Plans for Axon Headquarters and Campus in Scottsdale Are Withdrawn

After years of planning and controversy, a big building project spearheaded by Taser manufacturer Axon Enterprise Incorporated has finally come to an end.

The company wanted to build a large multi-use campus in Scottsdale, the center of which would be a new headquarters. As proposed, Axon wanted to build 400,00-square-foot corporate offices, as well as up to 1,900 multifamily residential units, and a 100-room hotel.

Additional plans called for the building of a dozen 5-story buildings to be used as retail space.

But a scheduled groundbreaking for the project last week was cancelled after a petition effort calling for the company’s plans to be ultimately decided on by voters secured the required number of petitions to be placed on a ballot.

In a statement, Rick Smith, chief executive officer of Axon, said in a statement that the “uncertainty caused by this referendum forces us to confront a tough reality: we can’t allow political games to put our mission or our team at risk.”

Smith added that Axon is now in the process of investigating other cities as the possible new home for his company. If Axon finds a supportive community, he added, “we’re prepared to make that move.”

The Axon Scottsdale project, which reports indicated might have cost around $85 million to complete, was controversial from the start. Area residents said they didn’t want a project that large near their neighborhoods, specifically mentioning concerns about increased traffic.

The anti-Axon referendum has been sponsored by a group called the Worker Power Institute, which is connected to the labor union Unite Here. That union has several offices in California, among other places, and was active in the campaign during the spring of 2023 to defeat a bid for the construction of a new arena for the Arizona Coyotes in Tempe.

According to the Arizona Republic, the union decided to organize the anti-Axon petition after the company rejected a bid to unionize its employees.

January 14, 2024

By Garry Boulard

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