An Old Town Scottsdale apartment project that folds a historic building into its design is starting construction this month, bringing new life to a stretch of East Indian School Road that has sat partly vacant for years. The project, known as The Kimsey, pairs more than 160 hotel rooms with 190 apartment units around a building designed by noted Arizona architect Ralph Haver.
Construction on the project began in October 2026, according to The Arizona Republic, which reported that the development will include renovating and reusing the historic structure rather than demolishing it. The Kimsey sits in the 7100 block of East Indian School Road, between Scottsdale Road and Marshall Way.
A Years-Long Path to Groundbreaking
The project's roots stretch back to 2021, when a hearing was delayed until April 6. The same report described the site as a patchwork of aging uses: a 65-room hotel that was still operating at the time, an event facility that had already shut down, the historic Kimsey building itself, and several vacant commercial spaces.
That historic building, sometimes referred to as the Triangle, was designed by Ralph Haver, and its preservation was a central feature of the approved plan rather than an afterthought.
What City Records Show
A Scottsdale planning case tied to the project, listed with the City of Scottsdale, describes a request for approval of a site plan, building elevations and landscape plan for a mixed-use development that would include a hotel, dwelling units, a restaurant and supporting commercial uses. The project is at 7110 E. Indian School Road, consistent with the broader Old Town site.
Another Conversion Taking Shape Nearby
The Kimsey isn't the only adaptive-reuse apartment proposal drawing attention in Scottsdale this fall. According to Scottsdale REALTORS®, developer KB DEVCO is pursuing a multifamily conversion of an existing office property at 13875 North Northsight Boulevard. Reports on the project's scale conflict: the outlet's own reporting cited KB DEVCO's plan for 121 units, while a Scottsdale city spokeswoman quoted in the same report described the application as covering about 275 dwelling units in a five-story building on a 4.5-acre site. Either way, the Northsight project would mark what the outlet called the city's first office-to-apartments flip.
Back at The Kimsey, the project's mix of preserved architecture and new construction reflects Old Town Scottsdale's continuing push to add housing and hotel capacity without erasing the neighborhood's older character. With construction now underway, the stretch of Indian School Road that once housed a quiet hotel and a shuttered event space is set to become one of the district's more closely watched building sites in the months ahead.
