“We have been waiting for something like this for a long time,” he said. As the first national retailer to build in the 5,000-population town, the November opening represents the beginning of a new era for the Cochise County community. The store brings modern conveniences to the town’s residents, and points the way to further gains ahead.
Now that Wal-Mart has opened, Scott said more retailers are on their way. “There’s a bank planning to build a new branch and Walgreens is talking about coming, too.” He said they need about 100 to 200 more homes to make it possible, “and we could get that in the next year.”
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Speaking to members of the Tucson Chapter of the Association of Commercial Real Estate Women, Benson’s Scott, along with Marana Town Manager Michael Reuwsaat and Byron Howard, director of special projects for the Tucson City Manager’s Office, described what’s ahead and how it will be accommodated as the metropolitan area grows.
Noting the city’s relatively easy commute times, more temperate climate, as well as lower home costs, Scott said Benson is welcoming the opportunity to be considered as an alternative for Tucson homebuyers. With as many as 20,000 home sites proposed, within or adjacent to the Benson city limits, he said, “we’re moving forward fairly rapidly.”
The same is true for Marana, “where we consider I-10 to be our main street.” Reuwsaat said.
It’s along the interstate highway, where Marana’s efforts will be on improving design standards and leading by example. “That’s where jobs will be created, and where we’ll maintain our economic productivity for some time,” he said.
“We’re in the busiest development phase Marana has ever been in,” and with 45,000 residential lots ready to be developed, “we’re seeing a lot of competition for dirt.”
Calling the corridor a “field of dreams” for homebuilders, Reuwsaat said, “You’d better build it, because they’re coming.”
Along with new homes, the town is witnessing new retail development, such as Marana Marketplace and Arizona Pavilions. Forecast to provide more than $20 million in annual sale tax revenue, Reuwsaat said, “we expect that this will continue to be the lifeblood of our budget.”
To guarantee that what’s built will keep contributing to the town’s prosperity, he said, “We want to be raising the bar, creating a quality environment that will be economically healthy over time.”
The town’s not alone in this effort, Reuwsaat said. Since Marana offered its first vision of the community’s future in 1977, he said, “the public and private sectors have been working together, to see what can be done. We expect that discussions will continue as we consider what’s been accomplished and how to go forward.”
What highlights everyone’s effort, from Picacho Peak to Texas Canyon, is an ongoing population growth that keeps exceeding everyone’s expectations, Howard said. “I’ve been here since 1967. Half of me takes a look at the people coming and wants to say, ‘I wish they wouldn’t come.’ The other half of me wants to welcome them because good things happen when a city grows.”
With the metropolitan area population now at more than one million, he said Tucson’s emphasis is on “being a service provider, not a policeman.” Providing infrastructure to support development along the “Golden Corridor” and encouraging a balanced mix of commercial, residential, hotel and recreational development “is where it’s at.”
Although recent increases in impact fees helps contribute to a “drive until you qualify” momentum that’s pushing development further out to the edges of the corridor, Howard said they’re necessary to bring Tucson’s rates in line with surrounding communities and keep pace with maintenance of city services by the 54 percent of metropolitan area residents, who’re living outside the city limits.
If there’s an issue where “I don’t think anybody has a handle on what to do,” he said it’s housing affordability, but it remains a crucial concern for the city. “This is something we need to put our arms around.”
It’s also an issue that especially complex in Tucson, where many of the residents are elderly. “What sort of special accommodations do we need to make to be sure these senior citizens are finding the affordable housing options and services they need? This is a great concern for us, too.”
Sustaining economic development means assuring companies that their workers will be able to find decent and affordable housing, “and our workforce needs to be able to find it if we hope to retain them.”
A variety of options are being examined, including subsidies and guarantees, Howard said, but it’s the consumer who’ll make the choice. “People know their own budgets and they know what they can afford.”
The city needs to learn what they prefer. “That’s what we need to find out, if we hope to be able to offer it.”
E-mail comments for publication to editor@azbiz.com. Contact Philip S. Moore at pmoore@azbiz.com or at (520) 295-4238.
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