By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
Following up on our Tuesday front page review of a proposed Memorandum of Understanding between Axon Enterprise, Inc. and the City of Scottsdale, the Scottsdale City Council voted Nov. 18 to approve a modified version of the MOU on a 4-3 vote. (AZBEX; Nov. 18)
The agreement, which Axon President Josh Isner said the company would sign, will enable the company to move forward with its plans for a $1.3B corporate headquarters and campus development in north Scottsdale.
Scottsdale’s last-minute modification included another downward revision of the project’s residential component. The original plan called for nearly 1,900 units. The initial MOU decreased that to 1,500 units, to be divided evenly between apartments and condominiums. The approved version cut that even further to a total of 1,200, according to a local news article.
Along with the 1,900 multifamily units, Axon’s original plan called for a 400KSF headquarters and a mixed-use campus with retail and a 435-room hotel on 57 acres at the NEC of Hayden Road and Mayo Blvd. AZBEX has covered the Axon fight extensively. Those articles are available here.
In the article, Isner is quoted as saying the final compromise “stings a little bit,” but expressed his gratitude the matter is now resolved and the project can move forward.
Residential development will happen in two phases, with the first phase comprising 500 condos and 100 apartments and the second being made up of 500 apartments and 100 condos. The commercial space will also be reduced to reflect the smaller resident count.
In addition to the reduced unit count, Council’s approval of the MOU allows for a third-party permitting and approval process. The third-party review and approval component is intended to streamline the process and to protect the project’s progress from obstructionist elements within the City.
With approval from both the company and the City, Scottsdale will also not take part in a lawsuit filed by the opposition group Taxpayers Against Awful Apartment Zoning Exemptions that challenges the law passed by the Arizona Legislature and signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs that effectively negated a planned referendum and allowed the project to advance.
Project Faces Several Ongoing Items
While the MOU approval removes a major set of concerns about the project, several items remain to be addressed. TAAAZE’s lawsuit has been filed and is still pending, even without the City’s participation. While unlikely, it is possible the courts will rule in the opponents’ favor and scrap the law enabling the project.
There is also the fact that, while Okland Construction is still the general contractor in charge of the process, everything will now have to be rebid because the long delays since the previous Council approved the development last year mean all the prior bids and estimates are outdated.
Planning for other components must still be finalized. Isner said Axon is still ironing out the specifics of the hotel portion, including how to align with the company’s event planning. A two-hotel plan is one option, with a high-end brand providing one component and a second flag on site for heavier volume. Also under discussion is the possibility of a single high-volume hotel or two hotels of roughly equal size.
