If an out of state developer comes in, they will come in on account of a sweetheart deal opportunity to build cheap, fast and rake in the cash and unlike Carter, they won’t care about community concerns. And you know what? At that point, after the grandstanding and referendum efforts have been exhausted....the city won’t be able to cry wolf anymore.”
Melissa Rein Lively, Scottsdale resident and business owner
By Melissa Rein Lively
Scottsdale is on the precipice of the most exciting transition the city has seen in the last 50 years.
Living here the last 15 years and working in public relations, I have been fortunate to have a front row seat to some of the most exciting and innovative projects and initiatives that have shaped this city into the world-class destination is it now and will be in the future.
The last few years have truly been the most exciting and rewarding because the vision for the city has thoughtfully incorporated a variety of insightful efforts to sustainably evolve and grow to benefit future generations. Plans for improved tourism, economic growth, technology infrastructure and environmental responsibility have all been introduced in some way and important blueprints for the future are currently being laid out to shape Scottsdale into a world-class Smart City that’s beautiful, globally-appealing and a fun, safe and enjoyable place to live in the long-term.
With the future in focus, possibilities are endless.
With the experience of the past, important lessons are learned.
Old Town Scottsdale is without a doubt, an important part of our city’s past, but it’s an even more important part of our future. Aesthetically, the existing Fifth Avenue shops and businesses appear charming and nostalgic. Walking down the street feels like one’s been transported to Epcot Scottsdale. Peel back the façade of the manicured streets, bistro lighting and adorable little Ollie Trolley and a very different picture is revealed.
In all my years in business and in public relations, I have never once come across a business owner who is enamored with the notion of being a seasonal business. Expenses to run a business don’t just stop in the summertime.
In all my years in business and in public relations, I have never met a business owner who is enamored with the notion that their clientele is comprised exclusively of people who will visit their business once and never return. After all, customer acquisition is a business expense.
In all my years on business and in public relations, I have never met a business owner who is enamored with the notion that 90% of the people who walk in their door might not buy anything. After all, conversion is the key to operating a thriving business, no matter what the widget is.
In all my years in business and in public relations, I have never met a business owner who didn’t fear the summer or a tourist drought like a death sentence or the plague. After all, the reason one opens a business is to support the livelihood of their family. Mortgages, bills and household expenses don’t just stop in the summertime. Not for me they don’t. Not for anyone.
Making the decision to open a business in Old Town Scottsdale is not one to be taken lightly and to those that have navigated the ups and downs of an evolving city and customer base, I tip my hat to you. For those that fought the battle as best they could but didn’t win, I tip my hat to you too. You are all important. You are all part of the discussion. You are all what makes the character of this city diverse and what makes our fabric ornate. It’s not buildings….it’s the people…it’s you.
The approval of Southbridge II is the dawn of a new era for Old Town Scottsdale. By redesigning the fabric of our beloved Old Town Scottsdale, we will have something that is beautiful and modern yet familiar, comfortable and with all the charm and history of the past preserved and cherished as part of a thoughtful design that honors the people, places, architecture and unmistakable Southwestern charm with a touch of retro style that make Scottsdale shine. Like a great pair of perfectly worn-in old cowboy boots you love that have lasted forever, Scottsdale will forever be chic, timeless and a treasured staple.
Don’t believe me? Ask Ralph Lauren, who’s made the American cowboy and Western culture an icon of American luxury. Southbridge II will do the same thing for Old Town Scottsdale.
All of that being said, of course there are the “What if’s?”
Some are practical, some are bizarre…and trust me, having been around real estate development my entire life, I can assure you that before the first shovel goes in the ground, each and every last “what if” and its possible outcome will be identified, researched and thoroughly addressed.
Ok, so what if, then?
“What if it doesn’t work?”
Well, what if it does?
What if Southbridge greatly improves the area? It will.
A lot of money and over 25 years of planning and research has gone into the design of this concept. My office used to be next to Fred Unger’s and I had the opportunity to hear his vision and insight first hand.
