Team behind $1B CrackerJax redevelopment to move forward ‘as soon as we can’ after approval

Ahead of Scottsdale City Council vote, most residents spoke in favor of housing, jobs project would provide

By: Ron Davis, Phoenix Business Journal

In front of a standing-room-only audience, Scottsdale City Council on Nov. 13 gave the thumbs up to one of the city’s most ambitious redevelopment projects.

On a 5-2 vote, Council adopted an ordinance and two resolutions that will make way for The Parque — a $1 billion-plus mixed-use development that would include multifamily; retail and restaurants; a five-star hotel; a Class A office building; an open space gathering area and more.

The more than 30-acre site was previously home to the former CrackerJax amusement park, which sits on a prime redevelopment tract in North Scottsdale. The project will join a wave of billion-dollar developments in that part of Scottsdale — already one of the most affluent areas of the Valley.

The Parque will be developed by billionaire George Kurtz, the co-founder and CEO of cybersecurity company CrowdStrike and one of the wealthiest people in Arizona. After the vote, Kurtz and the development team are eager to move forward quickly.

“We’ll look forward to transforming that site from what it is today into something that’s sustainable and have a great impact on Scottsdale,” Kurtz told the Business Journal after the vote. “We’re hoping [to start the transformation] as soon as we can, pending working with the architects and getting through the necessary things that we need to do to be able to start construction.”

Specific plans for The Parque include 1,182 dwelling units across apartment buildings, workforce housing and hotel-branded condominiums; a 223-key 5-star hotel; a 150,000-square-foot office building; more than 25,000 square feet for retail and nearly 35,000 square feet for restaurants.

In total, more than 2 million square feet are planned for the development. The 12 buildings planned for the site will range in height between one to 10 stories; the tallest of which is 117 feet.

More than a dozen Scottsdale residents spoke ahead of the Nov. 13 vote with the majority speaking in favor of Kurtz’s plan, saying that it would help establish the city as a cybersecurity and technology hub, add more jobs and bring more housing to the area. A few residents spoke out against the plan, saying the development would contribute to traffic congesting in the area, obstruct views of the mountains and negatively impact quality of life.

“The elements of this project are exactly what we say what we want for our city. We are following our voter-approved plans, and we are carefully considering our long-term infrastructure needs with every project,” said Councilwoman Tammy Caputi. “This is a vacant, privately owned lot on a valuable commercial corridor. Leaving it empty or underutilized is simply not an option.”

CrackerJax site acquired by Kurtz for $55.5M

The Parque’s development team consists of Kurtz and David Megdal, while Nelsen Partners has been tasked as the project architect. Texas-based Nelsen Partners has worked on other prominent Valley retail developments including the nearby Kierland Commons and Scottsdale Quarter, as well as the Arizona Biltmore and Goodyear’s new downtown. It is also working on the planned Five North commercial core at the Vistancia community in northwest Peoria.

John Berry of Berry Riddell LLC is the land-use attorney for the project.

Kurtz acquired the land for The Parque in 2022 for $55.5 million. At the time of the purchase, Kurtz said he wanted to create “a transformational, sustainable mixed-use campus as a catalyst to attract top innovators, technology entrepreneurs, knowledge workers, and venture capitalists to accelerate Scottsdale’s growing technology cluster.”

 “[The CrackerJax site] ticked all the boxes and had all the attributes and we look forward to transforming that into a special crown jewel of Scottsdale,” Kurtz said.

Kurtz doubled down on his investment in the area in the months following the purchase of the CrackerJax site with the acquisition of The Promenade shopping center across the street. The entity Scottsdale Promenade LLC purchased the Scottsdale power center in August 2022 for $180 million, according to real estate database Vizzda.

Upon buildout, The Parque would join other billion-dollar developments in the works nearby in north Scottsdale, which include Nationwide Realty Investors’ Cavasson mixed-use campus and the 120-acre One Scottsdale mixed-use development.

Last November, Scottsdale approved a development agreement and rezoning for another billion-dollar project: Optima McDowell Mountain Village, which passed on a 4-3 vote. Scottsdale-based Optima Inc. will build a half-dozen eight-story buildings that are each 118 feet tall. In total, 1,330 units plus 36,000 square feet of commercial space and other amenities are planned for Optima.

The CrackerJax property had been subject to much speculation over the years about possible developments and buyers. In 2017, JDM Partners, which counts former Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo as a principal, submitted plans to the city of Scottsdale for a 2 million-square-foot mixed-use development that would have included offices, restaurants, condos, a hotel and a theater. Ultimately, those plans never advanced and JDM did not buy the property, according to previous reporting.