On July 1, NAIOP announced a new name for the organization: the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, or CREDA. According to CREDA, the new branding better communicates the broad scope of commercial real estate work members engage in, such as multifamily housing, retail destinations, logistics and fulfillment facilities, offices, mixed-use developments, data centers and more. To celebrate this new era for the association and honor its past achievements, here is one of the winners of 2026’s Best of NAIOP Awards.
Fender corporate co-headquarters
Owner/Developer: Fender Musical Instrument Corporation
General contractor: Layton Construction
Architect: SmithGroup
Size: 78,000 square feet
City: Phoenix
Details: Located in Phoenix’s revitalized Paradise Valley corridor, the headquarters embodies minimalist sophistication aligned with Fender’s iconic rocker aesthetic. A two-story entry, skylit corridors that illuminate the brand’s history, and sculptural feature stairs create a curated spatial journey more typical of cultural institutions than of office environments.
The project consolidates two former Scottsdale locations into a single, cohesive campus designed to support Fender’s global operations and creative culture. The three-story layout was intentionally designed to balance corporate operations with experiential spaces unique to Fender.
Features: Fender’s new co-headquarters stands out as a landmark achievement in workplace design, pairing corporate operations with purpose-built creative and technical environments rarely found in commercial buildings.
The facility merges professional-grade acoustic spaces, advanced R&D infrastructure, and brand-driven architecture to create a truly category-defining workplace.
Signature innovations include a professional music studio engineered to industry- standard acoustic standards, an acoustically isolated “kaboom room” for high-decibel amplifier testing, floating floors and high-performance sound-isolation systems, and a fully outfitted model shop supporting real-time product prototyping. A third-floor outdoor performance deck offers a unique amenity for employees and artists to utilize.
These specialized spaces directly reinforce Fender’s culture of innovation and distinguishes the building from conventional office development.
Challenges: Designing spaces capable of professional-level recording, amplifier testing to the point of failure, and a full model shop within a corporate office required specialized assemblies and robust vibration isolation.
These measures were essential to prevent testing and manufacturing activities from impacting adjacent residential neighbors and the office space above.
Because many programmatic elements were required at ground level, the building footprint was maximized to the full extent permitted by the site. Existing utilities and required setbacks, however, made precision in the building’s location and orientation critical.
Ideally, the kaboom room would have been housed in a separate structure, but site constraints necessitated its integration within the main building. To achieve the required performance, a “building-within-a-building” strategy was implemented, incorporating a fully isolated slab.