The Old Town Scottsdale Farmers Market Gave Up Its Parking Lot So Old Town Could Get More Parking

Walk to First Street and Brown Avenue on a Saturday morning this fall and the bread stalls and produce tables are gone. Fencing and precast concrete panels stand where they used to be. Scottsdale Progress describes the "Parking Corral" that hosted the Old Town Scottsdale Farmers Market as "a fenced-off construction site."

The market opened its 2026–27 season on Oct. 3 a few blocks away, in the City Hall parking lot at 3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd. The new site is larger, closer to the Civic Center, and the city has spent money on it. The license that put the market there still describes the arrangement as temporary.

A Market That Set Up in a Parking Lot Lost Its Spot to Parking

The Brown Avenue structure hosted the Saturday market for more than a decade, according to the Scottsdale Independent. The market itself goes back to 2009. In the 2019 bond election, voters approved Project No. 63 to add two levels to that same structure. The city's project page puts the budget at $20.9 million.

The Corral today has one level of surface parking and one level underground. The expansion adds two more levels with 185 stalls. The city expects the new stalls to open in spring 2027, with finishing work running through summer 2027. The upper level will be set back from Brown Avenue, with shaded sidewalks and storefront-style facades on the west side, and a new public art installation will face Second Street.

Whatever the market's history there, its spot sat in the path of a garage expansion that voters had already funded. Moving the market cleared the site for the expansion.

The construction affects anyone driving into Old Town right now. Crews install precast panels at night, between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., and 2nd Street is scheduled to stay closed along the south side of the structure through Nov. 16 while the crane works there.

The City Hall Lot Got Upgrades a Stopgap Wouldn't Need

Scottsdale Progress, quoting the city's press release, reports that the lot now has two new solar shade canopies to make hot mornings easier on shoppers and vendors. The same bond project added electrical access for the market "and other community events." The panels are expected to switch on later this year. The city estimates they will offset about 75% of City Hall's electricity use and save $46,000 a year in energy costs.

The city's stated goals point the same way. Its release 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." Room to grow is something you offer a tenant you plan to keep.

Early feedback from shoppers is positive. A shopper told the Scottsdale Independent that the bigger site leaves more room to walk without bumping into people. He also said his girlfriend misses the old spot out of nostalgia. The paper reported that vendors are seeing lots of new faces at their booths since the move.

The Paperwork Still Says Temporary

The City Council approved the move on Nov. 17, 2025, almost a year before the market reopened. The approved minutes describe the agreement this way:

"a revocable license agreement with Farmers Market Support Services, LLC for the temporary use of the City's City Hall parking lot to hold the weekly Old Town Scottsdale Farmers Market"

The motion passed 7-0. It adopted Resolution 13545, approved Contract No. 2025-181-COS, and extended the market's existing agreement "to a date that is mutually acceptable." Two residents spoke against the relocation during public comment.

So the city has built the lot up like a permanent venue while the agreement on record is a revocable license for temporary use. By the time the Brown Avenue stalls open in spring 2027, the market will be nearly through its first season at City Hall, and the season ends in June. The open question is where it sets up in October 2027. Market regulars have a stake in that answer, and so do the Old Town shops along both routes.

Saturday Mechanics at 3939 N. Drinkwater

Here is what holds for the rest of this season. The operator, Arizona Community Farmers Markets, runs the market from October 2026 through June 2027, with shorter hours as the weather heats up.

The operator lists more than 100 local growers and specialty food producers. Its roster includes Noble Bread, Carol's Delectables, Flavors of France and McClendon's Select, and it notes that vendor attendance varies from week to week. Well-mannered pets are welcome.

Parking works differently than it did at the Corral, where the market sat inside a garage. The city's release, as reported by Scottsdale Progress, points visitors to the One Civic Center surface lot directly across the street. The operator lists three more options:

1. Bennie Gonzales Way, between Drinkwater Boulevard and 75th Street.
2. The Civic Center Library parking structure at 3803 N. Drinkwater Blvd.
3. 7469 E. Indian School Road.

The city's public parking page lists free parking at the Civic Center Garage with a three-hour limit. Three hours covers a market loop plus breakfast nearby. It won't cover a full morning that runs into an Old Town lunch.

When the Civic Center Gets Busy

The new location shares its block with the Civic Center, and the Civic Center's holiday calendar is filling up. That brings more people in on some Saturdays, and it also makes the trip more worthwhile.

Canal Convergence 2026: Western Nature runs through Nov. 15 at Scottsdale Waterfront, 4420 N. Scottsdale Road. Scottsdale Arts bills it as a free 10-night event in its 15th year. It runs at night, but its final Saturday, Nov. 14, falls on a market weekend.

Scottsdazzle runs Nov. 28 through Dec. 31 and opens with the city's "Tree Lighting Spectacular - Celebrating 75 Years of Scottsdale" on Nov. 28, which is a Saturday. The Civic Center is one of the event's hubs.

The busiest overlap comes on Saturday, Dec. 5. The Ultimate Family Play Date runs 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. outdoors at Scottsdale Civic Center. That covers almost all of the market's hours. On that morning, plan to arrive early or use the surface lots across Drinkwater instead of counting on a garage space.

Later, on Dec. 31 at 8 p.m., Scottsdale Arts hosts its first ticketed, 21+ NYE Party on the Park at Scottsdale Civic Center, 7380 E. 2nd St. The listing features The Docksiders and a drone-show ball drop at midnight. The City Hall lot, with its new shade and event power, is built for this kind of Civic Center calendar.

Questions about how construction around Old Town, including the Brown Avenue expansion, affects a property you own or are considering? The team at Valley Leaders follows these projects block by block and can show you how they fit into your home's value. Request your free home valuation and we'll walk you through it.