Viasat, a California-based satellite communications company, is expanding into Tempe and will expand more than 300,000 square feet of area in ASU’s study park, where it plans to increase its capacity through approximately 1500 employees.
The company is already located in ASU Research Park, near Loop 101 and Warner Road. It is one of Arizona State University’s “Innovation Zones. “The land belongs to the university and the offices are rented to personal companies.
Viasat has plans for three stages of new progression on 16 acres near the center of ASU’s study park, said Morgan Olsen, ASU’s chief financial officer.
The structure of the first phase will begin this summer and is expected to be completed until June 2024. It will come with 135,000 square feet of domain with an atrium and parking structure. Future stages will come with more parking, a convention domain, and a coffee shop.
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Bob Rota, Viasat’s vice president of amenities and safety, said the jobs will come with positions in engineering, software engineering and operational and administrative functions.
Company officials said the company’s existing presence in ASU’s think tank, along with affordability, availability and a favorable business climate led them to expand in Tempe after comparing several other expansion markets.
Olsen said the rent payment the university collects from aU park tenants budgets park operations and payments go to ASU’s budget to license and patent the university’s inventions.
Viasat will occupy one of the last two remaining progression sites in the park, which has approximately 50 corporate tenants.
“We were looking for the right tenant to occupy the site,” Olsen said, noting that the buildings in the 320-acre park are 98% occupied. “The profession is very important; this has been a very popular site. Viasat is a wonderful employer, those are high quality job opportunities and we are very happy with their highest point of engagement.
Most of the park’s buildings are built to suit an express tenant. Web hosting company GoDaddy recently moved its headquarters to ASU’s search park, and other corporations with a strong presence there come with Amazon, Edward Jones and Amkor Technology.
When it comes to tenants for the park, ASU is for corporations that would make a long-term commitment and gain advantages from a college appointment, in addition to creating employment opportunities for ASU graduates and consulting opportunities for faculty.
Olsen said there is still a progression site left at ASU Research Park, in the southwest corner of the site. The university is in talks with a developer to build a multi-story construction on the site and is promoting this opportunity to prospective tenants.
Contact the journalist at cvanek@arizonarepublic. com. Follow her on Twitter @CorinaVanek.