By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
An “age in place” senior living community with nearly 1,000 residential units and 250 assisted living spaces has been proposed in north Scottsdale near the Optima McDowell Mountain Village multifamily community.
Owner and developer Erickson Senior Living has submitted a development plan and approval request for Erickson Scottsdale, a “Continuing Care Retirement Community” planned on 57 gross acres approximately 900 feet east of Scottsdale Road on the north side of Princess Blvd. The site is west of the Miller Road alignment and south of the Mayo Blvd. alignment.
The conceptual site plan features 967 residential units, with 175 one-bedroom and 792 two-bedroom units. According to the submitted materials, “The proposed Erickson community will consist of approximately 975 apartment-like independent living units, within loosely arranged neighborhoods (each building grouping and its specific amenities), each of which will include resident activity hubs. These independent living units will range in size from one-bedroom to two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath apartments with an open floor plan design. These living units contain all the facilities necessary for a resident to maintain their independence for as long as possible.”
Planned amenities include a primary fitness center, satellite fitness centers, a medical center and pharmacy, a pool, a “life enrichment center,” multiple restaurants/cafés, a movie theater, classrooms, art spaces, walking paths, outdoor dining, and relaxation and game areas, among others.
Separate from the independent living portion, Erickson Scottsdale will also feature 250 assisted living spaces. According to the submission, “In addition to the independent living residences, the Project will include assisted living, skilled nursing, and memory care suites, housed together in a separate neighborhood known as Continuing Care. All suites will have private bedrooms and baths, in a single or shared setting, with a variety of indoor and outdoor amenity spaces. As is typical with memory care uses, this area is designed to provide more access control to ensure resident safety.”
Erickson Scottsdale would be built across multiple phases, with a total estimated timeline of five-to-seven years to complete.
Zoning and Development Considerations
Erickson is requesting a development plan review and approval and a rezoning to allow for the development’s construction at the proposed sizes.
The company will also apply for a conditional use permit for the residential healthcare facility under R-5 zoning in a separate application in the future.
The submittals stipulate the property is currently owned by the Arizona State Land Department and that Erickson will have to take part in ASLD’s standard competitive auction process to acquire the site. “While the zoning of the Property is already in place… and the applicable zoning district are ready to be allocated by ASLD as part of the auction process from the Crossroads PCD Land Use Budget, prior to bidding Erickson (or any other potential applicant) needs assurances that their Development Plans are approved and that they are ready to move into the permitting review process, hence this “pre-auction application,” they say.
The request provides a detailed and linear set of explanations and justifications for the request and the project as a whole, presumably to guide the process review and address or eliminate potential objections before they arise.
Economic Impact
In addition to the obvious community benefits of providing more than 1,200 senior living spaces to a rapidly aging community, Erickson has also provided a detailed report on the economic impacts of its proposed new development.
Prepared by local real estate and economic consulting firm Elliot D. Pollack & Company, the report projects $729M in initial hard construction costs, with another $65M for the care center.
The report estimates the $1.6B construction activity impact will provide $699.9M in wages, as well as $264.3M in annual construction activity across an estimated six-year construction timeline.
Construction is expected to generate $52.2M for the State of Arizona, $11M for Maricopa County and $13.6M for the City of Scottsdale through both the primary impacts of construction sales taxes and permit and impact fees and the secondary impact of construction worker spending in the area during the building process.
Looking at the post-construction impacts, the report estimates, “At buildout and stabilization, the operations of the senior living community will generate 1,400 total jobs, $89.7M in direct, indirect and induced wages, and $194.2M in total annual economic activity.”
Following completion, “…primary operations of the development (property taxes), impacts from residents living in the community (sales tax on resident spending, income taxes, utility taxes and increased state shared revenue) and the secondary impacts from employee spending would create an estimated $2.1M each year for the State of Arizona, $1.5M for Maricopa County and $1.5M for the City of Scottsdale. Additional property taxes would be collected by school and special districts, estimated to be $2.7M per year.”
A Potentially Hard Road Ahead
Despite addressing an established community need, having the correct siting in place, and establishing a significant set of benefits and positive economic impacts, the project may face a difficult path to approval and implementation.
Scottsdale has, in recent years, developed a reputation as one of, if not the, most challenging jurisdictions in the state in which to plan and build projects of any significant scale.
Scottsdale’s General Plan 2035 does not address any potential densities greater than 25 dwelling units/acre. While the general plan is intended as a guideline, Mayor David Ortega has repeatedly referred to it as “a mandate,” from the City Council dais. Even though Erickson Scottsdale’s estimated density is approximately 21 units/acre, its sheer scale is almost guaranteed to generate significant local opposition.
Scottsdale was one of the first cities to experience consistent, dedicated opposition groups emerging to counter proposed projects, particularly multifamily developments of any kind. The city and this vocal plurality of residents have become known as a bastion of BANANAs, referring to the anti-development acronym Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone.
Several City employees and representatives, including Councilmember Tammy Caputi, have commented in several public forums that simple compliance with the rules and requirements are not enough to secure approval for projects. Even proposals that, as Caputi says, “tick every box” on the list of requirements can be and have been rejected by discretion.
Erickson, however, is a highly experienced developer and operator of high-volume senior living facilities. The company has been in business for 41 years and currently houses more than 30,000 residents served by more than 16,000 employees.
Concerns about water impacts are a favorite tool in the opposition groups’ box. Water supply is often cited alongside traffic impacts and harm to neighborhood character as primary reasons to reject projects. Erickson Senior Living, however, has a well-publicized and promoted dedication to sustainable development and operations, including multiple water-saving components, which may be enough to counter the expected opposing arguments.
It can be assumed the company has done its homework on the market demand for the project it is proposing and has committed the resources in terms of time and money needed to traverse the approval, permitting and development process.
Erickson Senior Living is the owner. The design firm is JHP Architecture/Urban Design. Rick Engineering Company is the land surveyor, and Kimley Horn & Associates, Inc. is the civil engineer. ABLA Studio is the landscape architect. The project is represented by Snell & Wilmer.
No hearing dates have been scheduled.
