Developer's vision of downtown Scottsdale coming into focus

Love it or hate it, developer Shawn Yari is gradually reaching his goal of transforming downtown Scottsdale's entertainment district to match his long-term vision. That vision involves ridding the area of numerous older buildings and businesses to make way for a live-work-play destination for young professionals. The area, south of Camelback Road and east of Scottsdale Road, includes a high concentration of bars and attracts thousands of patrons every weekend. Yari, owner of Triyar Cos., has met some resistance as he has unveiled his plans and gone through the city's planning-approval process, but nothing has stopped him so far. "There's always differences in opinion of how a downtown or even a city should grow," Yari said. "I think that's why we've always had the public-input process of having community open houses. The feedback we've received is overwhelmingly positive, to not only redevelopment for entertainment use, but also redevelopment for residential and the mixed use." His most outspoken critic remains Bill Crawford, president of the Association to Preserve Downtown Scottsdale's Quality of Life. He lives not far from the W Scottsdale Hotel, a Triyar development that includes a rooftop pool with an outdoor DJ on weekends.

Click here to view this article from its source.