Taser maker Axon wants to build a tech campus in north Scottsdale to support its planned headquarters facility near the NEC of Hayden Road and Mayo Blvd.
The campus is currently planned to include a hotel and approximately 2,300 residential units across four five-story buildings with ground-floor retail and restaurants on a former state land site at Hayden Road and the Loop 101 freeway.
In a recent neighborhood meeting to introduce the proposal to residents of the nearby Stonebrook community, Axon representatives said the campus and amenities will serve to support the company’s employees’ housing and entertainment needs at the new headquarters and will aid in recruitment. Axon employees would be the preferred tenants for the residential units and the hotel would be the site for the company’s conferences and events.
The announcement was met with shock and surprise by Stonebrook residents at the recent meeting, who had also previously expressed concerns about a new fire station to be built in the area, partially in support of Axon’s headquarters.
Axon has a $9.4M infrastructure reimbursement agreement with Scottsdale under which it must build a minimum of 250KSF of commercial/manufacturing space and grow its payroll to at least $130M by 2025. Axon’s planned office space is approximately 100KSF, with plans to increase it to slightly more than 401KSF. The company expects the campus would have the capacity to support 2,500 workers.
Axon will have to take the plans before the Scottsdale Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council for rezoning. Stonebrook residents are expected to oppose the plan on the basis of density, traffic, general public safety concerns and impacts on neighborhood character.
No hearings have been scheduled. The project is represented by Huellmantel & Affiliates. (Source)
