Mega project eyed near Scottsdale Airpark

Sourced By: Scottsdale Progress

Another “mega project” has its sights on Scottsdale.

This one may set a new bar in grandiose verbiage. “The Parque is a once in a generation opportunity to create a legacy destination,” developers crow.

It will substitute function for fun, taking over the relatively modest, “old school” CrackerJax amusement park, which featured batting cages, mini golf and an arcade before closing.

“It has been a pleasure serving the Valley for the last 30 years. We want to thank you all for the love, support and memories,” CrackerJax posted on its Facebook page, July 6, 2022. “We are sad to say goodbye and wish everyone the best!”

Enter a new project, which presented its “transformational” case to the Airport Advisory Commission at a June 21 meeting.

The project at 16001 N. Scottsdale Road – between the Promenade and Scottsdale Quarter – promises “a five-star hotel,” multiple restaurants, 1,200 condo units and 253,000 square feet of commercial floor area on 32 acres.

After an original submittal in September, Parque owners George Kurtz and David Megdal revised their plan and re-submitted last month.

The project is aimed at the highest of tech, with a “transformational, sustainable, mixed-use campus” that will serve as “a catalyst to attract top innovators, technology entrepreneurs, knowledge workers and venture capitalists to accelerate Scottsdale’s growing technology cluster.”

The Parque insists it’s not all about business, shooting for a peaceful place to stroll and ponder:

“The Parque will be a walk-friendly community with architecture that caters to the pedestrian by providing visual interest and a series of shaded corridors and a strong visual presence of open space along Scottsdale Road with views into the site and beyond.”

Anchoring the layout is a 2-acre “Central Park,” with shady areas, public art “and gathering spaces to create a destination experience for Scottsdale residents and visitors.”

And it will be a “very green” project, vowing to adhere to the Scottsdale Green Building Program as well as exploring “additional avenues to respond to energy and water conservation.”