The Phoenix City Council on Nov. 4 approved terms for a 99-year ground lease and a 50-year waste supply agreement for the Resource Innovation Campus, a planned development where businesses can turn materials headed for the landfill into new products. The lease covers 33.9 acres near 35th Avenue and Elwood Street in south Phoenix, with about 22 acres slated for development.
RIC PHX LLC will develop and operate the campus. The lease allows industrial, research and educational uses tied to recovering and reusing materials such as hard-to-recycle plastics, lithium-ion batteries, electronics, textiles and construction debris. Phoenix selected a team led by Krause Interior Architecture through the C40 Reinventing Cities competition in 2024. Krause’s design calls for a 90,000-square-foot building.
Once commercial operations begin, Phoenix will make residential waste available from its 27th Avenue Transfer Station, subject to existing contracts. The operator will give priority to the city’s waste, and the agreement allows credits against rent tied to waste diversion. City staff expects the arrangement to reduce hauling and disposal costs and extend the life of the city’s SR 85 Landfill.
The updated terms drop the pilot phase envisioned in 2024. Phoenix can terminate the agreements if construction on the campus headquarters hasn’t begun by December 2032 or if the building fails to receive a certificate of occupancy within two years of construction starting. The campus is part of Phoenix’s effort to reach zero waste by 2050.
