2,400 undeveloped acres surrounding TSMC in Phoenix could be a ‘city within a city’

Article originally posted on AZ Central on October 28, 2024

The 2,400 acres surrounding Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s massive manufacturing plant in north Phoenix now have a name, and the massive site offers the chance to build a “city within a city,” developers said.

The site, now called “Halo Vista,” could hold nearly 30 million square feet of buildings, including hotels, industrial buildings, offices, apartments, retail and public uses like education facilities.

“I really hope people understand this is a community we are trying to develop, and not any one thing,” Richard Mack, CEO of Mack Real Estate Group, said at a launch event. “It’s not just a science park, and not just a manufacturing district: It’s a community. It’s a city within a city.”

“This is a leading-edge, creative and inviting community surrounding the most leading-edge company in the world,” Mack said of the site.

Mack previously said he would like to have chip designers and an engineering school located on the site, which would bolster the offerings beyond what exists in the United States or Taiwan.

Executives from the companies that bought the land spoke at the Thursday event, which was designed to introduce the project to Phoenix’s real estate leaders.

Mack Real Estate Group and its partner, McCourt Partners, bought the land at an Arizona State Land Department auction in May. It surrounds the TSMC facility on three sides, creating the “halo” that inspired the name, Jordan Lang, president of McCourt Partners, said.

Craig Henig, the managing director of Mack Real Estate Group’s Phoenix office, was the one to place the winning bid at the auction. His father, the late Ralph Henig, first brought Mack to the Deer Valley area decades ago.

“Halo Vista is the most ambitious project in Mack’s many years of commitment to the greater Phoenix market,” Henig said in a statement. “We’re excited to continue our development activities here and look forward to partnering with others who share our conviction in this area and its full potential.”

At the event, Lang announced the names of two of the sub-areas that will be developed on the site. One, called the Forge, will be the manufacturing zone, and another, called the Sonoran Oasis Research and Technology Park, will be focused on research, development and engineering.

Lang said it is too early in the process to announce names and plans for the remaining land on the site. The portion closest to Interstate 17 is the only area in the project that will allow residential development and could include apartments or mixed-use projects.

Mayor focuses on opportunity, sustainability

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said it was unique for a major city to have thousands of acres of developable land that officials could master-plan from the ground up.

“This is a chance to bring together business partners of TSMC,” she said. “Because we can do it on such a large scale, we have more planning tools. Most large cities can only develop smaller parcels at a time, so you can’t have a big vision.”

In her comments to the developers and real estate professionals at the event, Gallego issued two challenges for developing the property: to make sure that the highest levels of technology and innovation are incorporated into the projects, and to keep sustainability at the forefront of development, including renewable energy and water conservation.

“This is something that, for all of us, could be our legacy project, so we want it to be first-tier and something that people will visit from all over the world,” she said.

‘Renaissance of the semiconductor industry’

Brian Harrison, president of TSMC Arizona, said the scale and scope of TSMC, its suppliers and the ecosystem needed to sustain it would create huge opportunities for Phoenix and for the country.

“I knew that it was going to create this renaissance of the semiconductor industry in the United States, and it could happen right here in Phoenix,” he said. “I knew that there was a possibility of having this science park surrounding us.”