SkySong, The ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center is continuing its leasing momentum, signing two new deals as construction and planning continues at the highly successful project.
LiveOps, which gives talented customer service and sales professionals an opportunity to work where and when they are able, is expanding its operations in Scottsdale, moving from a 9,955 rentable square-foot space at SkySong into a 13,300 RSF one. The company that links more than 20,000 at-home professionals with organizations and agencies in need signed a new long-term lease that kicks off Oct. 1, tacking an additional 32 months onto LiveOps’ existing lease agreement.
“SkySong has proven to be an ideal fit for LiveOps, and the entrepreneurial spirit of the SkySong community closely mirrors that of our own dynamic workforce,” said LiveOps Chief Executive Officer Greg Hanover. “We’re eager to expand into our new space and continue to establish roots here in Scottsdale.”
Additionally, moving in at SkySong is Keyence, a direct-sales organization that develops and fabricates automation sensors, barcode readers, laser markers and related equipment and resources. The Japan-based company signed a lease for a 4,000 square-foot space in SkySong 4, bringing occupancy in that building up to 99 percent.
“We are honored to have Keyence sign on at SkySong and are very pleased to see LiveOps grow and thrive within the project,” said Sharon Harper, President & CEO of Plaza Companies, the master developer of the innovation center. “Thanks to recent leasing momentum, construction continues on SkySong 5 and the design and planning process is now underway at SkySong 6, so that we will have room to accommodate continued growth in the months and years to come.”
SkySong will include more than 1.2 million feet of space, catering to a broad range of tenants with interests in technology, innovation and collaboration. Construction on the six-story SkySong 5 building is underway now, while planning efforts for SkySong 6 are ongoing.
“The growth we are seeing at SkySong is an incredibly positive sign for Arizona’s economic development efforts,” said Sethuraman Panchanathan, executive vice president of Knowledge Enterprise Development and chief research and innovation officer at ASU. “We are seeing the companies currently located at SkySong continue to grow and innovate, and SkySong continues to attract new companies that have a focus on innovation and technology.”
Plaza Companies is the master developer of SkySong, in partnership with ASU University Realty, Holualoa Companies and the City of Scottsdale.
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 have the opportunity to partner with Arizona State University, which has more than 90,000 students studying across four metropolitan Phoenix campuses, in Lake Havasu and online. ASU is one of the largest public universities in the nation, with the majority of its students attending its campus in Tempe, Arizona, less than three miles from SkySong.
In addition to locating its own innovative research units at the center, 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.
For more information on SkySong, visit www.skysong.com or www.facebook.com/skysongcenter.
