All that was missing was popcorn.<\/p>\n
A theater-sized auditorium in North Phoenix was packed for what could be called \u201ca development buddy picture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though not quite a standing ovation, the rapt audience gave \u201cThe TSMC and Halo Vista Show\u201d a warm response.<\/p>\n
This would hardly have been the case in neighboring Scottsdale.<\/p>\n
In the last two decades, Axon became the unchallenged leader in nonlethal weapons, marketing its Taser stun guns to law enforcement agencies across the world.<\/p>\n
Founded by Rick Smith, who went to high school a few miles away, Axon operated at its North Scottsdale headquarters in relative obscurity.<\/p>\n
Until, that is, Smith announced plans for a massive multiuse expansion, with a spaceship-themed office surrounded by apartment buildings and a hotel.<\/p>\n
Despite outcry from neighbors and others in the community, Scottsdale City Council approved his plan in late 2024.<\/p>\n
Yet the project has been hotly contested since. After 25,000 signatures would have forced a referendum, Axon went to the state legislature, getting support for \u201cThe Axon Bill\u201d \u2014 allowing it to build without opposition.<\/p>\n
That law and a subsequent agreement with the city are being challenged in court.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Scottsdale City Councilman Barry Graham \u2014 who voted against the development and testified at the state capitol it would be horrific for the city \u2014 is accusing Axon of funding \u201cattack ads\u201d to derail his reelection bid.<\/p>\n
Though its sales are approaching $3 billion, Axon is dwarfed by TSMC\u2019s 2025 revenue of $122 billion.<\/p>\n
Similarly, Axon\u2019s development plan is a shot glass, compared to the pitcher TSMC is filling.<\/p>\n
With three of six major production facilities under construction, TSMC is speeding into a $165 billion expansion that will bring more jobs and chips to the foothills.<\/p>\n
Yet there was hardly a hint of the Axon vs. Scottsdale antipathy at the June 11 North Gateway Village meeting, which featured an update on TSMC \u2014 and its \u201clittle buddy\u201d Halo Vista.<\/p>\n
The presentation took place at the Goelet A. Beuf Community Center, where the North Gateway Village Planning Committee generally meets monthly.<\/p>\n
The number of committee members usually outweighs the audience; such was not the case June 11, when staff members kept bringing in more chairs to facilitate the standing-room-only crowd.<\/p>\n
Buddy pictures typically feature \u201cmismatched heroes,\u201d from unhinged Mel Gibson and by-the-book Danny Glover in \u201cLethal Weapon\u201d to awkward Ryan Gosling and macho-man Russell Crowe in \u201cThe Other Guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mismatch in the North Gateway Village development picture is mainly in size and scope, as TSMC is the powerhouse mammoth \u2014 with Halo Vista the admitted sidekick.<\/p>\n
In many cities, the Halo Vista project itself would be considered massive.<\/p>\n
Across Deer Valley Road from TSMC and surfing on the tech powerhouse\u2019s tsunami-sized wave, Halo Vista is a mixed-use community bordering the chip manufacturer.<\/p>\n
Mack Real Estate Group and McCourt Partners are partners on the Halo Vista project.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first phase of the $7 billion project will focus on horizontal infrastructure and site preparation, with Willmeng Construction leading the work,\u201d according to a Halo Vista press release.<\/p>\n
Mack Real Estate Group acquired the desert land for Halo Vista in an Arizona State Land Department auction in May 2024, paying $56 million.<\/p>\n
Halo Vista is expected to ultimately include about 30 million square feet of commercial space \u2014 including industrial, retail, office, research, healthcare and hospitality uses \u2014 and nearly 9,000 residential units.<\/p>\n
As such, Halo Vista\u2019s \u201ccity within a city\u201d slogan is not just a boast: It likely will have a population greater than the 22,000 or so who live in Anthem.<\/p>\n
As the agenda promised, the meeting featured a \u201cpresentation and discussion regarding an update on the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) development.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to a recent Reuters story, \u201cTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co plans to open a chip packaging plant in Arizona by 2029, an executive \u200btold Reuters.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re not familiar with the company, its website gives a summary: \u201cTSMC has been the world\u2019s dedicated semiconductor foundry since 1987, and we support a thriving ecosystem of global customers \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Paul Li, an attorney with TSMC, gave an update on the multi-billion dollar project in North Phoenix \u2014 showing the chip making giant is just getting started.<\/p>\n
(Tom Scanlon\/Staff)<\/p>\n
\u2018$165B unicorn\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n As Carla Scott, of the city of Phoenix Community and Economic Development Department, noted in her introduction, \u201cthe growth here is explosive, and it\u2019s growing so fast that the research and the numbers can\u2019t keep up with it.\u201d<\/p>\n She had a funny way of referring to TSMC:<\/p>\n \u201cOur little $165 billion unicorn that\u2019s up the road.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve attracted more than 30 businesses that want to be close to TSMC in North Phoenix,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n \u201cEach of those have their own capital investment in the hundreds of millions.\u201d<\/p>\n One of those tag-alongs is Halo Vista.<\/p>\n \u201cLast month, we signed an amendment with Halo Vista for public infrastructure improvements,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd there is an upcoming land sale on the southeast corner of I-17 and Carefree Highway for about 175 acres. That auction date is expected to be June 26 \u2026 and the uses are retail.