Taser’s Maker Eyes 400 KSF Headquarters

Axon plans to replace this Scottsdale building with a nearby $85 million, 400,000-square-foot headquarters. Image courtesy of Axon

Axon Enterprise Inc., the maker of the Taser, has applied to rezone a vacant 74-acre site in Scottsdale, Ariz., the Phoenix Business Journal reported Thursday. If approved, the new zoning would let Axon develop the site, at the southeast corner of Loop 101 and Hayden Road, into several components.

The east end of the roughly triangular property, about 27 acres, will have an office building of more than 400,000 square feet for Axon’s corporate headquarters. A second phase of development, of about 32 acres at the west end, would involve more than 2,000 multifamily units, a 100-key hotel and retail, in six five-story buildings. The remaining 15 acres will be transferred to the City of Scottsdale for right-of-way improvements and for civic use.

The headquarters, which will include an advanced manufacturing facility, reportedly is valued around $85 million.

Axon had acquired the land for $49 million in 2020, as part of a deal with the state of Arizona that obligates the company to develop at least 250,000 square feet of commercial space and reach a payroll of $130 million within five years.

Axon’s current headquarters is nearby, at 17800 N. 85th St., or just southeast of the new site.

Axon evolved from TASER International, which in the 1990s began making and selling the Taser electroshock weapon. Axon adopted its current name in 2017, though it continues to produce Tasers. Its product line has meanwhile broadened to include law enforcement body cams.

Near a turning point?

The PBJ noted that Loop 101 in Scottsdale has been an active area for CRE development. For example, the first phase of the 134-acre Cavasson mixed-use development at 18700 Hayden Road was completed last year, with developer Nationwide Realty Investors taking 170,000 square feet of the 460,000-square-foot, five-story office building as its own regional HQ.

More recently, Commercial Property Executive reported that a second office building, of 150,000 square feet, is scheduled to deliver in October.

“The Phoenix office market remains bifurcated, with 10 percent of buildings accounting for 56 percent of office vacancy, while 60 percent of buildings have no vacant space at all,” according to a second-quarter report from JLL.

The second quarter was the seventh in a row with negative net absorption, as positive direct absorption was more than offset by growth in sublease space. Metro-wide office vacancy is 23.7 percent.

Nonetheless, JLL reports, occupancy loss is decelerating. “Despite the overarching uncertainty, the Phoenix market has maintained composure amidst economic pressures.”