In North Scottsdale, where luxury development has historically leaned toword gated enclaves and low density sprawl, Optima McDowell Mountain is introducing a different model. The $1 billion mixed-use community spans 22 acres and is planned as a six-building residential campus that emphasizes landscape integration, wellness infrastructure, and year-round usability at scale.
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Optima will construct six buildings that will be either apartments or condominiums as part of the project that will also include commercial office space.
City documents show that Optima looks to start on construction as soon as possible after being given the green light from Scottsdale City Council. phoenix
Optima will construct six buildings that will be either apartments or condominiums as part of the project that will also include commercial office space.
Scottsdale-based Optima Inc. received approval from Scottsdale City Council this week on a development agreement and rezoning for Optima McDowell Mountain Village. The deal was approved Monday on a 4-3 vote. Optima will build six, eight-story buildings that are each 118 feet tall. Four of those buildings will be apartments and the other two are condominiums. Those buildings will include 1,330 units plus 36,000 square feet of commercial space and other amenities throughout the development.
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Fueled by the explosion in employment opportunities and related development in north Phoenix, developer Toll Brothers Apartment Living has proposed what would be one of the largest multifamily developments by unit count in the Greater Phoenix area.
Situated on approximately 18.68 gross acres at the SEC of 7th Street and Beardsley Road, North 7th Residences is planned for 817 units, with up to 825 units allowed, spread across five buildings. Four of the buildings would be garden-style, with the remaining structure constructed as a wrap-style building with an interior parking garage, according to the Planned Unit Development project narrative submitted to the City of Phoenix by project representative law firm Snell & Wilmer.
According to the conceptual site plan, the wrap-style building—Building A—would be five stories in height with 407 units and a square footage of 611.5KSF. The remaining four garden-style buildings break down as follows:
There is also a separate 4.5KSF amenity structure planned, bringing the total proposed building area to nearly 1.18MSF.
The expected unit count calls for 19 studio apartments, 455 one-bedroom, 309 two-bedroom and 34 three-bedroom apartments. As a self-described “modern, upscale, and amenity-rich living experience,” several site and lifestyle enhancement features are planned, “including a total of 25,050 square feet of air-conditioned indoor amenity space distributed throughout the site, as well as up to 90,100 square feet of useable outdoor open space containing pools, outdoor seating and lounging nodes, cooking and dining areas, fire pits, activity and fitness lawns, sports courts, and entertainment media walls distributed throughout the site in locations central to community residents,” according to the narrative.
The Site and Development Standards
The location is currently partially occupied by a two-story 97.4KSF office building developed in 2003 and previously used as a call center. The narrative says, “By reimagining the site for residential purposes, there will be improvements to the surrounding community by removal of a high traffic generating use (office/call-center), completion of the vacant site (which, as vacant land, tends to attract less than desirable activities), improvement of the abutting streetscape (modernizing the pedestrian experience along 7th Street with detached sidewalks and additional shading) and providing a new housing choice option for those that want to live/work/play in this part of the City.”
The development standards laid out in the PUD narrative are for a C-2 General Commercial Zoning District, which permits a maximum residential density of 825 units (44.2 units/gross acre) with minimum setbacks of 100 feet on the east perimeter, 50 feet on the south and 20 feet on both the north and west perimeters.
The site is adjacent to existing single- and multifamily residences. Consequently, the narrative makes a point of addressing how the development will be sensitive to existing uses, saying, “To achieve a balanced transition between neighboring uses, the Project utilizes a stepped down design, gradually decreasing the buildings’ height from its tallest elevation of 65’ and five (5) stories along the 7th Street and Beardsley Road frontages to the shortest elevation of 38’ and three (3) stories where the property is more proximate to existing homes.
“This stepped-down design results in a building massing that is contextually appropriate while also providing a transition in height ensuring the Project’s compatibility with its surrounding neighbors. Significant building setbacks (up to three (3) times greater than those required by the current zoning adjacent to the east property line and over sixteen times greater than those allowed by the current zoning adjacent to the south property line) further provide a buffer and separation between the Project and adjacent existing residences.”
Development is planned in two possible phases, with Phase I consisting of Building A with the parking structure, 407 units, swimming pool and core amenities spaces.
One of Metro Phoenix’s Largest Communities
Given the extent of multifamily development in metro Phoenix in recent years and the number of outlets and resources covering the sector, it is surprisingly difficult to find definitive information on community sizes around the area.
The DATABEX project database was started in 2016 and, for obvious reasons, does not include communities developed before its launch. Yardi Matrix is a standard resource for apartment development research, but it includes some surprising omissions and inconsistencies in its reports.
A Yardi Matrix market composition report shows 47 communities with more than 500 units completed between 1980 and 2023 in greater Phoenix, totaling 30,388 units, or 10.1% of the total market.
A March 2022 article in GlobeSt lists the largest market-rate community as the former Del Mar Terrace apartments on West Indian School Road. The 1,012-unit development was purchased by CIM Group and Tides Equities for $255M and rebranded as Tides on 71st.
