Diversified Partners officially broke ground on The Lakefront at Scottsdale on Sept. 24, 2026, launching a roughly 100,000-square-foot mixed-use redevelopment at 7501 E. McCormick Parkway in McCormick Ranch. The $70 million project will replace a long-private corporate campus with waterfront dining, retail, and office space — and four restaurant tenants are already signed.
Your lakefront has been behind a corporate fence for nearly thirty years
If you live in McCormick Ranch, you have driven past this site hundreds of times. The building sits right on the water, with views of Camelback Mountain. For most of that time, it belonged to Forever Living Products, and public access was simply not part of the picture.
That changes with The Lakefront at Scottsdale. The developer, Diversified Partners, is converting the former Forever Corporate Plaza into a walkable, waterfront mixed-use destination. Restaurants with outdoor lakeside seating, retail, and upgraded office space are all planned on the same campus.
There is a catch worth knowing. Diversified Partners CEO Walt Brown Jr. is still working with residents and the homeowners’ association on a final design for the project. That process is active and not yet fully settled. If you live in McCormick Ranch, you still have a voice in what this site looks like.
Mayor Lisa Borowsky put the community stakes plainly at the groundbreaking: “Having grown up within two miles of this iconic McCormick Ranch location, I know firsthand how much this site means to the neighborhood and the City of Scottsdale.”
From corporate plaza to public lakefront: forty-eight years at 7501 E. McCormick Parkway
The building at this address was first developed in 1978. The Charthouse restaurant opened there in 1984 and became a neighborhood landmark. It closed last year. Forever Living Products owned the property for nearly 30 years before Diversified Partners closed on its $25.5 million acquisition in late May 2026.
Forever Living Products is not leaving. The company is staying on as a tenant in the upgraded office space after the redevelopment is complete.
A “Luxury Retail Coming Soon” sign at 7501 E. McCormick Parkway marks the future home of The Lakefront at Scottsdale. (Diversified Partners)
The groundbreaking: Sept. 24, 2026 — what happened and what was announced
The ceremony ran from 9:30 to 11 a.m. on Sept. 24, 2026. Attendance figures differ between sources: the press release distributed to trade media cites more than 213 attendees, while Diversified Partners’ own post-event recap reports more than 250. Either way, the room included project partners, tenants, and members of Scottsdale’s civic and business community.
Mays Construction is serving as general contractor and design-assist partner on the project. The firm was also a sponsor of the groundbreaking celebration, as was Commonwealth Land Title Phoenix NCS.
Diversified Partners CEO Walt Brown Jr. addresses attendees at the Sept. 24 groundbreaking, with project renderings on display. (Diversified Partners)
Four restaurants confirmed: SUSHISAMBA, V Modern Italian, La La Land Kind Cafe, and Frost Gelato
Three concepts were announced at the groundbreaking. A fourth was already signed before the event.
SUSHISAMBA has a signed letter of intent for about 12,000 square feet. The brand combines Japanese, Brazilian, and Peruvian cuisine and is known for high-energy lakefront dining formats.
V Modern Italian was developed with Michelin-starred Chef Stefano Ciotti. Ciotti received a Michelin star in 2010, then opened his restaurant Nostrano in Pesaro in 2015, which earned its own Michelin star in 2017. The Scottsdale location follows prior V Modern Italian openings in Nashville and Charleston, with additional locations planned for Tampa and Kansas City.
La La Land Kind Cafe rounds out the announced trio.
Frost Gelato was signed before the groundbreaking and was the first confirmed tenant.
A rendering shows lakeside outdoor dining patios planned as part of The Lakefront at Scottsdale’s mixed-use development. (Diversified Partners)
Construction timeline: first restaurants targeted by Nov. 1, 2027; phase two starts early 2027
Diversified Partners is targeting a Nov. 1, 2027 opening for the first restaurants. Phase one of construction is focused on the dining and waterfront portions of the project.
Phase two — covering the remaining retail and office components — is expected to begin in early 2027. That means both phases will likely be under construction at the same time for a portion of the build.
A dusk rendering shows the planned outdoor dining terrace at The Lakefront at Scottsdale. (Diversified Partners)
The HOA design process, and what comes before the doors open
Diversified Partners has not finalized the site design. Brown is still in active talks with McCormick Ranch residents and the homeowners’ association. This is not a formality — neighborhood input has shaped the project and could still affect what gets built.
Once that process wraps, the construction timeline will firm up. For now, the developer’s stated targets are Nov. 1, 2027 for the first restaurant openings and early 2027 for the start of phase two. Watch the HOA process as the near-term indicator of whether those dates hold.
