Scottsdale History — Resort Metropolis Era (1980–2009)

The Resort Metropolis: Mega-Resorts, the Mayo Clinic, and Buying the Mountains

Three decades of scale: resorts the size of villages, a world-class clinic, a preserve bought at retail — and a crash to end the run.

The Drinkwater build-out

The Princess and Hyatt Gainey (1985), WestWorld, TPC and the Open (1987), the Mayo Clinic (1987)

The great preservation vote

The McDowell Sonoran Preserve created 1994, funded 1995 and 2004 — the largest urban preserve in America

Vertical Scottsdale and the crash

Loop 101, the Waterfront towers, the reborn Valley Ho, SkySong — then 2008

Between 1980 and 2009 Scottsdale changed weight class. Under Herb Drinkwater (mayor 1980–96) the city annexed its way to 185 square miles and opened flagship institutions at a startling clip: the Scottsdale Princess and Hyatt Gainey resorts (1985), WestWorld (1986), the Mayo Clinic’s first-ever branch and the TPC/Phoenix Open and Colorado River water (all 1987).

Then the citizens made the era’s defining move — voting in 1994 and 1995 (and again in 2004) to tax themselves and buy the McDowell Mountains outright, creating the largest urban preserve in the United States. The 2000s added the vertical city — Loop 101 (2001), the Waterfront towers, the resurrected Valley Ho (2005), SkySong (2008) — before the 2008 crash froze the cranes and closed the era.

The decades of this era

The 1980s — Resorts & the Push North: Drinkwater, mega-resorts, Mayo, TPC, CAP water.
The 1990s — Buying the Mountains: the Land Trust, the preserve votes, Fashion Square’s rise, Los Arcos’ fall.
The 2000s — Condos, Canals & the Crash: the Waterfront, the Valley Ho rebirth, SkySong, and the Great Recession.

The decades of this era

Decade chapters in this era

Resorts & the Push North

Buying the Mountains

Condos, Canals & the Crash