ASU sets grand opening at SkySong today

Representatives of 10 international companies will join Arizona State University today in marking the school's grand opening at SkySong in Scottsdale. ASU President Michael Crow is expected to make major announcements regarding new programs and partnerships, ASU officials said.

SkySong, a joint collaboration between the ASU Foundation, Scottsdale and developers, is a planned high-tech hub on the southeast corner of Scottsdale and McDowell roads.

ASU is occupying the entire second floor of the first completed building and is planning to one day have offices on the third floor as well, said Julia Rosen, ASU associate vice president for innovation and entrepreneurship.

In addition to hosting numerous startup companies that ASU hopes will one day expand and occupy their own space, the second floor is home to university programs such as the Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative and ASU Technopolis. Rosen said the space is nearly full.

"We are providing the most innovative, fun and collaborative work environment in Greater Phoenix," Rosen said. "It's a microcosm of what we want the ultimate SkySong to be."

On Wednesday, ASU officials welcomed international visitors, who met in the office's video conference rooms, bought coffee and tea from the student-run SkyCafe, worked on laptops and chatted in both enclosed and open conference areas.

The first 157,000-square-foot, four-story commercial building opened this year, and tenants, including ASU, American Solar and Canon, have been moving in since January.

The second commercial building that mirrors the first is set to open later this year. Ticketmaster has been announced as a tenant in the second building. The project is also planning first-floor retail tenants, but none have opened. Also later this year, the project is planning to install the SkySong shade structure at the center plaza and complete a parking garage.

At buildout, SkySong is projected to be 1.2 million square feet of office, research and retail space. The project is on the former Los Arcos Mall site.

Scottsdale is contributing close to $80 million, which could rise to about $120 million with interest, to the project.