Luxury resort in works for north ScottsdaleComments Recommend
Ari Cohn, Tribune
A “high-end, ultra-luxury resort” is planned for 17 acres in north Scottsdale near Pinnacle Peak Park.
John Wanninger, of the development group JTW PPL, bought the land just southeast of the 150-acre Pinnacle Peak Park at an Arizona Land Department auction last month for nearly $13 million.

Wanninger said he’s met with Scottsdale officials about providing overflow parking for the park, near Jomax and Alma School roads.
“I’m sure we’ll find a solution for that,” Wanninger said.
Bob Vairo, Coalition of Pinnacle Peak president, had asked the city to consider buying the parcel at auction to preserve overflow parking from Pinnacle Peak Park on 102nd Way, which bisects the land. COPP, an area watchdog group, supports adding 100 parking spaces to the park’s 50 spaces.
The proposed Pinnacle Peak Resort plans are still in the preliminary stages, Wanninger said. However, the resort is expected to be environmentally friendly and feature a spa, according to Wanninger’s publicist, Dave Cieslak.
JTW has acquired a roughly nine-acre parcel immediately east of the land it purchased at auction, Cieslak said. The land is home to the Pinnacle Peak Patio Steakhouse. Restaurant owner Harvey McElhanon was made a partner in the resort project last year, and plans include a new incarnation of the steakhouse on the site.
Wanninger is also partnering on developing the $650 million Solis Scottsdale resort north and east of Scottsdale and Camelback roads in downtown Scottsdale. The project, formerly called Waterview, is expected to include 250 hotel rooms in the five-star urban resort, about 140 residences, 15 penthouse single-family homes, retail, restaurant and office space, and a one-acre park.
The developers’ plan to move the Salt River Project electrical substation now sitting on the Solis site to the northeast corner of Indian School Road and 68th Street, a commercial site they bought for about $7 million. The proposal has raised objections from some potential neighbors worried that the substation will harm their businesses and property values.