PHOENIX (By Ginger D. Richardson, Arizona
Republic) March 19, 2005 - Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon thinks downtown
development is off to a great start, an "economic engine" that will fuel the
Valley and the state.
But it has limits, mainly a lack of vacant land, and he doesn't think it's big enough to sustain all the businesses that will ultimately want to move here.
So on Friday, Gordon proposed the creation of a new, larger economic engine: an area he is calling "Opportunity Corridor."
"It will be the new home to thousands of choices, thousands of jobs, thousands of opportunities," the mayor told about 850 people at his second annual State of the City address.
Also atop his agenda for the coming year will be education and public safety issues.
Specifically, he wants to hire 200 more police officers and firefighters by June 2006 and continue pursuing specialized high schools for nursing, teaching and bioscience.
But it was the Opportunity Corridor that captured much interest on Friday.
The Corridor will stretch from roughly the state Capitol at 19th Avenue, east to Scottsdale Road in Tempe, and run from Van Buren on the north to Rio Salado on the south. In between is nearly 15 square miles, or 10,000 acres.
And much of that land is vacant, which is precisely why Gordon thinks it will be so attractive to companies that want to locate here.
It's also near the proposed future light rail route, railway shipping yard and Sky Harbor International Airport.
"Opportunity Corridor" is a marketing strategy; a way to make people aware of what Phoenix and the Valley have to offer.
But it won't cost anything. It's simply about getting the word out, Gordon said.
Downtown momentum
"This is really just something that I felt
could keep the momentum of downtown going, but did not require more people
or financial resources," Gordon said.
Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman loves the idea because the entire region needs to come together for its individual cities to be successful.
"Tempe doesn't succeed unless Phoenix succeeds," Hallman said.
"And Tempe doesn't succeed unless Scottsdale succeeds.
"What Mayor Gordon has done ... is demonstrate that Phoenix doesn't succeed unless the region succeeds."
And the corridor isn't just about jobs or marketing land, Hallman and others say. It's about a quality of life package.
For example, Councilman Greg Stanton said that the creation of Opportunity Corridor dovetails perfectly into an already-in-the-works plan to restore Papago Park.
Phoenix is working on that initiative with both Tempe and Scottsdale.
Knowledge, recreation
"If you are going to try to bring
knowledge workers into the area, you have to consider recreational
opportunities, too," Stanton said.
Business and community leaders like the idea too.
"The mayor is presenting a great opportunity to significantly impact the regional and statewide economy," said Greater Phoenix Economic Council President and CEO Barry Broome.
Don Keuth, president of the Phoenix Community Alliance, also believes the strategy is a sound one.
"Well, there are probably a lot of people out there who are going, 'I wish he hadn't said anything because the price of land just went up,'" Keuth said.
"But the fact is, the potential is great, and it is good to put the spotlight on it."
But it has limits, mainly a lack of vacant land, and he doesn't think it's big enough to sustain all the businesses that will ultimately want to move here.
So on Friday, Gordon proposed the creation of a new, larger economic engine: an area he is calling "Opportunity Corridor."
"It will be the new home to thousands of choices, thousands of jobs, thousands of opportunities," the mayor told about 850 people at his second annual State of the City address.
Also atop his agenda for the coming year will be education and public safety issues.
Specifically, he wants to hire 200 more police officers and firefighters by June 2006 and continue pursuing specialized high schools for nursing, teaching and bioscience.
But it was the Opportunity Corridor that captured much interest on Friday.
The Corridor will stretch from roughly the state Capitol at 19th Avenue, east to Scottsdale Road in Tempe, and run from Van Buren on the north to Rio Salado on the south. In between is nearly 15 square miles, or 10,000 acres.
And much of that land is vacant, which is precisely why Gordon thinks it will be so attractive to companies that want to locate here.
It's also near the proposed future light rail route, railway shipping yard and Sky Harbor International Airport.
"Opportunity Corridor" is a marketing strategy; a way to make people aware of what Phoenix and the Valley have to offer.
But it won't cost anything. It's simply about getting the word out, Gordon said.
Downtown momentum
"This is really just something that I felt
could keep the momentum of downtown going, but did not require more people
or financial resources," Gordon said.Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman loves the idea because the entire region needs to come together for its individual cities to be successful.
"Tempe doesn't succeed unless Phoenix succeeds," Hallman said.
"And Tempe doesn't succeed unless Scottsdale succeeds.
"What Mayor Gordon has done ... is demonstrate that Phoenix doesn't succeed unless the region succeeds."
And the corridor isn't just about jobs or marketing land, Hallman and others say. It's about a quality of life package.
For example, Councilman Greg Stanton said that the creation of Opportunity Corridor dovetails perfectly into an already-in-the-works plan to restore Papago Park.
Phoenix is working on that initiative with both Tempe and Scottsdale.
Knowledge, recreation
"If you are going to try to bring
knowledge workers into the area, you have to consider recreational
opportunities, too," Stanton said. Business and community leaders like the idea too.
"The mayor is presenting a great opportunity to significantly impact the regional and statewide economy," said Greater Phoenix Economic Council President and CEO Barry Broome.
Don Keuth, president of the Phoenix Community Alliance, also believes the strategy is a sound one.
"Well, there are probably a lot of people out there who are going, 'I wish he hadn't said anything because the price of land just went up,'" Keuth said.
"But the fact is, the potential is great, and it is good to put the spotlight on it."
