The Old Town Scottsdale Farmers Market Moved. The Paperwork Calls It Temporary.
October 15, 2026
October 15, 2026
"For the temporary use of the City's City Hall parking lot to hold the weekly Old Town Scottsdale Farmers Market." That phrase appears in the Scottsdale City Council minutes from November 17, 2025, when the council voted 7–0 to adopt Resolution 13545 and Contract No. 2025-181-COS. The minutes call the contract a revocable license agreement with Farmers Market Support Services, LLC.
What the city approved is a temporary arrangement that can be revoked, and nothing in the public record says the market will return to Brown Avenue. The market's location now depends on how the city schedules its Old Town parking projects. Two of those projects are under way this fall.
For more than a decade, the market set up in the city-owned Parking Corral at First Street and Brown Avenue, with an address of 3806 N. Brown Ave. In April 2025, the Scottsdale Independent put its time at that corner at 15 years. Arizona Community Farmers Markets, the operator, dates the market to October 2008.
The Scottsdale Progress described what shoppers now find at the old spot: "you'll only find a fenced-off construction site." The construction is the Brown Avenue Parking Structure Expansion, voter-approved Project No. 63 from the 2019 bond election. It adds two levels and 185 stalls to a garage that now has one surface level and one underground level. The budget is $20.9 million. Council told staff to proceed on July 1, 2024, and approved Chasse Building Team as design-build manager on February 11, 2025.
According to the city's project page, construction was scheduled to begin in July 2026. New stalls should open in spring 2027, and finishing work will run through summer 2027. The latest update says installation of precast concrete panels is ahead of schedule. Work on the north side along 1st Street was set to wrap up the evening of September 15.
The city made a real effort to make the City Hall lot work for the market, and that matters for everything that follows.
| Brown Avenue Parking Corral | City Hall surface lot | |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 3806 N. Brown Ave. | 3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd. |
| Shade | Not described in city materials | Two new solar shade canopies |
| Power | Vendors ran generators, per Councilwoman Whitehead | Electrical access added by a bond project |
| Shopper parking | The corral itself | One Civic Center surface lot, across the street |
| Status | Under construction into summer 2027 | Revocable license for temporary use |
The City's shade-structure project page describes canopies over 18 and 31 parking spaces. The larger one has enough clearance for event tents and temporary structures. The Progress reported that the solar panels are expected to be activated later this year. The city estimates they will cover about 75% of City Hall's electricity use and save $46,000 a year.
At a January 7, 2026 special council meeting, Councilwoman Solange Whitehead said the market had been turning away vendors. She pointed to grass and benches near the new site and said shade and electricity would replace vendor generators. A city press release quoted by the Progress said the move "gives the popular market room to grow while keeping it close to Old Town shops, restaurants and Civic Center." City Manager Greg Caton added, "The farmers market has become a Saturday tradition for residents and visitors, and we're excited to help it grow."
Shade canopies, new power and room to grow sound like a permanent home. The contract doesn't describe one.
The November 17 motion did two things. It authorized the revocable license for temporary use of the City Hall lot, and it extended the market's existing agreement "to a date that is mutually acceptable." The public minutes give no fixed term, no renewal clause and no promise of a return to Brown Avenue once the garage is done. Two residents spoke against the relocation during public comment, and the vote was unanimous.
One more limit has been reported. According to the Scottsdale Progress, the market can use City Hall "on as many as 40 Saturdays a year." The current season runs October 2026 through June 2027, and on this year's calendar that comes to 39 Saturdays. The cap covers a full season with almost nothing to spare.
Put the timelines side by side. The market closes for July, August and September. Brown Avenue is scheduled to be fully finished in summer 2027, during that break. If the schedule holds, the next open question falls just before the October 2027 opener: does the market return to the expanded corral, or does the City Hall arrangement keep getting extended? Based on what has been published, nobody has answered that on the record.
People argued over the move long before the tents went up on Drinkwater, and the record shows several different views.
In March 2025, market manager Laura Minnick told council that parking was a concern and asked members to reconsider the garage site, the Scottsdale Independent reported. Speakers argued for keeping a market they described as dog- and family-friendly. A month later, the Independent reported that one vendor called the market "my storefront" and that a group called Save Old Town Scottsdale was gathering signatures against the garage.
By November, the market and the city had a signed agreement. The Independent's report on the vote said the move would take effect with the 2026–27 season. At the January 7 meeting, residents speaking in public comment said the market belonged in its historic Old Town setting and that the City Hall site would be away from the foot traffic it shared with nearby shops. Councilwoman Maryann McAllen answered: "The farmers market is going to move. They signed the contract. They are happy to move." Mayor Lisa Borowsky said she would have preferred the market stay at its old site but would support a reasonable alternative if it had to move. Council members also described the process differently from one another. The Progress covered those differing accounts in a separate story.
All of these comments came before the October 3 opening. As of this writing, no published report covers turnout or vendor reaction from the first weekends at City Hall.
Brown Avenue isn't the only parking project in Old Town this fall. The 6th Avenue Parking Structure is a four-story, $15.2 million garage with more than 230 spaces. It is going up on a city-owned surface lot north of E. 6th Avenue, between N. Wells Fargo Avenue and N. Civic Center Plaza. Like the Brown Avenue project, it is sponsored by the city's Tourism & Events division.
Perimeter fencing went up September 28. It affects sidewalks and street parking on the south side of Stetson Drive and the north side of 6th Avenue, and the city says access to nearby businesses stays open. From late October into December, crews move to earthwork and drilled pier foundations, bringing heavier equipment and periodic concrete trucks. Precast erection follows from early December 2026 through February 2027.
Together, the two projects add more than 415 structured spaces to Old Town. Both are being built on city land that used to be open asphalt, and one of those lots hosted the farmers market. The market now operates under a license, and the city's parking program will shape where it ends up.
Here's what the record confirms for the coming weeks:
Every Saturday, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art at 7374 E. Second St. opens at 11 a.m. That's two hours before the market closes.
The market's current home runs on a revocable license. The Brown Avenue garage is scheduled to finish in summer 2027, and the next decision on location falls before the market reopens in October 2027.
If you own property near Old Town and want to understand how the Brown Avenue and 6th Avenue garages could affect your street, John Zook can walk you through the public record and what it means for your property. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
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