Hanover project gets hearing

A new downtown Scottsdale apartment and retail project that would replace an aging hotel, restaurant and retail building will have its first test at a public hearing Thursday.

The Hanover mixed-use development, to be built at the northwest corner of Goldwater Boulevard and Indian School Road, is proposing one major building with first-floor retail shops and 235 luxury apartments that in places would rise to five stories.

A second, smaller one-story retail building fronting Fifth Avenue also is planned.

The portion on Fifth is just to the west of the designated arts district.

“Not everyone is buying a condo, but these are luxury rentals,” said John Berry, a zoning attorney representing the mixed-use project.

“It’s a new dimension for downtown.”

The Ramada Limited Scottsdale hotel, Village Inn restaurant and the retail building at the northwest corner of Goldwater Boulevard and Indian School Road would be demolished to make way for this project.

The building at the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and Goldwater Boulevard is not included in the project.

Hanover’s main building is proposed to go as high as 65 feet, which is allowed under downtown zoning.

The main building along Goldwater and Indian School will be two and three stories along the road, stepping back to four and five stories in the middle of the site, Berry said.

About 31,000 square feet of retail space is planned for the nearly 400,000 square-foot project on 6.1 acres.

The Scottsdale Development Review Board on Thursday will be asked to make a recommendation to amend the development standards, which includes setbacks and building massing, said Dan Symer, a city planner. The proposed setbacks range from 12 to 20 feet.

The Development Review Board meeting starts at 1 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, 3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd.

The Planning Commission is scheduled to hear the case Jan. 23, with a City Council zoning vote tentatively set for February.

Berry said if the project is approved, construction would start quickly.

“The luxury rental market is different than the for-sale condo market,” Berry said. “This is something we’d like to get going immediately.”

The land is currently owned by Triyar, a major downtown landowner that also is planning an entertainment district southeast of Camelback and Scottsdale roads.

The developer will be The Hanover Co., a Houston-based real estate company that has built urban apartments.