A major consumer healthcare innovator shaping the future of lab testing will plant a significant flag at SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center.
Theranos, based in Palo Alto, Calif., has leased a 20,000-square-foot wing at SkySong 3, making it one of the largest tenants in the entire SkySong project. Beating all expectations, SkySong 3 is now over 80% leased as it nears its opening later this summer.
The move by Theranos means hundreds of jobs will be created at SkySong in the short term, with that figure increasing significantly as the company continues to grow.
Founded in 2003 by Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos is working to shape the future of lab testing and the way health information is collected, analyzed, and communicated. Theranos, in the words of one media outlet, “could turn the diagnostics industry upside down” and has the potential to save Arizona taxpayers $1.3 billion dollars over the next decade. Their service provides Phoenix-area consumers with convenient access to less invasive and more affordable clinician-directed lab testing from blood samples as small as a few drops collected from a tiny finger stick. Theranos has a national partnership with Walgreens and has been rolling out its Wellness Centers inside Walgreens stores across the U.S., including 25 locations and counting in central Arizona.
With its SkySong agreement, Theranos is expanding its footprint in the Valley. The company currently has an office in Kierland, and its signature presence at SkySong is the perfect fit for its rapidly growing entrepreneurial endeavor. CBRE acted as the company’s commercial real estate agent.
Sunny Balwani, President & COO of Theranos, said the company was drawn to SkySong because of its growing reputation as a center of innovation and technology.
“The Phoenix-area community’s reception to our company has been excellent,” Balwani said. “Our commitment to innovation will create hundreds of new jobs and positively impact Arizona over the coming months and years. The SkySong center is an ideal fit for our company, and we are excited to be a part of the project.”
Sharon Harper, President & CEO of Plaza Companies, the master developer of the project, said that Theranos is exactly the kind of company that will not only grow and thrive at SkySong, but will further the project’s mission as a home to innovation and entrepreneurship.
“You really could not ask for a better match in terms of innovative culture,” Harper said. “Elizabeth Holmes is the epitome of the word “entrepreneur”. She has a true passion to change the way laboratory testing is done and could change the way we detect and treat disease. We are thrilled to have Theranos become part of the SkySong family and we know that they will feel right at home in our innovative setting.”
With SkySong 3 approaching full occupancy, leasing is now well underway for SkySong 4. The four-story, 150,000 SF building which will front Scottsdale Road south of SkySong Boulevard, is scheduled to break ground in late 2014. Along with SkySong 3 and 4, the SkySong development team is now leasing a planned 10,500 square foot retail building to be built on the northeast corner of Scottsdale Road and SkySong Boulevard. It’s part of the overall mixed-use vision for SkySong, which will include 1.2 million square feet of development when completed.
SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center is a home to a global business community that links technology, entrepreneurship, innovation, and education to position ASU and Greater Phoenix as global leaders of the knowledge economy.
SkySong is a 42-acre mixed use development designed to:
• Create an ecology of collaboration and innovation among high-profile technology enterprises and related researchers;
• Advance global business objectives of on-site enterprises;
• Raise Arizona’s profile as a global center of innovation through co-location of ASU’s strategic global partners; and
• Create a unique regional economic and social asset.
Companies located at SkySong enjoy a special relationship with Arizona State University, which has more than 73,000 students at four metropolitan Phoenix campuses. Its campus in Tempe is the single largest campus in the U.S., and is located less than three miles from SkySong.
In addition to locating its own innovative research units at the center, ASU provides tenants with direct access to relevant research, educational opportunities and cultural events on its campuses. Through ASU’s on-site operations, tenant companies have a single point of contact for introductions to researchers, faculty and programs to address their specific needs.
