By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
After extensive delays with few-to-no updates, it appears the Sprouts Farmers Market and parking garage project as part of the Papago Plaza Master Plan is finally getting ready for construction.
Late last week, BEX research staff found a pending permit request for two components at the site, one for 23,453SF and one for 80,039SF, perfectly matching the plans on file for the grocery store and garage at 1490 N. Scottsdale Road.
The entire Papago Plaza redevelopment has been a mix of starts and stops since the master plan was first proposed in 2018. The 274-unit SeventyOne15 McDowell multifamily community completed construction in August or September 2022. A 116-room Springhill Suites delivered in September 2023.
The project proved controversial with some Scottsdale residents. Most area residents favored some kind of revitalization for the fading retail strip, but many were adamantly opposed to the multifamily portion. Speculation on social media sites, particularly NextDoor, as to the potential fate of the Papago Plaza revitalization has popped up repeatedly over the past two years, often reigniting old arguments.
Construction on the retail/restaurant component of the redevelopment, which was originally intended as the first phase of the project, has been suspended since 2023 for expired permits. No new activity was reported as of last month.
Officials with Pivot Development Company, the master plan developer, said in 2023 they expected the retail component to deliver by the end of 2024.
The Sprouts component is separate from the general retail/restaurant portion after the grocery chain entered into an agreement in August 2022 for the store and 328-space garage. Plans were submitted to the City of Scottsdale for review January 2023.
Requests for timeline updates from both Pivot and Sprouts received no response for more than a year.
With the new permit request this month, construction is expected to begin in the next several weeks.
