By CJ Jorgensen and Roland Murphy for AZBEX
A rezoning request has been submitted for five contiguous parcels in Scottsdale to allow the development of a new 89-unit multifamily development with 6.3KSF of ground floor office space.
The request would rezone the approximately three-acre site from Central Business Downtown Overlay to Downtown/Downtown Multiple-use.
The site for The Clayton on Earll is situated on the edge of Old Town Scottsdale at the NWC of Earll Drive and Civic Center Plaza.
The existing parcels consist of five old office buildings that would be demolished and removed for the new development, according to the project narrative.
The Clayton on Earll would contain 6.3KSF of commercial office space at ground level fronting the streets. The second through fourth floors would be made up of 89 living units, mixed between 48 one-bedroom and 41 two-bedroom spaces. Living units will range from 850SF-1.35KSF, and each will contain a balcony/patio averaging 120SF.
The total build area is planned at 158,755SF. The building is planned for three stories nearest the streets, scaling up to a four-story height of 56 feet in the interior space.
The plan also makes room for amenities on the deck park overlooking Earll Drive and a swimming pool on the ground floor. The Civic Center Plaza frontage will include a surface retention area with a tree-shaded grassy space surrounded by concrete seat walls and will serve as a public pocket park.
Two large murals will be incorporated into the ground floor elevations. According to the submitted project narrative, the work will be performed by “an emerging local artist” and will be part of the development review process.
The required parking will mostly be provided in a ground-level podium parking garage tucked behind the commercial offices and amenity areas fronting the streets. The parking garage will be reserved for residents. Additional parking is to be located along the access drive around the side and back of the building.
According to the submitted site plan, the proposed residential density is 30.4 units/acre. Even with the project’s submittal as a mixed-use, rather than purely residential development, it could face challenges if it comes before City Council in its present state.
The maximum allowed density noted by the developer is 50 units/ per acre. However, the current Scottsdale General Plan does not make allowances for residential developments of greater density than 25 units/acre. Mayor David Ortega and other members have been critical of some mixed-use submittals as having insufficient non-residential components to warrant higher density.
The Clayton Companies is the project owner. K&I Homes, LLC is the architect. The civil engineer is Civil Design Solutions, LLC, and WERK Urban Design is the landscape architect.
According to the City of Scottsdale, a neighborhood open house meeting was held on Aug. 13. Details have not yet been made public.
No hearing dates have been set with the Planning Commission or City Council.
Related Clayton Projects
In April of this year, Kristjan Sigurdsson from K & I Homes, LLC had an open house for another project: The Clayton Medical Suites and Residences. This project was also to be constructed near Earll Drive and Civic Center Plaza.
The medical suite property was to contain 124 residential units atop medical office space. Sigurdsson held an open house on April 16 and claimed attendees were generally receptive, apart from some confusion regarding the number of stories to the building. (AZBEX; May 3)
No documents were ever filed for that project. The Clayton on Earll is now planned on the same site.
The DATABEX project database contains a project similar to these called The Clayton on Civic Center Plaza. AZBEX was the first outlet to report on that submittal, almost exactly two years ago. (AZBEX; Aug. 26, 2022)
No new documents have been submitted since August 2022, and the project is currently listed in DATABEX as On Hold. The initial proposal was a similar five-story mixed-use development with 20.9KSF of commercial use and 72 multifamily units.
The Clayton on Civic Center Plaza was slated for 1.46 acres, with the ground floor commercial area intended for office/restaurant use.
All three projects share the same owner and design firm.
AZBEX reached out to Kristjan Sigurdsson for clarification and additional details on the three projects but did not receive a response by press time.
