Redevelopment plan unveiled for Camelback area

A local company has unveiled a long-range plan that would transform one of downtown Scottsdale's major corridors into a destination for adult living, restaurantgoers and financial workers.

The District on Camelback is a planned $500 million redevelopment on the north and south side of Camelback Road between 68th Street and Goldwater Boulevard that would include residences, a boutique hotel, a penthouse restaurant atop an 11-story tower, an amphitheater and offices.

The 2 million-square-foot plan unveiled by landowners International Capital Partners would provide an alternative to the young clubgoer scene that has developed east of Scottsdale Road with nightclubs and the construction of the W Hotel.

"Ultimately what we are coming up with is a unique mixed-use project catering to the active adult lifestyle," ICP Chairman Tom Donahue said.

ICP marketing director James Petersen added that the plan's goal is to "create a new financial epicenter in the Southwest."

Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce President Rick Kidder said it was exciting to hear the first details of the master plan, which has been in the works for well over a year amid speculation that ICP was looking to sell its Camelback Road properties.

"I think there's a recognition that downtown Scottsdale is becoming a place for upscale younger and upscale older as well," Kidder said. "We find ourselves with a baby-boomer population looking for an environment that's safe and comfortable and near doctors where they can lock and walk."

Donahue said ICP's vision is to create the district over the next 10 to 15 years, but the first elements of the plan could start moving forward this fall. It would be a mix of incorporating existing buildings into the plan while demolishing others.

The company is in serious negotiations with a New York-based restaurant company that would open a restaurant in a vacant residential penthouse at the top of the Amtrust building, Donahue said. The company hopes to change the exterior of the Amtrust building, where the company has its corporate headquarters, he said.

ICP also expects to submit its new plans for the former Orchidtree Apartments as early as the fall but will likely wait until the adoption of the city's new downtown plan. An early downtown plan proposal calls for extending the boundary to include the Orchidtree site.

Today, a building could go only as high as 36 feet on the site. If it's incorporated into the downtown plan, 65-foot residences and a 72-foot hotel could be built.

ICP acquired the Orchidtree site in late 2006. It shut down the apartments in July 2007 because of air-conditioning problems that it chose not to fix because of its plans to demolish the complex in favor of a five-story condo project. But the condo project never materialized, and ICP is now proposing an active adult community for the site.

ICP owns all but two sections of the 20-acre corridor. The company has been negotiating a ground lease with the property owners of the vacant northeast corner of Camelback and 68th Street, but no deal has been reached. In addition, ICP has not exercised an option to buy the Motel 6 property, which has 19 years left on its ground lease, Donahue said.

The Tribune is a tenant in the Camelback Executive Park on the south side of Camelback Road, which is part of this master plan proposal and includes City Hall Steakhouse.

Scottsdale principal planner Mac Cummins said the city spoke with ICP representatives about 18 months ago involving the company's master plan, but it was mostly on a philosophical level. Cummins said there have been no submittals related to the master plan.

The master plan still has a number of moving parts.

For instance, on Monday ICP was leaning toward having a restaurant open in the 6828 E. Camelback building. On Tuesday, medical uses were being considered for the site.

Donahue said ICP is in discussions to bring in partners, but no names have been announced. Donahue said some of the properties have been shown to potential buyers over the past year, but ICP now plans to develop the project. ICP is based in Scottsdale and has offices in Texas, Montana and London.