Why Scottsdale Airpark Is Exceeding Expectations

The Scottsdale Airpark is on fire—and it is rapidly exceeding the industries expectations. According to the latest forecast report from Colliers International, the Airpark has 59,132 employees, more than 43 million square feet of rentable space and 3,233 companies—and it still has runway left to grow. This is incredible growth since the original report in the 1980s, when the market has only 1.5 million square feet of space and 3,320 employees. Technology and tech companies have fueled the submarket growth and helped to boost density and redevelopment activity.

“Initially, many of the buildings were 10,000 square feet industrial flex buildings with 35% building to land coverage. Those buildings and companies would typically have 10-12 employees,” Jim Keeley, founding partner of the Scottsdale office at Colliers International, tells GlobeSt.com. “When the Loop 101 Freeway arrived in 2000, many companies, users and developers started building 30,000 to 50,000 square feet buildings with 20-25% building to land coverage and hence, 60-80 employees. When Technology began to emerge in 2004, these newer building occupancies grew to 90-120 employees with increased parking capacity. The Loop 101 has had, and continues to have, a big impact on the Scottsdale Airpark area.”

Even with this growth, the market continues to show runway for the future. By 2030, Colliers estimates the market will have 82,000 employees, 53 million square feet of a variety of office, flex, industrial, medical, retail, multifamily, hotels and car