The Arizona Regional Economic Development Foundation (ARED) told the Sierra Vista council it has been converting a former call center into a 45,000-square-foot community innovation center with coworking, training and conference facilities and is already hosting large events.

Sarah Petruko, representing ARED, said the building on Enterprise Way is being transformed into a small-business coworking space, a high-tech training center and a conference venue. "This is a 45,000 square foot building... The ballroom is over 16,000 square feet," she said, adding the facility also contains a multipurpose room and classroom-sized breakout spaces.

Petruko said ARED has hosted multiple events there, including a recent women’s mental-health conference and several charity fundraisers with attendance above 300, and that next week the group will host the Arizona Rural Transportation Policy Summit in Sierra Vista for the first time. "We have over 300 people coming into Sierra Vista. Most of them are from out of town. We have booked, I believe it's over 70% of all available hotel rooms in the city for 3 days," she told council, and said more than 100 attendees are elected officials, many state legislators.

Petruko invited council members to tour the center as incremental improvements continue. Council members and staff acknowledged the potential economic benefit of hosting conferences and bringing visitors to local hotels and restaurants.