Bidwill project's impact: $2.6 billion a year, 23,000 jobs
Scott Wong
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 11, 2007 07:36 AM
The Bidwill family's planned business park just south of University of Phoenix Stadium would generate $2.6 billion a year and create nearly 23,000 direct and indirect jobs, according to a new economic-impact report by Valley economist Elliott Pollack.
cbd101, the NFL family's $1.2 billion office, retail and residential district, also would produce a total of $2.1 billion and nearly 20,000 direct and indirect jobs over the course of its decade-long build-out along Loop 101 at Bethany Home Road in Glendale.
The report, which will be filed with the city next week, did not include an analysis of associated costs.
Glendale leaders' proactive efforts to lure the Arizona Cardinals football stadium, concert and hockey arena and the expanding Westgate City Center have helped the city net the Bidwill family's $1.2 billion business-park project, Pollack said.
"This represents the continuation of really what is happening in Glendale through conscious choices they have made," said Pollack, chief executive of Elliott D. Pollack & Co., which provides economic and real-estate consulting services. "They have changed the face of Glendale, and that will mean more upscale development but also more (employment) choices for citizens on the west side and more tax revenue to meet their needs."
Construction of cbd101 will bring a total of $16.8 million in sales-tax revenue into Glendale coffers, with the city getting another $10.1 million each year after completion.
Blueprints for cbd101, which stands for "central business district," call for 2.6 million square feet of office space with as many as a dozen large corporate buildings along Loop 101; a 36-story iconic tower with residential, office and hotel space; shops, restaurants and a farmer's market; three stand-alone hotels; more than 900 residential units of varying housing types; and an organic farm.
Cardinals President Michael Bidwill had been the public face of the project since May, but younger brother Tim Bidwill said in an interview this week that he's taking over cbd101's day-to-day operations.
Tim Bidwill said he was struck by the fact that the economic impact of February's Super Bowl, estimated at more than $400 million, pales in comparison with the $2.6 billion annual output of the project.
"It's a substantially significant number," said Tim Bidwill, 35. "That is the first number I looked at, and I just had a big smile on my face."
According to recent estimates by the Maricopa Association of Governments, the office jobs-to-population ratio in Glendale was one-fifth of the countywide average of 0.5. cbd101 and other office projects springing up in the region should change that, creating jobs and reducing commutes for West Valley residents, said project consultant Michael Rushman.
"The project draws from a huge West Valley labor force which disproportionately drives enormous distances to get to their jobs," he said. "If employers locate 25 miles closer to workers' homes, they will snag them."
Residents from the Pendergast Estates county island, which abuts cbd101, have voiced concerns that the 77-acre project will bring more congestion to their streets.
But Rushman said all issues with the surrounding community had been resolved. The Bidwills will abandon plans to connect Pendergast streets to major arterial roads and preserve the neighborhoods' cul-de-sacs.
The city's Planning Commission is expected to review the project on Jan. 3, with the City Council taking it up on Jan. 22.
Scott Wong
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 11, 2007 07:36 AM
The Bidwill family's planned business park just south of University of Phoenix Stadium would generate $2.6 billion a year and create nearly 23,000 direct and indirect jobs, according to a new economic-impact report by Valley economist Elliott Pollack.
cbd101, the NFL family's $1.2 billion office, retail and residential district, also would produce a total of $2.1 billion and nearly 20,000 direct and indirect jobs over the course of its decade-long build-out along Loop 101 at Bethany Home Road in Glendale.
The report, which will be filed with the city next week, did not include an analysis of associated costs.
Glendale leaders' proactive efforts to lure the Arizona Cardinals football stadium, concert and hockey arena and the expanding Westgate City Center have helped the city net the Bidwill family's $1.2 billion business-park project, Pollack said.
"This represents the continuation of really what is happening in Glendale through conscious choices they have made," said Pollack, chief executive of Elliott D. Pollack & Co., which provides economic and real-estate consulting services. "They have changed the face of Glendale, and that will mean more upscale development but also more (employment) choices for citizens on the west side and more tax revenue to meet their needs."
Construction of cbd101 will bring a total of $16.8 million in sales-tax revenue into Glendale coffers, with the city getting another $10.1 million each year after completion.
Blueprints for cbd101, which stands for "central business district," call for 2.6 million square feet of office space with as many as a dozen large corporate buildings along Loop 101; a 36-story iconic tower with residential, office and hotel space; shops, restaurants and a farmer's market; three stand-alone hotels; more than 900 residential units of varying housing types; and an organic farm.
Cardinals President Michael Bidwill had been the public face of the project since May, but younger brother Tim Bidwill said in an interview this week that he's taking over cbd101's day-to-day operations.
Tim Bidwill said he was struck by the fact that the economic impact of February's Super Bowl, estimated at more than $400 million, pales in comparison with the $2.6 billion annual output of the project.
"It's a substantially significant number," said Tim Bidwill, 35. "That is the first number I looked at, and I just had a big smile on my face."
According to recent estimates by the Maricopa Association of Governments, the office jobs-to-population ratio in Glendale was one-fifth of the countywide average of 0.5. cbd101 and other office projects springing up in the region should change that, creating jobs and reducing commutes for West Valley residents, said project consultant Michael Rushman.
"The project draws from a huge West Valley labor force which disproportionately drives enormous distances to get to their jobs," he said. "If employers locate 25 miles closer to workers' homes, they will snag them."
Residents from the Pendergast Estates county island, which abuts cbd101, have voiced concerns that the 77-acre project will bring more congestion to their streets.
But Rushman said all issues with the surrounding community had been resolved. The Bidwills will abandon plans to connect Pendergast streets to major arterial roads and preserve the neighborhoods' cul-de-sacs.
The city's Planning Commission is expected to review the project on Jan. 3, with the City Council taking it up on Jan. 22.
