Scottsdale to vote on $11 million museum

PHOENIX — City council members are scheduled to discuss the final design deal on the Scottsdale Museum of the West on Tuesday.

The city would pay up to $11,360,000 to build the two-story museum at the northwest corner of Marshall Way at First Street. Scottsdale would own the museum while a private group would run it.

The 43,000 square foot museum will display exhibits focused on the meeting of the “Old West with the New West.” Supporters say it will boost tourism in the Gallery and Old Town Districts.

The council meeting begins at 5 p.m. at City Hall Kiva Forum, 3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd., Scottsdale.

According to the city’s website, the museum and exhibition venue will:

• Become a world-renowned museum displaying cultural and artistic artifacts and exhibits displaying the meeting of the “Old West with the New West”;

• Provide an enriched visitor attraction that will expand the current number of tourists visiting Scottsdale, thereby expanding Scottsdale’s tourism industry;

• Provide an additional venue for tourists and visitors already enjoying Scottsdale and give them another cultural opportunity;

• Augment and support an already world-renowned fine arts district;

• Grow into a focal point for an enriched cultural center for the arts district;

• Energize and enrich an area of the city, now abandoned, as a transit center underutilized as a public venue;

• Provide synergy with the Scottsdale Artist School, offering opportunities for collaboration in educational activities and programs;

• Augment and support an already rich and diverse, mixed-use residential and retail area.