Ride the Indian Bend Wash path along McCormick Lake this month and you will pass two active construction sites within a half mile of each other. Both face the water. Both are replacing buildings that have stood there for decades. McCormick Ranch's lakes and paved paths are a defining part of the neighborhood, and the two projects add new destinations along the water.
The details of each site’s history help put the current work in context.
Two Buildings, One Long Wait
The site at 7501 E. McCormick Parkway has held an office building since 1978. Forever Living Products bought it nearly 30 years ago and has run its headquarters out of it ever since. A quarter mile or so down the shoreline, the old Chart House opened in 1984 and served the same view for four decades before closing last year.
Neither building was a failure. The two sites are now being redeveloped for a mix of office, dining and other lakefront uses.
| Site | Built | What Just Ended | What's Coming | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7501 E. McCormick Parkway | 1978 | Nearly 30 years as Forever Living Products' headquarters | The Lakefront at Scottsdale: restaurants, retail, a marina, Class A office | Phase 1 in late 2026, phase 2 in early 2027 |
| Former Chart House site | 1984 | Closed in 2025 after 41 years | A steakhouse from Prime Steak Concepts, 12,000 to 14,000 square feet | June 2027 |
What Breaks Ground This Week
Diversified Partners closed on the 7501 E. McCormick Parkway site for $25.5 million in late May and is putting $70 million into the roughly 100,000-square-foot redevelopment, called The Lakefront at Scottsdale. Groundbreaking is set for September 24. Demolition and the restaurant and retail buildout come first, with a second phase covering the remaining retail and office space starting in early 2027.
Scottsdale Realtors reported that Walt Brown Jr., the company's CEO, described the design as inspired by "modern Santa Barbara." AZ Big Media reported that he called it one of the most exciting projects of his career.
The plan keeps Forever Living Products in place as the office anchor, so the building's original tenant stays even as everything around it changes. New additions include a small marina with Duffy boat rentals, giving residents a way to reach the new restaurants by water instead of just by path or car, alongside sweeping views of the lake and Camelback Mountain that the site has always had but never built toward.
Three dining and beverage tenants are confirmed so far:
- SUSHISAMBA, whose menu traces the history of Japanese immigration to Brazil and Peru, pairing sushi and raw seafood with charcoal-grilled dishes and larger shared plates.
- V Modern Italian, an Italian concept joining the lakefront lineup.
- La La Land Kind Cafe, a café tenant rounding out the daytime side of the property.
More tenant announcements are expected as leasing continues ahead of the groundbreaking.
The Steakhouse Down the Shoreline
After the Chart House closed in 2025, Prime Steak Concepts planned a steakhouse for the site in the 12,000 to 14,000 square foot range, targeting a June 2027 opening.
Together, the two plans will add new dining options along McCormick Ranch's shoreline, with openings targeted within roughly the same eighteen-month period.
You Don't Have to Wait for Either One
None of this requires patience if you want a reason to walk or bike toward the water tonight. Starfish Scottsdale opened earlier this year at a spot in McCormick Ranch, marking Starfish Hospitality Group's first restaurant outside California. The roughly 5,200-square-foot space includes a 1,400-square-foot patio and leans into coastal Southeast Asian flavors, from a Thai spicy beef with basil to a lobster macadamia nut roll.
A few minutes away, Solidcore McCormick Ranch held its grand opening celebration July 12 and 13 at its studio on North Scottsdale Road, adding a reformer-based strength studio to the corridor's growing list of reasons to end a walk somewhere other than your own driveway.
The McCormick Lakefront Projects
Within three miles of the McCormick Lake corridor, more than 56,000 people live in households with an average income above $205,000. The planned projects will add upscale waterfront dining options to the corridor.
Forever Living Products used the office building as its headquarters for close to three decades, and the Chart House operated for 41 years. The two sites are now being redeveloped.
What Changes for Your Evening Loop
The Greenbelt path along Indian Bend Wash already carries joggers, dog walkers, and cyclists past McCormick Lake every evening. Once the planned projects open, an evening loop may end at a table on the water or at a dock where a Duffy boat is waiting, rather than turning back along the path.
That could be a small shift alongside the construction underway, and it may change how a neighborhood spends its Tuesday nights, not just its headlines.
If you are curious how projects like this tend to shape values and demand in the surrounding streets over time, that is exactly the kind of neighborhood-level read Racquel Miller tracks closely across Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. Let's connect if you would like a closer look at what is happening around McCormick Lake, or anywhere else in the Valley you call home.
