TSMC Investment Is Transforming Phoenix
The construction of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s massive chip fabrication plant cluster is fundamentally changing the face of metro Phoenix and the North Valley.
Spanning more than 1,000 acres, the planned six fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities and a research and development center will likely turn Northern Phoenix into a global semiconductor powerhouse, according to area developers.
The effects of this one investment are already rippling through every sector of commercial real estate in the metro area, developers said while speaking at Bisnow's Phoenix Construction, Development & Design Summit on March 12.
“The TSMC is going to create an entirely new market in Phoenix,” said Alex Boles, managing director of ViaWest, at the event held at The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale. “It’s going to completely change the face of what Phoenix is and the diversity of our economy as a whole.”
An initial investment by TSMC of $165B has already created more than 3,000 job opportunities, attracted dozens of suppliers to the area and tilted the local economy toward high-tech manufacturing.
Boles compared what is happening in Northern Phoenix today to the transformation of the city of Chandler decades ago. Chandler was once an agricultural town, but all that changed after Intel opened its first facility there in 1980. That one investment created momentum for other investors to turn the city into a leading tech hub.
“If you think back to what Chandler was in the 1970s and then what it ultimately is today, that’s effectively what’s going to happen north of the 101,” Boles explained.
Three months have passed since the Phoenix City Council granted rezoning approval for TSMC to begin a 900-acre expansion of its first plant in the area, a 3.5M SF property completed in late 2024.
In January, the company reportedly paid $197M at a public Arizona State Land Department auction for its planned manufacturing development.
Following this land acquisition, TSMC accelerated its initial timeline for its build-out, stating it would open its second Phoenix fab, which was originally slated for 2028, next year. Construction on the third plant is also underway, and the semiconductor company is reportedly securing permits to start work on a fourth.
The U.S. economy is being reshaped by artificial intelligence computing, and Arizona is poised to transform along with it, said Lorenzo Perez, co-founder of Venue Projects.
“We're clearly going through an industrial revolution right now,” Perez said. He added that the impact of this will be the “incredible evolution of the built environment and needs,” especially in Arizona.
TSMC’s build-out will also transform Northern Phoenix’s multifamily, retail and service sectors to accommodate the rapidly growing population, developers said at the event.
Shortly after TSMC announced plans for its first plant in 2020, New York-based Mack Real Estate Group and McCourt Partners amassed more than 2,000 acres for a planned mixed-use development in Northern Phoenix. The developers will hold a ceremonial groundbreaking March 26 on the development, which will include 30M SF of industrial, retail, office, research and healthcare spaces, hotels and residential units.
The number of Taiwanese immigrants working in the U.S. rose to a record high of 137,000 last year, jumping 10% to 20% more than the recent historical average, Taipei Times reported. This jump has been attributed largely to the TSMC development.
Brian Cassidy, president of CCBG Architects, said his group is among those “creating an entire city community” around the TSMC cluster, featuring everything “from housing to retail to food and beverage to the cultural integration of people coming over from Taiwan to actually work in those buildings.”
Tim Smith, vice president of Arizona State University facilities development and management, said it is crucial to do more than just welcome this new wave of workers. The university is looking at factors to reshape degree programs and student housing to adapt. He hopes the metro area will fully embrace the workers so they will build deep roots in the area.
“If we don’t, we’re going to miss a golden opportunity for us to set ourselves apart from other major cities across the country,” Smith said.
