By BEX Staff for AZBEX
A long-planned but highly controversial municipal parking garage planned at 1st Street and Brown Avenue in Old Town Scottsdale continues to move forward, despite some vocal opposition.
Scottsdale City Council approved a $3.8M contract to allow Chasse Building Team to begin demolition on the site and to purchase supplies and materials to start construction in its April 14 meeting.
Plans call for a parking structure with one subterranean level, which is already in place, and three levels above ground. When completed, the project will provide 186 new parking spaces for a total of 412.
Work is expected to start this summer, with delivery expected in time for spring training in 2027.
A local news outlet reported the project is budgeted for $20.9M, but City Engineer Alison Tymkiw said she expects the actual cost will be nearer to $18M.
Opponents, including Mayor Lisa Borowski, have objected to the anticipated cost of nearly $97K/space, which could go even higher once loan costs of up to $10M-$11M are factored in. A recent UCLA study reported average costs/space for above ground parking in metro Phoenix is slightly more than $25K, and the national average cost is $52K.
Tymkiw explained the higher cost is actually fueled by adding onto the existing underground level. She said a completely new structure would have come out to around $60K/space. The structure’s façade and the addition of a setback on the top level on Brown, which was requested by residents, will also add to the project costs.
Project supporter Councilmember Barry Graham pointed out another City garage project in Old Town has comparable costs. He dismissed criticisms as “selective outrage.”
Much of that outrage comes from a contingent of residents opposed to what they perceive as negative impacts the project will have on the character of Old Town. Borowsky has repeatedly pressed, unsuccessfully, for identifying a different location. Borowsky’s position was a key component of the infighting that erupted between her and several councilmembers shortly after taking office in 2025, with both sides making multiple accusations against the other in what came to be known as “Parkingate.” (AZBEX; June 13, 2025)
Opponents object to the project’s disruption of a local farmers’ market and to its blocking some views of the Old Adobe Mission, which is located across the street from the parking garage site. They also object to the building’s height and believe the façade will not look “authentic.”
Both sides claim support from members of the local business community.
Councilmember Solange Whitehead has called for a new parking study to determine if the garage is actually needed and criticized the use of AI modeling in some of the current justifications.
In a note that would have surely generated its own controversy, City Manager Greg Caton informed the meeting a developer had recently inquired about buying the site for an apartment project, but the developer did not present the idea to Council or the public.
The contract approval passed with a vote of 5-2. Borowski and Whitehead voted against it.
Chasse Building Team is the general contractor, with design services provided by DFDG Architecture.
