Planned industrial "mega site" could transform Buckeye
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Grand View Arizona, a planned 2,500-acre industrial mega-site in Buckeye. Rendering: Courtesy of JLL
A massive new manufacturing campus planned for Buckeye could transform the city and the region.
Why it matters: Buckeye is already among the fastest growing cities in both Arizona and the U.S., and the Grand View Arizona complex could be an economic game-changer.
Driving the news: Developer JLL announced Wednesday that it's marketing the 2,500-acre "mega site" as a sophisticated manufacturing campus that could have an economic impact of over $1 billion.
- The area is more than twice as large as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s north Phoenix site, per JLL.
State of play: JLL expects Grand View to be attractive to manufacturers in industries like energy, aerospace, electric vehicles, battery technology, advanced automotive and transportation, biotech and life sciences, defense, artificial intelligence and autonomous transportation, the company told Axios.
- A project narrative submitted to the city in January said Grand View was expected to have a mix of advanced manufacturing, distribution, data center, battery storage, office, commercial, industrial and residential uses.
- JLL had no estimate for how many people might be employed at the site — it will depend on who sets up shop there — but projected that every job at Grand View will create 2-2.5 additional jobs elsewhere in the economy.
Zoom in: The largely agricultural area is located between Broadway Road to the north, MC 85 to the south, Dean Road to the west and Perryville Road to the east.
- JLL touted the site's access to 2.75 miles of Union Pacific rail frontage, "state-of-the-art infrastructure" and access to power, water and telecommunications.
What they're saying: "Grand View Arizona represents a major step forward in Buckeye's economic future, positioning our city to compete for the next generation of high-quality employers," Mayor Eric Orsborn said in a press release.
- JLL's Marc Hertzberg said the site will attract "a mix of development that will shape the region for decades to come."
Zoom out: Grand View Arizona could be an additional boost to the astronomical growth Buckeye — a sleepy farming community for most of its history — has seen over the past quarter century.
- The city's population jumped from just 6,537 in 2000 to an estimated 120,000 today.
- JLL told Axios that most of Buckeye's workforce has jobs outside the city, and Grand View will create employment closer to home for residents.