Award-winning real estate development firm, Optima, announced today plans to move ahead with its next Arizona residential development, Optima McDowell Mountain Village, in North Scottsdale after receiving the city’s approval for the $1 billion sustainable mixed-use community.
Breaking ground spring/summer 2023, the 22-acre site, located on the southeast corner of Scottsdale Road and the Loop 101 Freeway, Optima McDowell Mountain Village is comprised of six concrete-framed, eight-story buildings that will include 1,330 luxury residences and 36,000 square feet of commercial and retail space. The development will be a mix of condominiums and apartments.
Optima McDowell Mountain Village will create an environmentally friendly residential neighborhood in the burgeoning area of North Scottsdale with a state-of-the-art, all-inclusive, health-based, amenity-rich community. Most notably from a sustainability perspective, it will be the largest private rainwater harvesting site in the U.S. The residences within the community are expected to use half as much water as the average Scottsdale multi-family residence and a quarter as much water as the average Scottsdale single-family home. Optima is also providing the City of Scottsdale with 2,750 acre-feet of water that will be deposited into the Scottsdale water system.
“We are especially excited about the location of Optima McDowell Mountain Village being in north Scottsdale so close to the spectacular McDowell Mountains and the proximity to the Loop 101 Freeway as well as current and future major employers” said David Hovey Jr., AIA, Optima’s President and COO. “Architecturally this project will be unique with over 75% open space with six buildings surrounding a central sheltered courtyard comprised of a combination of xeriscape, drip irrigation and artificial turf. This will be our most sustainable project to-date and will include the largest private rainwater harvesting system in the United States, as well as the next evolution of our vertical landscaping system and active roof decks.”
The community will be the first project in Arizona to be built under both the new International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and International Green Construction Code (IgCC). A few highlights of the sustainable features include 75% open space that will be a combination of artificial turf, xeriscape landscaping and native plants; high-performance mechanical systems, solar panels; 100% underground parking to mitigate the heat-island effect, and Optima’s signature vertical landscape system. The vertical landscaping system, with its self-containing irrigation and drainage, enables a palette of vibrantly colored plants at the edge of each floor to grow both up and over the edge of the building. The integration of enhancements to the vertical landscape and architectural shading systems protects homes from the sun and creates additional privacy, while filtering the air and lowering ambient temperature.
The kind of sophisticated architectural detail that characterizes Optima’s Arizona projects will be reprised at Optima McDowell Mountain Village, and represents the next evolution of Optima’s architecture and construction. Designed by internationally recognized architects David C. Hovey, FAIA and David Hovey, Jr. AIA, the six buildings, with undulating landscaped facades, echo the shapes of the McDowell Mountains. The eight-story buildings are designed to have complex elevations that step in and out creating depth, shadow and texture that enlivens each face of every building. Adding to the dynamic effect will be the outdoor terraces provided for every residence that will be edged with trailing native plants cascading down the building. The buildings have been designed to emulate the colors of the desert with bronze glass, railings and planters. Glass-enclosed, 15-foot-high ground-floor levels will feel utterly transparent.