Axon is ‘full-steam ahead’ on Scottsdale HQ, housing project after ending talks with city

PHOENIX – Axon is moving “full-steam ahead” on its headquarters and controversial housing development in Scottsdale after breaking off negotiations about final plans with the city.

“We hope to be able to break ground in the coming six months to a year,” Axon President Josh Isner told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Tuesday.

A day earlier, Isner announced that his company was cutting off talks with the city.

“It’s been a long, strange journey, but we are where we are here, and the bottom line is we’re excited to get our project going,” he said Tuesday. “We wish we were doing that in a tighter partnership with the city with the deal in place, but, unfortunately, we couldn’t get there.”

Axon, which has been based in Scottsdale since it was founded in 1993, is now a multibillion-dollar business. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that its CEO, Rick Smith, was paid $165 million in 2024, more than any other chief executive.

The company reported revenue of $604 million in the first quarter of 2025, up 31% year over year.

Isner said Axon — which makes Tasers and other technology and weapons for law enforcement, military and civilian use – will continue to work with the project’s neighbors while ironing out its plans.

“There’s an HOA next door,” he said. “We’re still going to figure out how we can make this as painless of a process for them as we can.”

How large will Axon housing development be?

The exact size of the housing project hasn’t been determined, but Isner said it will be more than the 850 units Axon considered during negotiations with the city.

“We’re going to go back to, like, ‘Hey, what’s the number we actually think we need,’ and that number’s probably in the 1,200-1,300 apartment range,” he said.

He said the project will include larger luxury condominiums, “which in turn will bring the apartment number down.”

Company bought land for disputed project in 2020

The company purchased a 70-acre parcel near Hayden Road and the Loop 101 Pima Freeway in 2020 with an eye on building a new headquarters, revealing later that the plan included hundreds of residential units.

Axon needed a zoning change for the housing and got it from the City Council in November 2024, after the former mayor and two City Council incumbents lost their reelection bids but were still in office.

The company’s ambitious plans were put on hold after opponents gathered enough signatures to put the zoning change, which authorized up to about 1,900 units, in front of voters in 2026.

Axon had gone as far as scheduling a groundbreaking ceremony for Jan. 10 before calling it off on short notice after the signatures were submitted.

Facing the prospect of waiting nearly two years to find out if the project could move ahead as planned, the company said it would explore the possibility of moving its base out of Scottsdale.

“We entertained all the options on that,” Isner said Tuesday.

State lawmakers remove ballot hurdle

The ballot obstacle was removed April 18 when Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill that makes certain rezoning in cities of Scottsdale’s size exempt from referendum petitions.

Acknowledging the ongoing opposition to the housing portion of the project after the referendum was called off, Axon engaged in negotiations with the city in an attempt to reach common ground on a plan.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t get there,” Isner said. “And as a result, we’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing here and focus on what’s next — getting our campus off the ground.”

The city has been considering a legal challenge to the state law, but Isner said Axon isn’t “super concerned” about it.

“I think that will work itself out, and I think we’re on very solid ground there,” he said. “So, frankly, that’s not really something we’re paying a lot of attention to.”

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