Scottsdale Farmers Market May Lose Its Home This Summer

Old Town's Parking Garage Drama: "Parkingate" Pulls Into the Final Stretch

Scottsdale's planned parking garage at 1st Street and Brown Avenue in Old Town — affectionately dubbed "Parkingate" by locals — is officially rolling forward, and no mayor's objection or petition drive seems to be slowing it down.

Designs for the expanded "Corral" garage are being unveiled Thursday, March 12, at the Civic Center Library Auditorium. The project would expand the existing two-level structure to four levels, adding somewhere between 160 and 183 parking spaces depending on which design option the city selects. Both Plan A and Plan B carry a price tag of roughly $15.5 million and are funded through the 2019 voter-approved bond package, which earmarked $20 million specifically for Old Town parking.

Here's where it gets spicy. Mayor Lisa Borowsky has been loudly opposed to the project almost since she took office, reportedly telling a town hall that she "took three swings at the parking garage and struck out." The city council's four-member voting bloc has consistently overruled her efforts to pause, redirect, or debate the project — including voting down her motion for a new parking study and rejecting a proposed Old Town task force in January. A petition with more than 7,000 signatures against the garage? Also overruled.

Opponents argue the garage will tower over the Old Adobe Mission — Scottsdale's oldest standing church — and push out the beloved weekly farmers market. Supporters counter that Old Town desperately needs more parking, and that voters literally approved the funding years ago.

Construction is slated to begin this summer and wrap up in spring 2027. The architects are offering two design styles: "Western" and "Adobe." Because in Scottsdale, even a parking garage gets an aesthetic.

Sources: ABC15 | City of Scottsdale | East Valley Tribune | AZ Family | AZBEX | Scottsdale Independent