Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this article listed the total number of parking spaces in the arts district, not the number of public parking spaces.

Bob Pejman looks across the street from his Old Town Scottsdale art gallery at the businesses that have sprung up in recent years.

A real estate office. An escape room. A massage parlor. All have replaced art galleries, says the owner of Pejman Gallery, off Main Street and Marshall Way.

Scottsdale's famous arts district featured more than 100 galleries before the recession, he says. Today, 47 are left, according to the arts district website.

While multiple factors led to the decline galleries, Pejman says two culprits are exacerbating the issue today: city leaders short on vision for the types of development in the area and not enough parking to accommodate planned projects.

"Fifty to seventy percent of the gallery business is tourism," Pejman said. "All of these that come here to shop that can't find parking, they're just going to go home."

Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane said that the city is working to solve parking concerns, but that multiple factors have led to a decline in galleries.

"It's not just about parking," Lane said. "If they’re meeting the market and they are evolving, they may stand a better chance of surviving."

Is parking convenient?

Parking is free in Old Town, but the parking spaces are city-owned and not allocated for specific businesses.

The arts district, which spans four blocks, has approximately 693 public parking spaces, according to a city-commissioned parking study from 2015. The study found that parking in the arts district was sufficient, and that most of the parking in the area appeared to serve the immediate businesses.

However, the study recognized that available spaces in Old Town might not be easy to find and that patrons and employees may need to park down the street or several blocks from their destination.

The city recently spent $230,000 on Parker, an app that alerts visitors to open parking spots in Old Town.

Large developments that combine multiple parcels of land must provide adequate parking, but smaller businesses like those found in the arts district do not.

The city has a system in which these business owners can purchase or lease parking spaces from the city. However, the money typically doesn’t go toward building parking spaces outside a business' storefront, but instead goes toward building large parking structures, according to city planner Brad Carr.

"If you look at the land development pattern of those properties, they're generally smaller and the ability to provide parking on them is limited already," Carr said. "It would be prohibitive to encourage redevelopment and new activity on those properties if they had to also provide parking on the site."

There is no timeline for when the city must build parking after these "in lieu" spaces are purchased, and use of the program is sporadic, according to Carr. The city has used the money to build a parking garage on Third Avenue and Scottsdale Road and a parking garage near First Street and Brown Avenue, Carr said.

But Pejman says those garages, which are several blocks away from the arts district, don't directly benefit the galleries.

Will new development bring visitors or cannibalize parking?

Pejman says new developments only magnify the parking issue.

He and some other downtown business owners and residents have raised concerns about the height of a proposed 13-story development in Old Town Scottsdale and the impact it will have on parking.

The project, called Museum Square, is planned just south of Main Street between Marshall Way and Goldwater Boulevard. It's billed as a 190-room hotel and 300-unit luxury condominium that will reinvigorate the arts district downtown.

The plan, which calls for 619 underground parking spaces, is more than enough for the residents, according to Jason Rose, who is handling public relations for the developer.

But that's not nearly enough for residents, who typically have more than one car, as well as visitors and employees, Pejman says.

Scottsdale City Councilwoman Suzanne Klapp, at Pejman's urging, asked the city manager to research building a parking garage on a nearby city lot at First Avenue, between Scottsdale Road and Marshall Way.

A 120-space parking garage would cost approximately $4 million, she said. The city plans to sell land to the Museum Square developer and Klapp suggests the city could use money from the sale to pay for the additional parking.

The council still must review and vote on a proposal, Klapp said.

Meanwhile, Pejman received a notice last month about a new urban, residential community that proposes 200 apartment units near Bishop Lane and Second Street in the arts district.

The project's developer is reaching out to the community ahead of submitting a formal application with the city, a Scottsdale spokeswoman said.

Pejman worries about what developments will be proposed next.

"When this type of a development starts cannibalizing the parking that was intended for businesses, it starts driving out the businesses," he said.

City Councilwoman Solange Whitehead said the city must invest in the arts district, but that new development can bolster the galleries.

Whitehead said that the gallery owners she's spoken to support more visitors that new residential units and hotels would bring.

"I don't know how else you promote galleries than having people walk by them," Whitehead said.

French Thompson, who owns French Designer Jeweler and is the president of the Scottsdale Gallery Association, said the association originally endorsed Museum Square but quickly realized the potential for problems with parking.

"Businesses want to be here. They want to have our address," Thompson said."If they can’t provide enough (parking) for tenants and visitors, they’re actually going to be a detriment to the area."

What is the vision for Old Town?

Thompson says that residential development that will drive customers to restaurants and coffee shops will not be a long-term boon for galleries.

"I'm not against development," Thompson said. "I'm against development that has a negative impact on neighbors. New development downtown should enhance its neighbors."

The Old Town Scottsdale Character Area Plan serves as a guide for development in the area.

Portions of the arts district are in the city's downtown core, which is zoned for lower-scale development with building heights of no more than 40 feet. Developers who want to build higher can apply for height bonuses with the city in exchange for providing a public benefit.

The plan stresses the importance of maintaining convenient and adequate parking downtown "where users can access multiple destinations without the need to move their private vehicle."

The arts district has largely remained low-slung buildings as luxury, high-rise condominiums have sprouted in the larger downtown area near Scottsdale Fashion Square and the entertainment district in recent years.

"I’d love to see there be a core of our downtown that’s charming and quaint and speaks to our history," Councilwoman Linda Milhaven said.

But as the arts district faces growing competition, she sees the solution as adding more residential development to drive customers to the area.

Even that could be problematic for gallery owners, Millhaven said.

"The more successful we are downtown, the more expensive the space is going to become. Are we working at odds with ourselves to bring more customers and increase the cost of space for galleries?"

Councilwoman Kathy Littlefield said she wants to see business owners in the area be part of the decision-making process when it comes to development.

"I have a problem with the entire focus being on new and losing what we have, which is our history," Littlefield said. "There are a lot of cities around the world with skyscrapers, but what do we have that’s special and unique?"

Have a tip out of Scottsdale? Reach the reporter Lorraine Longhi at llonghi@gannett.com or 480-243-4086. Follow her on Twitter @lolonghi.

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