Phoenix economic development team reports $21 billion in new capital investment, outlines work plan and major projects

City of Phoenix Community and Economic Development staff on June 12, 2025, presented a year-end review for fiscal 2024–25 and an action plan for 2025–26 that emphasized job attraction, retention, and targeted industry growth.

Christine Mackey, community and economic development director, said the department’s strategic efforts produced nearly 10,500 base-industry jobs and $21 billion in new capital investment through May 2025. “We have almost 10,500 new jobs added,” Mackey said during the presentation. Her office reported 10,442 jobs in later exchanged figures and cited nearly $21 billion in new capital investments and 498 retained jobs in targeted work.

Deputy directors walked committee members through major projects and industry clusters. Zanden Keating summarized downtown and central-city growth, noting roughly 3,000 housing units under construction and another 3,300 in predevelopment in the downtown core. He said several mixed-use projects are nearing completion, including Central Station and LG development, and referenced the planned Astra tower (two phases) that the city expects to start later in the year.

Nathan Wright described larger regional investments linked to semiconductor manufacturing. He said the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) projects in the North Phoenix area account for a major private investment in the region: “12,000 jobs, $65,000,000,000 in capital investment, and another $100,000,000,000 was announced here recently in March,” Wright said, adding that yields at the new fabs are “on par with what they're seeing in Taiwan, giving them great confidence in moving forward here in The United States.” Wright and staff described related master-planned developments (Halo Vista, Biscuit Flats) and a build-out estimate that could reach tens of thousands of jobs at full development.

Staff also summarized growth in biosciences and health care. Mackey said Mayo Clinic plans a $1.9 billion expansion in Desert Ridge that will add roughly 1.5 million square feet on a 450-acre campus. Arizona State University will locate an ASU Health headquarters in downtown Phoenix tied to its new medical school, and the University of Arizona is advancing a CAMI (Center for Advanced Molecular and Immunological therapies) research building.

Other highlights included a revised downtown redevelopment area plan adopted in April 2025, a downtown parking study, ParkCentral and Desert Ridge investments, and private-sector moves such as U-Haul relocating its corporate headquarters to the former CenturyLink tower.

The presentation covered workforce initiatives tied to the city’s hiring pipeline. Staff described the city’s Mobile Career Unit, which has produced hundreds of contingent job offers: program staff reported 463 contingent offers to date and that an additional 10 hires were recorded after the most recent event. The Phoenix workforce board also registered apprenticeship programs for semiconductor facility technicians, and staff said the city is now a registered apprenticeship sponsor working directly with employers including TSMC.

Council members asked specific policy and equity questions. Councilwoman Betty Hodge Washington raised concerns about a lack of hospital capacity south of Interstate 17 and asked what the city is doing; staff said they had run demographic and site studies, catalogued vacant buildings that could convert to health facilities, and were actively meeting with hospital CEOs to pitch smaller, phased approaches (for example 20–30 bed facilities leading to larger build-outs). Staff characterized this as a continuing, targeted outreach effort rather than a completed plan.

On the Gila Foothills resort concept, staff said they have an active marketing strategy, multiple developer conversations and a preferred prospect; one resort prospect has conducted repeated site visits and meetings and staff continue to pursue solutions to outstanding site issues including golf-course configuration. Nathan Wright said one staff member’s full-time assignment is to advance resort conversations in that area.

The presentation was informational; the subcommittee did not take legislative action. Committee members praised the department’s outreach and invited follow-up briefings on workforce training, sister-city relationships, and hospital site outreach. A member of the public, Pete Colarelli, offered a public-comment endorsement of the city’s economic strategy and described his family’s relocation to Phoenix.

The department said its priorities for 2025–26 will continue to focus on base-industry attraction, business retention and expansion, international trade and sister-city activity, downtown redevelopment, workforce pipelines (including apprenticeships), and targeted health-care facility outreach in underserved parts of the city.