East Valley Tribune.com
Ed Taylor, Tribune
January 10, 2008
First SkySong tenants move in
The first tenants are moving into the SkySong project this week — the vanguard of what developers hope will be many companies that will turn the former Los Arcos Mall site into a hub for technological development.
Leading the charge was American Solar Electric, which set up shop Monday in 5,000 square feet on the fourth floor of the first building at the Arizona State University innovation center.
The next tenants, all affiliated with ASU, are moving in through Friday and will occupy about 80,000 square feet, primarily on the second floor of the initial building. All of those organizations are involved in entrepreneurial and innovation programs, said Julia Rosen, ASU’s assistant vice president of economic affairs.
They included Arizona Technology Enterprises, an organization that promotes the commercialization of ASU research by assisting with intellectual property licensing and other programs; and ASU Technopolis, an entrepreneurial training program that helps new businesses become established.
About half a dozen small start-up companies, some from foreign countries, also will move into the ASU space in the next few weeks, said
Nate Summer, director of SkySong Strategic Partnerships.
“We hope to develop them to expand and move into their own space at SkySong,” he said.
Between 70 and 80 people will be working initially at the ASU-affiliated organizations, Rosen said.
The next major tenant to move in will be Canon USA, which is expected to establish its offices at the end of this month, Summer said. Canon will occupy about 9,000 square feet with a demonstration and show room on the ground floor and offices on the fourth floor.
Other companies will move into the four-story building through summer, he said.
A second four-story office building is scheduled to be completed in May, at which time Ticketmaster will occupy the second floor, he said.
The 37-acre project eventually is expected to host 10 to 12 buildings with 1.2 million square feet of office, retail and hotel space, with build- out expected by 2011 or 2012, Summer said.
It is a joint venture of the ASU Foundation, the city of Scottsdale and private developers.