Apple’s Deal in Mesa at Eastmark Honored as Top Deal by Site Selection and Business Facilities Magazines
Phoenix, AZ (PRWEB) June 04, 2014 -- Two of America’s leading site selection magazines have selected Apple’s investment in Mesa at Eastmark as their top deals of the year. Site Selection announced this month that this $1.5 billion investment in Arizona made their prestigious annual list and Business Facilities Magazine awarded this same deal their Gold Award in January for the Economic Development Deal of the Year.
Apple purchased an existing manufacturing facility at Eastmark, a masterplanned community in Mesa, Arizona, in late 2013 to begin manufacturing sapphire glass for its products. The company has reported plans to invest an additional $1 billion in the manufacturing operations. Hundreds of new high quality jobs will be created in Phoenix’s East Valley by Apple’s investment in Arizona.
The City of Mesa, Maricopa County and the State of Arizona have created a more competitive operating environment over the past few years and national publications have taken notice honoring Arizona as a top destination for new companies and expansions, for a quality workforce and for startups. In addition, Greater Phoenix Economic Council, the regional economic development organization, helps companies leverage state and local tax abatements, incentives for job growth, R&D and training dollars, and navigate permitting processes to move companies to Arizona quickly.
“Companies on the move today need sites that are shovel ready in locations with a strong, educated workforce. We’ve had two major employers complete their projects – from purchase to opening – in less than one year because our site at Eastmark is ready to go,” said Dea McDonald, Senior Vice President for DMB Associates, Inc., the developer of the Eastmark community.
“The success of the Apple locate to Mesa, Arizona was the result of a truly collaborative effort from many business and community partners,” said Barry Broome, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. “I’m convinced that Apple could not have chosen a better location than Mesa and Eastmark. And the ability to offer a turnkey real estate option was a key factor in sealing the deal.”
Eastmark spans 3,200 acres in a prime location in a growing region of Mesa that is surrounded by completed freeways connecting it to every part of the Phoenix Metro area. This site offers an array of advantages for businesses including:
- Entitled for 20 million square feet of non-residential development and up to 15,000 residential units.
- Less than 2 miles from the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, the region’s major reliever airport.
- Ten new residential neighborhoods in the first phase and phase two will open in fall 2014.
- Encore, a new community for 55+ developed by AV Homes, will open in 2015.
- BASIS, one of the leading charter schools in the nation, opened at Eastmark in 2013.
- Sequoia Pathfinder Academy, a charter elementary school, will open in fall 2014.
- Grand Canyon University, a private Christian university, will open a college campus on the site in fall 2015.
- Eastmark is planned to become a major economic core in the East Valley of the Phoenix Metro Area.
Eastmark offers businesses a unique planning framework that allows companies to move quickly through the development, design and permitting processes. Flexible entitlements anticipate major corporate campuses, tourism uses, and smaller business sites throughout the five square miles.
Arizona has continued to earn top marks from national news sources as an outstanding place to locate or operate a business including:
- #1 in the Intermountain West for new company facilities and expansions (Site Selection Magazine)
- Mesa named as top 10 city to find a job (Wallet Hub)
- Arizona named a Top 10 best state for starting a business (Entreprenuer.com, 2013)
- Arizona ranked 6th best state to do business (ChiefExecutive.net, 2013)
- Phoenix area ranked 9th of 317 metro areas for best cities for information jobs (Forbes, 2013)
- Arizona No. 1 in Southwest for private capital investments (Association for Corporate Growth, 2013)
For more information about development opportunities and commercial sites in Eastmark, visit: http://www.eastmark.com/hub/area-growth/.
Site Selection magazine delivers expansion planning information to 48,000 subscribers, many of them employed by fast-growing firms. Site Selection is also available via online (http://www.siteselection.com).
Business Facilities is a leading full-service media brand specializing in the site selection marketplace. Through a bi-monthly magazine, e-mail newsletters, a news portal, and its LiveXchange event, Business Facilities has created a dynamic community for C-level executives and economic development organizations.
About Eastmark:
At five square miles (3,200 acres), Eastmark is a vibrant, integrated and evolving regional community poised as "The Heart and Hub of the East Valley." Eastmark sits at the center of a major transportation hub anchored by the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, three major freeways, numerous businesses and acclaimed educational institutions. BASIS and Pathfinder Academy charter schools have selected Eastmark for their campuses offering residents and the region new educational opportunities, as well as Grand Canyon University that is planning a college campus at Eastmark. At completion, the expansive 106-acre Eastmark Great Park will connect residential areas, resort components, employment cores, recreational spaces and commerce. Eastmark is the largest privately held, contiguous property in the Southeast Valley. http://www.Eastmark.com
Cassidy Campana, DMB Associates, http://www.dmbinc.com, +1 480.367.7238, [email protected]
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