"Bring Your Dog to Work Day" could become an everyday ritual for future tenants of the Quad, an office project in south Scottsdale that is expected to open later this month and have dog parks attached to several of its buildings.
Those accustomed to more traditional office spaces may find the amenities, which also include a mini-park with a bocce ball court, gym, showers, full restaurant and courtyards, a better fit for a residential project — or even a resort.
But the Quad joins an increasing number of unique offices with non-traditional amenities that inspire greater creative collaboration.
The first phase of the project, sprawled across 13 acres at 64th Street and Thomas Road, will feature six office buildings and another building that includes the restaurant, fitness center and other amenities.
A second phase to add seven more buildings will get underway in March.
The project is designed for collaboration and to tie the indoors and outdoors together, with Wi-Fi-enabled courtyards, furnished outdoor spaces and sliding glass doors.
Amr Ceran, a senior director for EverWest Real Estate Partners, said the idea sprang from an EverWest principal who sat outside at home on his laptop and wanted to find a way to replicate the feeling.
EverWest purchased the property in 2016.
The development's eventual 14 buildings will form four pods and each will have its own courtyard. A couple pods will have a more extensive parklike feel with Wi-Fi, music and outdoor furniture. Some of the interior suites will have exclusive patios.
The project aims to be bike friendly. Trails will connect to canal bike paths.
Ceran said the Quad will provide smaller businesses with a campus feeling, outdoor community and cool amenities often seen at larger, high-tech companies such as GoDaddy.
Julia DeWahl compared it to workplaces such as Google and Facebook — and that helped attract her.
DeWahl is the Phoenix team lead of Opendoor, a real-estate tech company, and she's one of the Quad's first tenants.
DeWahl said as a quickly growing tech company, her team wants to be able to engage at any point, so traditional work cubicles wouldn't work. She was drawn to the idea of employees being able to overhear conversations and be a part of what's going on.
“We were looking for a place that had the kind of creative and modern vibe that fit our company culture," she said. "We’re here to innovate in a space and build a product experience in real estate that’s really brand new, and we wanted our space to reflect that.”
Opendoor, with 62 employees and plans for at least 100 by the end of 2017, will occupy an entire building.
The final number of tenants the campus will support will depend on tenant's space requirements.
Forward Tilt is among the other tenants so far. The local commercial furniture dealership is moving its headquarters into an 8,278-square-foot office space as a headquarters and showroom.
