Developer imagines new flex industrial and office park buildings will transform 62-acre site

The demolition of the former Motorola and Onsemi campus in Phoenix is getting closer to completion, with developers expecting to have a shovel-ready site for a new industrial infill project in the second quarter of next year.

Baker Development plans to transform the 62-acre site into the “AZUL Campus,” which is imagined as a flex industrial and office park, expected to attract a new major corporate headquarters user in the advanced manufacturing space or quantum computing space.

The site, located at 52nd Street and McDowell Road, was one of the first semiconductor campuses in the country. It was built in the 1950s and served as a manufacturing facility for Motorola, at one point employing 3,000 people.

Motorola’s Communication, Power and Signal Group was split off to become On Semiconductor in the late 1990s, which continued operating at the site until it was slowly vacated, leaving a prime infill site for a new development.

However, the property was listed as a contaminated site, also known as a Superfund site, after toxins were released into the groundwater from the plant's underground storage tank in the 1980s. The cleanup process has been ongoing since and has contributed to the lengthier demolition timeline.

Baker Development has been working to redevelop the site for years, and started demolition of some buildings on the site after acquiring portions of it in 2021 and 2022.

Major upgrade to groundwater filtration system

Part of the redevelopment includes upgrading the groundwater filtration system that removes contaminants from approximately six million gallons of water a year and restores filtered water to the canal system.

“Our expertise is redeveloping environmentally challenged sites,” Daniel J. Slack, president and COO of Baker Development, said in a statement.

“That allowed us to work closely with our neighbors, the city of Phoenix, Maricopa County, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, SRP and the USEPA to transform and revitalize this underutilized site,” Slack said.

At full buildout, the property could fit about 2 million square feet of space and include substation-level power, according to previous reporting from the Business Journal.

Baker Development is in discussions with several technology companies considering setting up shop at the new development, according to a statement.

“By bringing TSMC to Phoenix, Phoenix has established itself a world-class technology city. With this site’s location, proximity to Sky Harbor, Loop 202, downtown and ASU, this site checks every single box necessary to attract a world-class company,” Slack said in a statement.

Baker Development could not be reached for additional comment by time of publication.