5th office building to rise at Scottsdale SkySong

Scottsdale’s SkySong is building its fifth office building — the third new office building in the complex in three years and the tallest yet.

A ground-breaking ceremony on the more than $43 million building and accompanying parking structure is slated for early July.

More than 2,000 people work at more than 60 companies in SkySong, a 42-acre mixed-use public-private effort between Scottsdale, Arizona State University and Plaza Cos. that transformed the former site of Los Arcos Mall, which went dark in the 1990s.

SkySong opened in 2008 at the southeast corner of Scottsdale and McDowell roads with two office buildings, followed by a third and fourth in 2015 and 2016.

The original vision for the project was to create 1.2 million square feet of office space at full build-out to attract innovative businesses, according to Sharon Harper, CEO of Plaza Companies, the project’s master developer. They’re getting closer.

The fifth building will take the total development to 868,457 square feet of commercial building space.

SkySong also has 325 apartment units that opened in 2014. A new hotel, Elements at SkySong, also is under construction with plans to open in early 2019.

SkySong has generated an estimated $20.2 million in total direct tax revenue for the city over the past 10 years, according to a 2017 economic impact analysis report by the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.

The planned six-story office building will be the tallest yet, and will sit at the northwest corner of SkySong’s signature white shade structure.

SkySong’s other four office buildings are four-stories.

The taller building will be the first under a zoning change the Scottsdale City Council narrowly approved in 2015, allowing buildings on the northern half of the property to rise 90 feet tall instead of the previous 60 feet.

“The reason for that is that we would create more open space throughout SkySong, which is important to the design of the project,” Harper said

The building will feature interactive

art inside and outside, an events stage, a second-story outdoor patio and a major new piece of public art that will hang on the east end of the building, according to Harper.

The $500,000 art was a joint purchase between the city and SkySong, the result of a public art program the city maintains with each of its developments, Harper said. Using a setaside fee of approximately $500,000, the city chose from several submissions of potential pieces to be hung up at the new building, she said.

“We liked this piece because it’s up in the sky and it’s going to be tethered to SkySong 5,” Harper said of the piece.

The new building is expected to bring approximately 500 more jobs to SkySong, according to a project spokesman.

SkySong has been a significant driver in the revitalization of the McDowell Corridor, according to Scottsdale’s director of economic development Danielle Casey.

Tenants include businesses such as Century Link, Ticketmaster, Groupon and Canon.

The benefits for the city go beyond attracting companies. Twice a year, through support of sponsors, Scottsdale’s Economic Development Department holds a small business training series at SkySong facilities.

“SkySong has opened the door for the city to grow its brand as a top location of choice for tech talent as well as entrepreneurs,” Casey said.

The project has a unique partnership with ASU, which provides companies within SkySong access to researchers, faculty, students and programs.

“It frequently draws interest from prospective companies that are focused on attracting the best talent and identifying a location with a strong university connection,” Casey said.

The university has several different incubators and mentorship programs at SkySong for students and companies to work together, including a new initiative, the Global Growth Accelerator, which offers three months of complimentary office space to international businesses looking to expand into the U.S.