Taser Maker Axon Proposes Thousands of Apartment Units Near New Scottsdale Headquarters

Article originally posted on AZ Central on August 23, 2023

Axon, the Scottsdale-based maker of Taser stun guns, law enforcement body cameras and records-keeping software, is planning to add apartments, a hotel and commercial space, like restaurants and shops, to its north Scottsdale campus.

Axon bought about 74 acres of land at an Arizona State Land Department auction in 2020 and is building a 400,000-square-foot office on a portion of the site for its headquarters. The headquarters development was approved by the city in late 2020.

On 41 remaining acres, the company is proposing a development that will include more than 2,500 apartment units, a 100-room hotel and ground-floor retail and restaurant spaces in the apartment buildings, according to documents submitted to Scottsdale.

The southwest corner of the site already has been designated for municipal uses, including a fire station and water treatment facility, according to documents submitted on the project.

The office building will be the first phase of the development, with the housing and commercial space planned as the second phase, according to documents submitted to the city.

“The remaining portion of the site that is the subject of this request will create an attractive and compatible development by building a site with a campus feel,” Charles Huellmantel, a representative for the project, wrote in a submission to the city.

“Axon’s proposed campus seeks to balance the city’s desire for additional economic growth in this area with the need for additional housing and supportive commercial,” Huellmantel wrote in the submission. “The residential component of this proposal intends to serve Axon’s employees, while the hotel provides opportunities for Axon to host events in close proximately to its office and manufacturing facility.”

Plans call for six buildings in the second phase of the project, each five stories tall. Each building is planned to have some commercial space for restaurants or retail shops, with a total of 44,800 square feet. Each of the new buildings is planned to have underground parking.

The plan will go before the city’s Airport Commission Sept. 20.

The property is located south of Loop 101 and Hayden Road, and the portion of Mayo Boulevard near the campus will be renamed Axon Way.

Axon was already based in Scottsdale, and in 2020, after the company had planned to relocate to the nearby Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Scottsdale approved a development agreement to keep the company in Scottsdale and add 650 jobs over a five-year period.