Documents have been filed with the City of Phoenix pertaining to the redevelopment of an expansive site that was once the home to a manufacturing facility for the giant Motorola company.
The Baker Development Company, which is based in Scottsdale, wants to build a flex industrial and office park at the site, which is located at the southwest corner of 52nd Street and McDowell Road.
As proposed, the park would be geared for data center usage or manufacturing, among other purposes, and may see up to 2 million square feet of facility space upon full buildout.
Baker purchased the 72-acre site in the spring of 2021 for just over $10.2 million, announcing at the time of the transaction that it was “considering developing a data center on the site.”
The property had been declared as one of the largest Superfund sites in the country, owing to an ongoing discharge of toxins from Motorola’s underground storage tank that were released into the groundwater. Notes the Phoenix Business Journal: “The cleanup process has been ongoing and has contributed to the lengthy development timeline.”
Motorola opened its facilities at the site in early 1956 and remained in operation for the next 43 years until the property was sold. The Phoenix facility specialized in semi-conductor products for both military and civilian use.
Founded in 1928, Motorola began manufacturing televisions in 1947.
June 2, 2026
By Garry Boulard
1950s Motorola advertisement