When first proposed, Camden North End at 6800 E. Mayo Blvd. in Phoenix would have been larger. The development was originally planned for three phases and a total of 1,069 units. Phases I and II were built, with Phase II delivering in 2021 for a total of 784 units for the entire project. The Phase III location was sold off to another developer.
It is believed Optima McDowell Mountain Village in north Scottsdale is the largest community under development in the Phoenix metro area. Currently in the pre-construction phase, the project is planned for 1,330 apartment and condo units to be built in three phases over a 10-year development cycle.
At 817 planned units, North 7th residents will easily land among the top planned and, if built as proposed, the largest completed development projects in the metro area.
Toll Brothers Apartment Living is the developer. The design firm is CCBG Architects, with landscape planning by Collective V Design Studio, Inc. Hubbard Engineering is the civil engineer, and Lokahi is the traffic engineer. The zoning attorney/project representative is Snell & Wilmer. As of press time on Aug. 28, no hearings or meeting dates have been set.
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SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — Phoenix-based CapMatrix Ltd., acting as exclusive capital markets advisors to Optima, secured a $37.1 million senior loan to provide financing for ongoing land and horizontal infrastructure improvements at Optima McDowell Mountain in Scottsdale. At completion, Optima McDowell Mountain will feature six residential towers offering more than 1,330 units of for-sale condominiums and rental units. The project is located at the southeast corner of Scottsdale Road and Loop 101 freeway. Western Alliance Bank provided the financing, which represented the first deal between Optima and Western Alliance.
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Did you hear the one about the corporate giant bringing hundreds of jobs to North Scottsdale?
This isn’t about Axon – which is already in the 101/Hayden Road neighborhood. The Taser maker is fighting to move ahead with a controversial plan to build a new office building surrounded by upwards of 1,900 apartments.
While the police equipment juggernaut says it will quadruple its work force if allowed to move ahead with a scheme the city and others are challenging, another tech powerhouse has encountered no resistance as it quietly charges ahead on building a new corporate home.
No apartments here at ASM, less than a mile north of Axon.
And why would ASM’s 1,300 engineers and other workers want to live on the Dutch company’s new American headquarters and “campus?”
ASM’s next-door neighbor is Optima McDowell Mountain Village, where 1,300 apartments are being built.
Though impressive, the number of positions ASM is creating is just a cut of a massive job pie being baked here on “development row.”
On a sprawling lot south of ASM, the smaller Banner Health Center Plus that starts construction soon and a planned Banner Scottsdale Medical Center could employ upwards of 2,500. Across Hayden Road from Banner, Rick Smith promises to balloon his Axon staff of 850 to 5,500 if his live-work-play campus is not blocked.
As Optima and Axon both plan shops and restaurants, the number of new employees along development row could approach 10,000.
While a few of these big developments are pending, ASM is at full-speed-ahead.
The Netherlands company designs and manufactures “equipment and process solutions to produce semiconductor devices for wafer processing.” Wafers serve as bases for semiconductor chips.
On its 20 acres, ASM plans “a combination of capital expenditures related to infrastructure and lab equipment,” with research and engineering jobs coming – as hinted by plans for a five-story garage, in addition to two offices and labs.
According to a news release, “ASM, a semiconductor supplier with local customers like Intel and TSMC, is investing $300 million in its new Scottsdale facility and plans to add 500 new high-paying jobs as part of the expansion.”
A development agreement requires ASM to provide 600 acre feet of water – about as much as 2,000 homes would use in a year – to the city.
With 800 employees already at its current Phoenix headquarters, the additional staff would bump ASM’s Scottsdale payroll to 1,300. ASM showed it was serious by entering into a joint development agreement with the city.
A crucial difference between this and Axon’s plan: As ASM is not trying to put up living spaces, no rezoning was required for it to build.
The city issued building permits May 7. While writing a check for around $360,000 in permit fees, ASM told the city the value of its commercial shells for an office, lab and garage is $116 million.
Contractor Oakland Construction Company got right to it, starting foundational work the second week of May.
Compared to many developers who struggle for financing, this company can afford to pay its way. ASM’s revenue for 2024 was $3.2 billion, jumping 11.31% from 2023
‘Bring your water’
Across the 101 from Grayhawk and the booming Scottsdale One development, ASM’s new North American headquarters will cover 250,000 square feet – double the size of its Phoenix facility.
ASM has research and development centers in Arizona, the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Japan, South Korea and Italy and manufacturing sites in Singapore, South Korea, Italy and the Netherlands.
On Sept. 10, Scottsdale City Council unanimously approved $7 million in water and sewer line reimbursements to a trio of developers in that “netherland” south of the Loop 101, between Scottsdale and Hayden roads: global corporation ASM, healthcare giant Banner Health and “retail development specialist” De Rito.
One week later, Council unanimously approved a separate development agreement with ASM.
The new ASM development deal calls for the city to reimburse the tech company for up to $6.3 million “for a portion of public infrastructure costs.”
Then-Councilman Tom Durham, before making the motion to approve the development deal, praised the Dutch-based company’s plan to bring the water it will use in Scottsdale. Former Scottsdale Water Executive Brian Biesemeyer explained it will be provided by SRP.
