ASU, Scottsdale collaboration begins
SCOTTSDALE (March 24, 2008) –Arizona State University and the City of Scottsdale are observing their vision of the future become a reality with the opening of SkySong, a cutting-edge international business and innovation center. The opening marks the completion of the first 157,000-square-foot building and partnerships with over 20 global startups and mid-sized companies from Ireland, China, India, Japan, Turkey, Mexico and Singapore.
SkySong will also house over 10 ASU units, including the Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative, ASU Technopolis and the Enterprise Arizona Venture Center.
Started in 2004, SkySong has remained true to its original imperative: to serve as a global hub of innovation, a new platform for ASU to engage more easily with the business community and a catalyst for the revitalization of southern Scottsdale.
“SkySong is destined to become one of the most important economic drivers for Arizona and the Southwest region,” says ASU President Michael Crow. “This innovation hub is a way to unite the resources at ASU with the needs of the City of Scottsdale. SkySong represents an investment in research, entrepreneurship and sustainability, but above all, a conviction that creativity, positive synergies and innovation can only occur when people are allowed to find connections and think differently to solve challenging problems.”
Some recent partners to join SkySong are iAxil, a Singapore-based business incubator arm of Asia’s leading business space provider, and YouGetItBack, a software company from Ireland.
SkySong is projected to help generate new knowledge-based jobs for the local economy and help connect ASU graduates, and researchers, with key partners.
For City of Scottsdale Mayor Mary Manross, ASU’s presence at SkySong is key for the project.
“ASU is an economic driver for the entire state,” says Manross. “ASU's success in attracting global businesses to SkySong is equally important for the future of our city, region and state. In the 21st Century, our economic success depends on our ability to compete in the global economy. I want Scottsdale to lead the way.”
The mixed-use project, designed with a targeted 1.2 million square feet, features high-tech commercial office, research and retail space.
Other elements of the project will be completed in the months to come.
The iconic SkySong shade structure anchoring the plaza will be installed later this year. A second building is under construction with completion scheduled for mid- to late summer.
Construction of the parking garage and the first residential component (325 units) is being negotiated with the contractor. The garage is expected to be completed this summer, and the residential construction will follow. Negotiations are proceeding for a business-class hotel on the fourth corner of the main intersection.
More buildings will be constructed based on market demand. At the current pace, the entire SkySong project will be completed before 2015, well before the targeted completion date.
The official opening of ASU at SkySong will take place on Thursday, March 27, at 9 a.m.
For more details on the SkySong project, visit the Web site http://skysong.asu.edu
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Media contact:
Alison Bendler
ASU at SkySong
480-884-1654
602-741-0866 cell
alison.bendler@asu.edu