Desert Discovery Center Scottsdale, Inc.

08/11/2017

We sincerely value your feedback. Please contact [email protected] for your questions, comments and concerns. Thank you!

03/23/2017

You may have received an email from the political action committee No DDC citing a number of rather outrageous claims against Desert Discovery Center Scottsdale. Most of these were attributed to the Community Council of Scottsdale leadership. When contacted, the Community Council of Scottsdale president was shocked and outraged and send the following letter to the Scottsdale Mayor and City Council. We wanted you to see this in its entirety to be assured that the accusations made were unfounded and untrue.

11/16/2016

Please join us for a Community Workshop on the proposed Desert Discovery Center concept. The workshop will be held Wednesday, Nov. 30, at Venue 8600, 8600 E. Anderson Dr. Registration is required and several time slots are available between 3 and 7 p.m. Register at: https://booknow.appointment-plus.com/9e8n3sn4/

The DDCS experience designer – Thinc Design and architect – Swaback Partners will be leading the public through this workshop that will highlight the new Desert Discovery Center concept planned for the Gateway to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

Please note: We are currently in the Programming Phase, gathering input on initial concepts and ideas. Specifics on cost, size and business plan come together during the next Schematic Design Phase. Those questions will begin to be answered at our next Community Workshop in spring 2017 and will be finalized at the Council Meeting where DDCS will give its project report in fall 2017.

City of Scottsdale

10/19/2016

The desert cannot be seen in a day or on a single hike. Diurnal and seasonal cycles -- and how species respond -- are parts of a fascinating system and open our eyes to the workings of the environment and species adaptations. -- Thinc Design

10/14/2016

Over the past two months, Thinc Design, the Experience Designer working on the City of Scottsdale’s Desert Discovery Center project, has spent nearly two full weeks in Scottsdale, learning everything they can about the project, the community, and most importantly, the Sonoran Desert. They have provided a Summary of Outcomes that gives a glimpse into the Aspirations guiding the Desert Discovery Center’s experience design: http://www.scottsdaledesertcenter.com/experience-design/

EXPERIENCE DESIGN EXPERIENCE DESIGN Desert Discovery Center Scottsdale, Inc., has hired Thinc Design as its experience designer for the Desert Discovery Center project. After interviewing five of the 17 firms that applied, Desert Discovery Center Scottsdale chose Thinc Design because of its sustaina...

10/01/2016

What does the Desert Discovery Center have to do with children and education? Everything! Children's Learning & play Festival

09/30/2016

Good coverage from KJZZ. Take a listen as Experience Designer Amanda White discusses early concepts for the Desert Discovery Center: http://kjzz.org/content/373968/scottsdale-desert-discovery-center-aims-small-footprint-and-big-vision

The proposed Desert Discovery Center in Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve has emerged as one of the most controversial issues in this fall’s city elections and has led to spirited debates both pro and con. This week, the New York design team working on the DDC’s concepts is in town, to listen t...

09/24/2016

Thanks to the Arizona Republic for a very comprehensive, accurate story regarding questions surrounding the proposed Desert Discovery Center. The project has now entered the programming phase where these questions will begin to be answered. Please note that the picture used with the article is from the 2010 study and does not depict the current planning effort, which has just now begun to answer questions regarding scope, size, "look and feel" and cost.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/scottsdale/2016/09/24/scottsdales-proposed-desert-discovery-center-5-big-questions/90696988/?from=global

Scottsdale's proposed multimillion-dollar desert attraction has become a heated issue during City Council campaign season.

09/16/2016

More perspectives regarding the Desert Discovery Center project from KAET's Horizon: http://video.azpbs.org/video/2365841632/

The city of Scottsdale has considered building the Desert Discovery Center at the main entrance to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. The Desert Discovery Center will provide exhibits, programs and activities for visitors and will provide data on living and thriving in desert areas throughout the world....

09/08/2016

http://www.scottsdaleindependent.com/opinions/scottsdale-desert-discovery-center-will-represent-values-community/

Ask any pair of travelers: sometimes the hardest part of a journey is agreeing on the best way to get there. The destination may be a given. The chosen path, however, is not.

09/07/2016

Congratulations to Scottsdale Water -- A global partnership of water sector organizations — the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, the Water Environment Federation, the Water Environment and Reuse Foundation and the WateReuse Association — with input from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has named Scottsdale Water as a recipient of the inaugural Utility of the Future Today Recognition Program. http://www.scottsdaleindependent.com/news/scottsdale-water-named-organizational-culture-future/

Scottsdale was recognized for fostering an “Organizational Culture of the Future” and for exceptional achievement in the areas of water reuse, energy efficiency and community partnering and engagement.

09/07/2016

We have had questions regarding DDCS as an entity and its contract with the City of Scottsdale for the Desert Discovery Center concept. Here is a bit of history and background for those who might be interested:

Desert Discovery Center Scottsdale, Inc. is the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization established for the purpose of planning and possibly operating the Desert Discovery Center.

DDCS grew out of the Desert Discovery Center Advocates organization, an unofficial group of interested citizens that formed with the desire to move the DDC concept forward. The DDCA held more than 350 meetings with individuals and groups to gauge support for the DDC. Based on the response received, one goal of the DDCA was to encourage the City of Scottsdale to re-issue the 2012 Request for Qualifications for an operator of the DDC. That original RFQ drew no responses at the time. The City staff issued a new RFQ after getting unanimous direction to do so at a work study session held in March 2015.

Although the RFQ was sent to an extensive City mailing list and the mandatory pre-submittal meeting was attended by many firms, DDCS was the only respondent to the RFQ. The RFQ was handled through the normal City procurement process as required by law. The DDCS submittal was evaluated by a panel of City staff and independent reviewers and received a score of 895 out of a total of 1000 possible points. City Council voted 6 – 1 to accept the contract negotiated with DDCS in January 2016.

We submitted an application for 501(c)3 status to the IRS in April 2015 and received the necessary non-profit IRS designation in July 2015. That designation allows us to raise donations in the private sector for the required $270,000 private sector investment in this phase and the required 10% of the capital campaign for the DDC. Our application to the IRS required a project description. Since City Council directed the contractor to develop a new version of the DDC from the existing 2010 project concept – a new version, which obviously could not be known at the time of submission – we incorporated the 2010 concept into our IRS submission. That inclusion in no way obligates us to the 2010 concept nor does it indicate the expected result of our current work.

The planning boundary established by the City Council for the contract is 30 acres at the Gateway. This is not the planned or expected project size. The 2010 concept plus the associated increased parking had an actual footprint of considerably less than 30 acres. We have heard clearly that the community wishes us to develop a proposal that will have an even smaller footprint and we will endeavor to do so.

We believe the proposal that will be brought forward next year will differ substantially from the 2010 concept. Those who claim that we already know what the new DDC will be and that it will be as big as or bigger than the 2010 concept have no basis whatsoever for those statements and will likely be proven wrong when the actual proposal is presented.

The RFQ issued by the City and the contract with DDCS specifically call for the project to be planned for the Gateway location in the Preserve. There is no instruction in the contract scope to evaluate other sites within or outside the Preserve. Alternative sites were studied by professionals in 1999 and 2013, and as a result, the Gateway remained the preferred site.

We have heard enthusiasm for the DDC’s proposed mission and for the potential research, programming and educational opportunities it could provide. We also have heard concerns about its size, cost, and compatibility with the Preserve. All constructive input received is welcome, valuable, and being thoughtfully considered as we develop the project concept.