Harryman said.

In the meantime, the odor has become a sensitive issue to shoppers and store owners. One man dining at Olive & Ivy on Monday seemed to speak for the entire Waterfront when he declined to be interviewed.

"I don't want to be associated with that smell," he said.