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Bend over South Scottsdale your about to get screwed by the government! They want to turn South Scottsdale into an area where the government can raise revenue like the city of Tempe does in the Tempe Town Lake aka Tempe Town Toilet! Tempe says Tempe Town Lake is a park but its not! Tempe Town Lake is an area the government uses to put on concerts every week end to raise revenue. For the people who live in that area it bring nothing but lots of traffic, parking spots that are always full and lots of crime!
New events center among ideas for McDowell Corridor by Jane Larson - Nov. 7, 2009 08:00 AM The Arizona Republic A pair of consultants who helped revitalize downtown Tempe are proposing a multiuse event center to turn Scottsdale's McDowell corridor into an entertainment destination. Steve Nielsen and Dave Fackler of Nielsen-Fackler Planning & Development envision a facility that would seat up to 6,500 people for concerts, ice shows and sporting and equestrian events. The event center could be built on 3 acres the city owns east of SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, and share its parking lot on evenings and weekends, Nielsen said. Their plan for an event center was among four proposals presented Thursday to the McDowell Road/South Scottsdale Economic Development Task Force. Others called for a live/work/play development of multifamily housing, offices and retail; a "green valley" of small retailers, restaurants and eco-friendly businesses; and a "biomedical mile" of research and biotech companies. Nielsen said the pair has been working with Global Entertainment Corp., a Tempe-based event and entertainment company, to build a similar center near Fiesta Mall in Mesa. That work continues, but Scottsdale would make a better site because of its more central location, he and Fackler said. Transforming the McDowell corridor would take a unique concept and city investment, Nielsen said, just as Tempe concentrated on re-creating Mill Avenue with a pedestrian-friendly streetscape. "It didn't get there just by sitting back and having grand ideas," Nielsen said. Global Entertainment has developed or managed 10 such midlevel centers around the country, including one in Prescott Valley and a newly opened one in Allen, Texas, outside Dallas. Its subsidiaries also run a hockey league, manage centers and sell tickets. A Scottsdale center could host Barrett-Jackson auto auctions, Parada del Sol equestrian events, and cultural and entertainment events, Nielsen and Fackler said. The event center would cost $40 million to $50 million to build, and $10 million to $12 million a year to operate, Nielsen said. The city could finance it with the same mechanism Tempe used for Tempe Town Lake, he said. There, a commercial-facilities district assessed commercial property owners as they reaped the financial benefits of their properties being redeveloped. Task force members asked about costs, zoning, competition and City Council members' feedback. City planning chief Dave Richert said there seems to be interest, though financing has been a frequent question. In other proposals: • Architect Kurt Frimodig offered a plan to place apartments, offices, shops and restaurants in the middle of McDowell Road between the Crosscut Canal and Scottsdale Road. McDowell Road would be split, with one lane in each direction, and buildings would have two facades to create a pedestrian-oriented environment. • Commercial real-estate broker Brian Kocour warned that large power centers are fading in popularity, and called for a pedestrian-friendly "green valley" of small retailers and green businesses. He suggested the city limit the size of buildings in the corridor to 10,000 square feet per retailer to create an urban village and breeding ground for entrepreneurs. • Scottsdale resident Adam Robbins suggested a "biomedical mile," anchored by SkySong and offering space for research centers, equipment providers and trade shows. Such a use would attract visitors year-round, he said.
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