Arizona Telecommunications & Information Council (ATIC) Multitenant Building Telecommunications Access Study PREVIOUS CONTENTS APPENDIX 5
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City of Tempe, Arizona - Tech Oasis Project Infotech Center
Draft Request for Proposal (RFP) Excerpt
The City is especially interested in seeking a software/internet focus for this mixed-use project. Tempe's Economic Development Office has identified this industry as one of the most desirable for the City. While the software/internet industry had been identified as a focus as early as 1997, beginning in January 1999 Tempe began a concerted effort to attract these companies. At the same time, the local industry groups (Arizona Software & Internet Association and Arizona Internet Professionals Association) identified geographic dispersion as the number one hindrance to the industry's growth. The industry groups began to search for one location in the State that would be the "Tech Oasis" of the Arizona software/internet industry. In October 1999 the City of Tempe, specifically the Downtown/Rio Salado area, was designated as the Tempe Tech Oasis. The City is interested in solidifying its position as the Tech Oasis, by working with developers to establish Arizona's only Network Access Point (NAP) and to "light up" Downtown Tempe and the nearby Rio Salado river district by using both wired and wireless technologies to attract technology companies from around the country to Tempe. In addition to the great interest on behalf of the City, Tempe was chosen by the software/internet industry for its excellent location, vibrant downtown area that appeals to software/internet workers, proximity to Arizona State University (ASU), high quality of life, and excellent office space inventory. This RFP seeks to further define Downtown Tempe as the Tech Oasis of Arizona.
It is a primary goal of this RFP to identify a developer to design and develop the Downtown's first Infotech Center. It is anticipated that the building would be the hub of the Downtown/Rio Salado Infotech District that maximizes Downtown Tempe's inherent amenities and promotes the growth and relocation of information technology businesses. Tempe, and in particular the Downtown/Rio Salado redevelopment area, is well positioned as a competitive location to sustain infotech industry growth by the following attributes:
- Tempe is a regional, national and international corporate center characterized by intensive users of information technologies (i.e., financial services and manufacturing);
- Tempe is home to world-class corporate and university research centers that produce skilled graduates, new technological knowledge and commercial innovations;
- Tempe already has a flourishing number of infotech companies;
- Tempe has a large, highly educated, creative and skilled workforce;
- Tempe has an extensive freeway, bus, and air transportation network that make Tempe the transportation hub of the Phoenix metropolitan area;
- Tempe has an excellent quality of life, including exceptional recreation, transportation, cultural and housing opportunities.
In order for this mixed-use building to serve as the hub of the Infotech District the building should contain a minimum of 100,000 square feet of infotech office space. Establishing a facility that is developed with the concerns and demands of infotech companies in mind will strengthen the attractiveness of the building.
The Infotech Center should provide for the following:
- 24-Hour Access and Use: To promote the building as a full-service activity center, the development should have 24-hour access to and from the building and security-coded access to individual suites. Due to long hours and electrical requirements associated with computer and telecommunications use, the building must supply electricity and HVAC to its tenants at all times.
- Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity: The nature of high tech businesses and the 24-hour production schedule they often follow makes the existence of disaster recovery and business continuity provisions, including availability of emergency automated back-up power, HVAC, and water, accessibility to superior telecommunications and data services, essential for many prospective tenants. Identified plans and hardware, such as redundant and secure telecommunications access paths and "backup" connectivity plans, should be in place for retrieval and recovery, in case of emergency power outages and other crisis situations.
- Flexible Office Space: The configuration of the internal office space should be adaptable to the potential users needs. Due to the heightened growth rate of infotech companies, a company may very early in the lease term quickly require more space. Open and flexible plans would support the reconfiguration of the office space to accommodate such growth.
- Non-traditional Office Space: A number of infotech companies have identified the non-traditional character of the office space as a reason they moved into a facility. The culture of the infotech industry often fosters a casual environment which may be further enhances through the design of the office space.
- Common Office/General Use Space: The building should be developed with a variety of common spaces for tenants. These common spaces may include kitchens, conference rooms, reception areas, lounges/game rooms, training facilities, classrooms and demonstration rooms. The provision of visual projection and other flexible presentation technology (including satellite communication) for use or rental would add to the attractiveness of these facilities. The common space provided will also foster other shared services such as receptionists, photocopy, fax and equipment and cleaning.
- Networking: The networking should be pre-installed in the building consisting of telephone, fiber optic and wireless network capabilities.
- Telecommunications: The telecommunications infrastructure should include five basic components:
- Voice grade services
- High speed (hypergrade) Internet access
- Fiber-optic backbone for connectivity between point within the building.
- Single-mode fiber compatible with in-coming industry-standard fiber lines.
- Wireless within the building and area.
Tenants should have the option to choose between an array of affordable and broad bandwidth providers for their telecommunications and Internet access needs. Again the City seeks to make this building a hub for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) within the Downtown/Rio Salado District, the center of both wired and wireless technologies. It should be the goal that any tenant in the building should have access to the Internet at any industry-standard speed from redundant providers without having to pay to have the lines installed.
- Up-grading Flexibility: The infotech industry is growing extensively with daily innovations to hardware, software and infrastructure. While this building will be fashioned with the most up-to-date technology available, plans should be created on how to keep the building on the cutting edge of the changing technology.
Multitenant Building Telecommunications Access Study PREVIOUS CONTENTS APPENDIX 5
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