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City outlines industrial triangle and jobs push, highlights rail‑served 1,200‑acre plan
Summary
City economic development staff presented an update on business attraction efforts and a master plan for a rail‑served industrial triangle of about 1,200 acres that could support up to 10,000 jobs and 10 million square feet of manufacturing and industrial space; staff also summarized PIF activity and marketing steps.
City staff on June 17 gave the council a multi‑hour briefing on economic development priorities, a proposed 1,200‑acre industrial triangle master plan and the city’s business attraction pipeline.
Josh (Office of Economic Opportunity) told the council the city is focused on job creation, closing annual retail leakage and preparing sites for employers. “We have about a little over $1,200,000,000 of annual leakage,” he said, noting city staff are seeking to capture more retail and commercial spending locally and to recruit employers that create higher‑wage jobs.
Consultant Olsen presented a high‑level master plan for about 1,200 acres of industrial and manufacturing uses, including a rail‑served portion the team said could accommodate roughly 10,000,000 square feet of facilities. “With 10,000,000 square feet, you’re bringing in roughly 10,000 plus jobs,” Tyler Paulson of Olsen told the council, and he said roughly 8,000,000 of that space could be rail served. Olsen’s materials showed a mix of light industrial, heavy industrial, and manufacturing/technology zones plus a workforce housing component.
City staff described ongoing project pipeline and marketing work. Josh summarized responses to project information forms (PIFs) the city has received through statewide and regional partners: in January–December 2023 the city received about 140 PIFs and responded to many of them; in recent months the city has continued to receive dozens of PIFs and to pursue higher‑profile leads. “We responded to 18 of 52,” Josh said of a recent sample period, and staff said four responses have generated follow‑up interest and one resulted in a site visit during the period discussed.
Christian Price, economic development staff, described the city’s use of partners such as the Greater Phoenix Economic Council and the Arizona Commerce Authority to reach national and international site selectors and to market available sites. He and other staff said the two primary near‑term obstacles to industrial recruitment are (1) transportation access on State Route 347 and related truck and employee access, and (2) extension of Seed Farm Road/Smith‑Inc. improvements and other infrastructure to connect sites to I‑10. Councilmember Marsh said those three items — 347 access, rail service and completing road extensions — are key to “get those done and watch the dam break.”
Council members also pressed staff on flex office and small business space to allow local firms to grow. Several council members asked staff to pursue flexible “mixed‑use” and small‑business office space in parallel with large industrial projects so that local entrepreneurs have affordable places to expand. Staff said they are pursuing both large industrial site readiness and incentives, and smaller‑scale office/flex opportunities, and are discussing targeted marketing and site tours with regional partners.
No formal council action was required; the presentation served as an informational update and staff roadmap for business attraction and site readiness work.
