Phoenix released its economic development strategy update to the Finance, Efficiency, Economy and Sustainability Subcommittee early Wednesday.
In 2015, there were approximately 9,400 new jobs created in the Phoenix area, a 174 percent increase from 2014. About $1 billion in investments went into Phoenix last year, according to Community and Economic Development Director Christine Mackay.
According to Mackay, Phoenix can look forward to an improved year in job development.
“This is already leading us in a great direction for this year,” Mackay said.
Mackay said the Community and Economic Development Department (CEDD) estimated there has been a total of 7,300 new jobs added since the beginning of the year.
The CEDD has been reaching out to bring new companies to the area and aid existing businesses. Of the 9,400 new jobs created in 2015, nearly half of those came from existing companies, according to the CEDD.
“When we talk about our existing companies, they are the single most important thing to us,” Mackay said.
The CEDD has emphasized growing central Phoenix and lowering the vacancy rate of the downtown and Warehouse districts. In 2014 there was a 38 percent vacancy in the central districts. The vacancy rate is now 21 percent, Mackay said.
“It’s focusing on the central city,” Mackay said. “The central city is really the heart of any community.”
With the Warehouse District seen as a hot commodity for businesses looking to relocate or expand, Mackay said the vacancy rate is expected to continue declining.
The recent addition of the University of Arizona’s biomedical campus in the downtown area is an example of a successful expansion in downtown Phoenix to Mackay and is “paying in dividends.”
“We are seeing the creations, not only of our companies, but places they can grow,” Mackay said.
Vice Mayor Daniel Valenzuela said the CEDD had struck major success by helping establish a Phoenix campus for Galvanize, a series of schools that focus on entrepreneurship in data science and engineering.
“It wasn’t just attracting that logo; it wasn’t attracting just the company,” Valenzuela said. “It was attracting a pipeline, and other companies see Galvanize as that.”
District 3 Councilman Bill Gates, chair of the Finance, Efficiency, Economy and Sustainability subcommittee, stressed the importance of bringing in new businesses.
“It’s really important for people to know Phoenix is open for business,” Gates said.
Contact the reporter at Dustin.Quiroz-Clark@asu.edu
