Maricopa Paving the Way for Major Job Creation

Published on August 22, 2024

Aerial view of Maricopa city, vibrant green trees and rooftops, with mountains in the distance. Text:

Maricopa's Economic Boom: New Developments Poised to Transform the City’s Future

A seismic shift toward high-paying jobs is coming to Maricopa, with far-reaching impacts on commercial development, infrastructure, and property values. It’s a topic at the forefront of residents' minds, and now, the path to creating these opportunities is clearer than ever. At this week’s City Council meeting, Chief Economic Development Strategist Rick Horst shared exciting updates on a trio of major business developments making promising strides. Here are some key highlights:

Industrial Triangle

Map showing land for industrial development marked with colored shapes and stars. Labels indicate acreage being pursued or signed. Sections vary in colors: red, orange, and yellow.

A bid to create a major business park on 680+ acres the west of Maricopa Casa-Grande Highway has been awarded to Redevco Solutions LLC and Rail Industrial Partners LLC.

Their initial plans call for an investment of $1.4-billion-dollars for a SMARTRail Park to include roughly 12-million square feet of industrial and business developments, and a living community for on-site workforce with affordable units for teachers, police officers, firefighters and nurses. Early projections are that the project could create between 18,000-36,000 jobs for Maricopa. The awarding of the bid was made possible by the passage of proposition 482 earlier this month, in which voters moved to allow the City to sell certain City-owned properties.

The entirely of the project will likely take years to complete, but residents will learn more just next month when council is presented with a Purchase and Sale Agreement.

Murphy Park

A zoning map showing various land use areas, color-coded: green for residential, red for business, and blue for employment, bordered by roads and farmland.

The City is working with a private land owner in an area north of Ak-Chin Industrial Park. They have agreed to set aside 260 acres for the development of a new business park. This creates another significant avenue for generating jobs in Maricopa.

U of A Innovation Campus

There’s renewed hope for a major Innovation Campus at the site of the current University of Arizona Agricultural Center in Maricopa. The University has a new dean coming on board this spring, and moving the project forward will be a top priority for Maricopa Office of Economic Opportunity.

Spanning a vast expanse of 2,100 acres, with an enticing 1,600 acres earmarked for potential development, this project has the potential to be a job titan.

As Maricopa envisions its future, the U of A Ag Center project stands as a catalyst, not just for job creation but for the holistic development that the city craves, weaving together education, commerce, and community in a tapestry of progress.

Businesses interested in development opportunities should reach out to the Office of Economic Opportunity at 520-494-2360.