\u201d<\/p>\n George Pasquel, an attorney representing Halo Vista developer Mack Real Estate, followed that impressive introduction.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re here for just an informal update,\u201d he began. \u201cI hate to disappoint, but I think most of our updates you\u2019ve probably already heard in the news.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have anything really groundbreaking today \u2014 except our groundbreaking,\u201d he quipped, referring to the recent press event launching the project.<\/p>\n In six months to a year, he teased, \u201cthere\u2019s a lot coming, and we\u2019ve got a lot in the pipeline as well that\u2019ll probably be a little more exciting than tonight\u2019s presentation.\u201d<\/p>\n He ran through an outline of Halo Vista, a 2,400 acre \u201cmaster planned community \u2026<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really meant to be a supporting ecosystem for TSMC. It\u2019s also designed to be a live-work-innovate district.\u201d<\/p>\n Pasquel stressed Halo Vista will be moving dirt for a long time.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a two-year deal, or a five-year deal. This is a 15-20 year build out \u2026 and could add up to 30 million square feet of development.\u201d<\/p>\n Halo Vista could add up to 70,000 jobs and 9,000 residential units, the lawyer said.<\/p>\n Costco plans to build a site at Halo Vista, with an auto mall fronting Carefree Highway.<\/p>\n Halo Vista will also have hotels, retail and restaurants, Pasquel said.<\/p>\n After the presentation, several audience members posed questions focused on water, sewer lines and roads.<\/p>\n Representatives of Mack Real Estate Group were somewhat vague, here.<\/p>\n Regarding water and sewer services, \u201cWe know we have enough for the supply to get us going, and there\u2019s plans for the future \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Mack representatives said the company is working with the city of Phoenix on water and sewer services for the buildout and the Arizona Department of Transportation regarding required road improvements \u2014 including the widening of Carefree Highway west of the I-17.<\/p>\n TMSC<\/p>\n About that \u201cunicorn\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n Paul Li, an attorney with TSMC who is also a member of the North Gateway Village Planning Committee, gave an update on the multi-billion dollar project in North Phoenix \u2014 showing the chip making giant is just getting started.<\/p>\n Like the Halo Vista presentation, this was more a review of what TSMC has done, with a few hints of where it is headed.<\/p>\n Why did TSMC start thinking more than a decade ago of expanding from Taiwan \u2014 where it was founded in 1987, as a joint venture between the Taiwanese government, Dutch electronics giant Philips and private investors \u2014 to North Phoenix?<\/p>\n As usual, the answer can be summarized in a word: money.<\/p>\n \u201cSeventy-five percent of the TSMC revenue comes from U.S. customers,\u201d Li noted. \u201cAnd the chips we manufacture are in technology applications, including high-performing computing and AI, smartphones \u2026 smart watches, smart thermometers, and things of the nature, colors and digital consumer electronics.\u201d<\/p>\n Li jogged through some of the numbers:<\/p>\n \u2022 TSMC Phoenix includes six semiconductor wafer fabs, two advanced packaging facilities and research and development facilities.<\/p>\n \u2022 The first fab, producing M4 chips, has been in full production since the end of 2024.<\/p>\n \u2022 Production of the second fab, using N3 technology, started last year.<\/p>\n \u2022 The third fab, using N5 technology, is expected to begin production by 2030.<\/p>\n \u2022 TSMC currently employs 3,500 people, forecasted to grow to 6,000. The company actively recruits locally and nationally, including a technician intensive program.<\/p>\n \u2022 TSMC recycles 65% of its wastewater and aims for zero discharge with the IRWP \u2014 the Industrial Reclamation Water Plant being built near 43rd Avenue and Dove Valley Road.<\/p>\n That last note was hammered home by Li.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you think about it, every three drops of water coming out of our production \u2014 two of them will go back to our production process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s today. When we complete our Industrial Reclaimed Water Plant, or IRWP, we are aiming for zero discharge \u2013 meaning that 90% or better of our wastewater will go back to our manufacturing process.<\/p>\n \u201cThat will certainly save a lot of water \u2026 we understand we live in the desert, we want to be able to steward the resources.\u201d<\/p>\n Like a sci-fi monster, TSMC is still growing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe city of Phoenix approved the rezoning of the North Park (area) last December,\u201d Li noted. \u201cAfter the rezoning approval, TSMC was fortunate to acquire approximately 900 acres of the North Park in January of this year.<\/p>\n \u201cSometime this month, we\u2019ll do some grading of the area \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"All that was missing was popcorn. A theater-sized auditorium in North Phoenix was packed for what could be…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":893775,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,4193,1587,1589,361358,183906,361357,74751,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-893774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-phoenix","tag-america","tag-arizona","tag-axon","tag-az","tag-phoenix","tag-phoenix-community-and-economic-development-department","tag-rick-smith","tag-the-tsmc-and-halo-vista-show","tag-tsmc","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116815579425443530","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=893774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/893775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=893774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=893774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=893774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}