To be honest, I never even saw Mr. Unger in his office. Every day, he was outside on Fifth Avenue studying everything about how the area operated.
Everything. Pedestrians. Traffic patterns. Ingress/egress. Time of day/use. Where people were going. Why they were going there. How long they were going to be there. Where they just came from. Why they were here.
He studied everything about Old Town and the way people moved through it.
Every single day.
For years.
Fifth Avenue is basically an area of town 0% of locals use. What about the businesses that open and close EVERY year because they don’t have any sort of sustainable business the rest of the year? Please understand that this project is ONLY slated for the Fifth Avenue area, which is the area hardest hit every year with recurrent vacancies because the businesses don’t survive.
Did you know that the majority of the buildings on Old Town Scottsdale’s historic register are the ones located on the East side of Scottsdale Road south of Indian School where Rusty Spur and the old Saba’s Western Store is? From an outsiders point of view, that area appears to have been originally designed to be the center of the thriving historic district. Not Fifth Avenue. That area is bustling with shops and restaurants, plenty of parking garages, a beautifully landscaped Civic Center park with the much-Instagrammed LOVE sculpture and the outstanding but sadly under-utilized local arts hub.
It also goes without saying that the Saguaro hotel has one of the best outdoor restaurant patios in town which sadly is underpatronized as well. Why?
Penning this column I asked 10 different people if they knew what that area was called. Call it a bit of Scottsdale trivia, but not one person knew what it was called and neither did I.
I propose establishing that entire area as its own historic district and branding it accordingly. I’d take it a step further and propose closing that entire area off to traffic and making it pedestrian only, like many popular and potentially traffic-heavy historic areas are across the country and certainly in visitor destinations all over the world.
Our Western culture and historic past is critically important to knowing who we are and shaping who we will be. We only have so much time and energy, why not use it to think critically and create solutions to make something that’s great even better? Establishing the true historic area of Old Town Scottsdale as a destination in its own right is a solution that will celebrate our history, promote foot traffic and tourism and allow Southbridge II to improve the identity, economy and flow of the city as the visionary minds who designed it intended to.
This is just one idea. I have lots more. I’m sure you do too.
In life, in business and certainly in public relations there is only one true luxury and that is time.
Let’s use our time and energy wisely to focus on solutions.
The efforts to circulate a petition that would trigger a referendum on Southbridge II are sadly one of the most misaligned uses of time and energy I have ever had the misfortune of witnessing. This is the group that should spearhead the efforts to preserve and rebrand the true historic district of Old Town Scottsdale. This is how they could build a legacy we could all be proud of, a story we would all be proud to tell the next generation.
If you choose to sign the petition, PLEASE know that a referendum could force the hand of Spring Creek Development to sell the land. This is a very harsh reality that is not being discussed.
If that happens, Fred Unger’s research and vision is gone. GONE.
The do-it-right legacy is GONE.
The pound-the-pavement insights and 25 years of notes and first-hand experience of Scottsdale history that scribbled into hundreds of little notebooks is GONE.
The visionary eyes that saw Scottsdale for so much more than it was through little round glasses are GONE.
The unfettering efforts of a son who grew up in the enormous shadow of an brilliant little man who saw Scottsdale not just for what it was, but what it could be will be GONE.
Years in the army and combat could not have prepared Carter Unger for the terrorism he has endured by “community activists” seeking to extinguish the dream of the only true visionary this city has ever had.
If an out of state developer comes in, they will come in on account of a sweetheart deal opportunity to build cheap, fast and rake in the cash and unlike Carter, they won’t care about community concerns. And you know what? At that point, after the grandstanding and referendum efforts have been exhausted....the city won’t be able to cry wolf anymore.
You know why?
Because you can’t cry WOLF when the BEAR comes.
Please consider the Pandora’s Box you open if you choose to sign the petition.
Editor’s Note: Melissa Rein Lively is the founder of The Brand Consortium Public Relations and lives in Scottsdale.
