Taser manufacturer Axon Enterprise Incorporated is withdrawing from talks with City of Scottsdale officials in the latest ripple of an ongoing struggle on the part of the company to build a $1.3 billion campus.
The company earlier this year won an important victory in the Arizona State Legislature when lawmakers approved a measure making it possible for cities with populations of between 200,000 and 500,000 to allow for the building of mixed-use projects without needing an official application in any area zoned for light industrial use.
That legislation was clearly meant to apply to Scottsdale, which has a population of around 250,000. The Axon bid was to build a mixed-use project that will include a new headquarters, along with up to 1,900 apartment and condominium units, and both hotel and retail space.
The project, set to be built at Hayden Road and Loop 101, has been consistently opposed by some residents and community leaders who have maintained that it is too large for the area and will have a negative impact on Scottsdale’s quality of life.
In the wake of the legislative vote, some Scottsdale officials suggested they might challenge the new law in court. In response, Axon said it would be willing to make several concessions regarding the size and scope of the project in return for Scottsdale not going to court.
But Axon president Josh Isner has now said that internal bickering among members of the Scottsdale City Council have made it clear that a consensus will most likely never be reached between the company and the city.
“The internal politics of the City Council currently make it impossible to reach an agreement,” Isner has been quoted by the Scottsdale Progress newspaper as saying. “I have never seen such a toxic environment in my life.”
Added Isner: “We put a great deal on the table, and we tried our best.”
Among the offers Axon had offered in its negotiations with Scottsdale was reducing by half the number of apartments it had originally proposed to build.
In the wake of negotiation breakdown, the company has indicated that it remains committed to its project. Reports indicate, at the same time, that Scottsdale may still go to court to stop it.
June 19, 2025
By Garry Boulard
