Developer to turn vacant Tempe offices into industrial site

Article originally posted on Phoenix Business Journal on February 6, 2026

2750 South Priest Drive 06

A developer is a step closer to turning Tempe offices into an industrial site designed to attract advanced manufacturing jobs.

Tempe City Council on Feb. 6 unanimously approved a resolution for a general plan land use and residential map amendment, and also adopted an ordinance returning the zoning to a general industrial district.

The 25-acre site at  2750 S. Priest Drive was previously approved by Council in 2023 to be rezoned to mixed-use to allow for the construction of a five-story residential development with 566 units. However, those plans fell through, so the zoning needed to be changed for the new project, according to a letter from applicant Panattoni Development Company Inc.

Panattoni has proposed redeveloping nearly the entire site into “high-quality industrial buildings” with the idea of attracting advanced manufacturing jobs, including in the semiconductor industry. The commercial real estate company is being represented by Gammage & Burnham.

“The existing office buildings, which no longer meet the needs of today’s workforce, represent an underuse of a property in a highly visible and employment-intensive area,” the letter says.

Panattoni is based in Irvine, California, with key offices in Newport Beach and a total of 69 offices across the country, Canada and Europe.

Panattoni project includes a pair of one-story buildings

The company’s vision is to build a pair of one-story industrial buildings; about 354,837 square feet of warehouse, industrial and manufacturing space; 88,714 square feet of office space, and 373 parking spaces within a parking courtyard. The current three-story parking garage off Fairmont Drive will remain.

These buildings will replace the existing six office buildings.

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