MOTOROLA SITE EYED FOR HIGH-TECH PARK

Chandler officials want the 153-acre Motorola site on Price Road, which is for sale, to be developed into a science and technology park similar to ASU Research Park in Tempe.

"We're looking at this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a real campus-based research and technology park," said Doug Ballard, Chandler's director of planning and development.

Chris Mackay, economic development specialist with the city, said the site could hold nine or 10 companies.

"We think as a science and technology park, we could do gangbusters for business on that 153 acres," Mackay said. "It could be biotech, it could be nanotech."

The ASU Research Park, which covers 320 acres, is on the west side of Loop 101 between Elliot and Warner roads.

The building space totals more than 1.7 million square feet.

Chandler's Motorola site is "right in the heart of the premier employment corridor in the Valley, really in the state, anchored by Intel and Orbital Sciences," Ballard said.

Ballard said the right kind of developer needs to be involved, but city staff is hoping for the creation of the park with amenities that would support high-end users collaborating in various technologies.

Motorola hired a real-estate company that put together proposals that went to potential buyers. Ballard's staff has brainstormed how the site could be developed, he said.

The planning staff also has fielded inquiries about the site.

Motorola is interested in closing a sale by the end of the year, Mackay said.

City staff would meet with the buyer to discuss the city's vision.

"It's extraordinarily exciting, I think," he added.

"And it's an opportunity I think for Chandler again to take a leadership position in economic development within the state of Arizona."