|
EDA served as subcontractor to ConsultEcon of Cambridge, MA, on this project.
The McDowell Sonoran Preserve is a protected area within the city limits of Scottsdale. It was purchased with funds generated by a local sales tax approved by voters in the early 1990’s. Preservation of its more than 35,000 acres was a major accomplishment that cost nearly one-third of a billion dollars. It is the largest contiguous open space area within the boundaries of a metropolitan area in the United States, with a market value that is almost incalculable (buildable land in the vicinity costs more than $1 million/acre).
|
 |
 |
The aesthetic, recreational, ecological and educational values of the Preserve, though, are equally significant. The Preserve is big enough to support populations of large mammals such as deer and cougar that are absent from the rest of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Its multi-use trails are heavily-used by metro-area residents. Indigenous populations of several Native American tribes view the land as sacred, and numerous archaeological and petroglyph sites exist on the preserve. |
|
|
ConsultEcon and EDA were tasked to test the feasibility of building a major informal learning facility on the Preserve. Our firms began the process by conducting market studies of the Phoenix metropolitan area and analyzing the financials of comparable and competitive facilities. A stakeholder workshop was held, at which a set of preliminary statements of significance and interpretive themes were developed. |
 |
Audience issues were also discussed, as well as concepts for a WOW! factor. Following the workshop, EDA staff held more than forty interviews, with persons ranging from local political activists to educators, politicians, businesspeople, concierges from major Scottsdale resorts, representatives of the local convention and visitors’ bureau, Native American tribes, non-profit conservation agencies and more. Our staff took a daylong hike with members of the Cultural Preservation Office of the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community to assess petroglyphs and a spring on the Preserve. We were privileged to witness a blessing ceremony at the spring. We also visited and analyzed all the major informal learning institutions in the Phoenix metropolitan area. |
|
The project team developed a set of strategic recommendations, interpretive themes and exhibit concepts, as well as a continuum of possible sizes for the facility. These were discussed and tested at a second workshop. The themes, exhibit concepts and scale continuum were also presented at a public open house. Surveys were also distributed at both events to gather public input on the roles that the proposed facility might play in the community (i.e. as a gathering place with food service, as a concert venue, as an environmental learning center focused on local kids, etc.). |
The final work product is a refined set of strategic recommendations including exhibit design criteria, interpretive themes and a revised mission statement. The report includes market analyses, analyses of comparable/competitive facilities, revenue/expenditure projections and estimates of construction costs at either end of a spectrum of possible facility scales. It does not make decisions, rather it provides the community a reflection of its appetite for the facility, and the information it needs to make its own decision. |
|
|
|
