By BEX Staff for AZBEX
The Scottsdale Planning Commission has recommended approval for a zoning change that would allow Headwaters Group to build a minimum care senior residential facility on 12.5 vacant acres near 100th Street and Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd.
The report submitted to the Planning Commission identifies the Headwaters Minimal Residential Health Care Facility request as, “…a zoning district map amendment from Planned Community District with comparable Planned Neighborhood Center (PC PNC) zoning to Planned Community District with comparable Commercial Office (P-C C-O) zoning, including an amended development plan, for a new 3-story minimal residential healthcare facility consisting of 172 dwelling units including five 1-story duplex buildings, on +/- 6.7 acres of an overall +/- 12.5-acre site.”
The Belmont Village Senior Living community is located on the eastern portion of the site and is included in the request, though it would undergo no physical changes as part of the process.
The minimum care residential facility will be built on land that has been vacant for at least 48 years. The plan calls for 172 units in a mix of one- and two-bedroom configurations.
Density for the proposed development would be 25 units/acre, even though the allowed density would be 40 units. Twenty-five-unit density is something of a “magic number” in Scottsdale. It is the highest density specifically addressed in the General Plan 2035 document. While that document is merely a set of guidelines under the law, Mayor David Ortega has consistently referred to 25-unit density maximums as “a mandate” since the General Plan won voter approval in 2021. At 38 feet, the building height is also 10 feet shorter than the allowable maximum.
Documents submitted as part of the project narrative show planned amenities including a pool and courtyard area, as well as a clubhouse and fitness suite.
According to media reports, commissioners praised the design aesthetic for the planned facility as well as the addition of housing in an area hungry for residential development and support for commercial businesses. They also pointed out the benefit to seniors living in the community if a spouse had to go to the assisted living/memory care facility already in place at Belmont.
Headwaters Group is the developer. Santulan is the architect of record, and Douglas Sydnor Architect & Associates is the architectural design consultant. Kimley Horn & Associates is the civil engineer. Traffic engineering is by Lokahi Group. Outreach consultancy is through Technical Solutions, and the project is represented by Berry Riddell.
The request will now advance to Scottsdale City Council for review.