In early 2024, even as Durham and other city officials were rejoicing over ASM’s relocation, Biesemeyer expressed concerns over the Dutch company’s plans to recycle 80% of its wastewater.
In an internal email, Biesemeyer warned it was crucial for ASM to understand “they cannot dump to our sewer if their recycle plant is down.”
Near the beginning of 2024, Paul Crothers, ASM’s vice president of operations, projected the company’s North Scottsdale water use: Just under 90,000 gallons per day during Phase 1 of development, shooting up to about 234,000 gallons per day in Phase 2.
That would mean from 30 to 80 million gallons per year.
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For more than four decades, Optima has shaped some of Arizona’s most architecturally distinctive residential communities. From its award-winning properties in Old Town Scottsdale and the Biltmore Phoenix area to Optima Kierland in North Scottsdale, the design-driven development firm has built a reputation for modernist architecture wrapped in lush vertical landscaping and resort-level amenities. Its communities are recognizable not only for their aesthetic, but for the lifestyle they create.
Now, Optima McDowell Mountain marks the firm’s next chapter in North Scottsdale. Rising at the southeast corner of Scottsdale Road and Loop 101, the 22-acre mixed-use community expands on everything residents have come to expect from the brand: open space, biophilic design, and elevated shared amenities, all framed by sweeping views of the McDowell Mountains. With apartment tower 7220 now leasing and condominium tower 7230 in pre-sale ahead of its anticipated 2027 completion, the momentum signals a strong appetite for a more connected, amenity-driven way of living in this part of the Valley.
“This is a significant milestone for Optima,” said David Hovey Jr., AIA, president of Optima. “It’s the first time in four years we’ve introduced for-sale residences in Arizona, and we’re bringing everything we’ve learned over the past four decades into this new community. Optima McDowell Mountain reflects our ongoing commitment to thoughtful design and quality living, and it represents the next chapter in our legacy.”
Life at Optima McDowell Mountain is designed to extend far beyond the walls of a single residence. Each building in the community will be centered on roughly 1.5 acres of resort-style amenities, creating an environment where wellness, recreation, and social connection are woven into everyday life. At the rooftop level of tower 7230, a dramatic Sky Deck will overlook the McDowell Mountains, anchored by a 50-meter Olympic-length heated lap pool and a running track that wraps around the perimeter. Residents will also find an outdoor spa and cold plunge, a sauna, fire pits, shaded lounge areas, outdoor kitchens, yoga studios, and gathering spaces designed for everything from quiet mornings to sunset entertaining.
At ground level, the amenity offering continues with a depth rarely seen in traditional condominium developments. Plans call for a fully equipped fitness center with indoor and outdoor training areas, Pilates and group fitness studios, locker rooms, and spa-inspired spaces, including a sauna and massage room. Recreation expands to include indoor pickleball and basketball, two outdoor pickleball courts, bocce, a golf simulator with chipping and putting areas, and even a sports lounge. A business center with conference and huddle rooms supports remote work, while a private movie theater and chef’s kitchen-equipped party room offer space to host. Families and pet owners are equally considered, with indoor and outdoor play areas, a pet park, and a pet spa integrated into the design.
The scale of open space is equally compelling. Nearly 75 percent of the 22-acre site is dedicated to landscaped grounds, anchored by a 10-acre central park that forms the heart of the community. Pedestrian paths and bike trails weave throughout the property and connect to Scottsdale’s broader trail systems, reinforcing a lifestyle that encourages movement and outdoor time. The setting feels intentionally layered, with architecture softened by vertical landscaping and desert plantings that frame views of the surrounding mountains.
Location plays a central role in the appeal. Positioned at Scottsdale Road and Loop 101, the community offers immediate freeway access, making it easy to reach the Scottsdale Airpark, Kierland Commons, Scottsdale Quarter, TPC Scottsdale, and other North Scottsdale destinations within minutes. Residents can walk or bike to nearby restaurants and retail while still enjoying the sense of retreat afforded by open space and mountain vistas. It is a rare balance of connectivity and calm, particularly in this highly sought-after pocket of the Valley.
Sustainability is not treated as an afterthought but as a defining element of the project. Optima McDowell Mountain will incorporate what is expected to be the largest private rainwater harvesting system in the United States, capable of storing up to 210,000 gallons for on-site irrigation. The development is also the first in Scottsdale to be built under the city’s newly adopted International Energy Conservation Code and International Green Construction Code, signaling a commitment to long-term environmental performance.
Additional features reinforce that focus, including solar panels, self-irrigating vertical landscaping that provides natural insulation and air purification, fully underground parking to reduce surface heat retention, high-efficiency VRF heating and cooling systems, induction cooktops, and EV charging for residents and guests. Together, these elements position Optima McDowell Mountain as both forward-thinking and rooted in the realities of desert living.
With residences in the first condominium tower now selling and completion anticipated in Summer 2027, Optima McDowell Mountain represents a significant evolution in North Scottsdale’s residential landscape. The Sales Gallery is now open by appointment.
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