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Scottsdale Steps Into the Future

Scottsdale is taking a step into the future, as they are trying to lure in its next generation of residents. They are attempting to woo Millennials into the city, and give them a reason to stay.

“Young professionals who are living and working downtown want to build the downtown Scottsdale of the future,” said Barry Graham, who is an accountant in his 30’s. Barry has rallied downtown business owner, Bill Crawford, and former Scottsdale City Council members Betty Drake and Wayne Ecton, to join his efforts.

As Ecton recalled about his times on the council, the only people who attended the meetings were older generations who intended on complaining about projects they did not like in the community. Younger generations had little to no say in the proceedings. “There are groups of people, individuals that don’t want any changes to downtown,” Ecton stated. “They want it just like it is, just like it was when they grew up. That’s not going to be good in the future.”


One of the ideas running through Graham and company’s heads is to make the downtown area more viable. That means increased walkability amongst shops, restaurants, and places and to park. He met with the volunteers on the city’s Transportation Commission, stating, “There’s a lot of visionaries and they have a lot of good ideas. It’s encouraging and inspiring to be around those ideas and to be around those people.”

The group’s goals are to prevent economical dips in downtown Scottsdale. Since the long crawl out of the hole after the crash in 2008, the city does not want a repeat. “We want Scottsdale to be strong, stable, successful and vibrant,” Graham said.

The coalition to bring the Millennial voice to Scottsdale continues to reach out to more business and people in hopes to grow. They recently toured Yelp! Headquarters, and are looking toward the company to spread their outreach.