Western Report: Sunshine and a Booming Population

The Perfect Mix for Brownfield Redevelopment

Rosanne Sanchez

A new commercial office building now resides on the site of a former manufacturing plant in the Metro North-area of Phoenix, Ariz.

Phoenix, Arizona. The sun shines everyday. The average annual temperature is 72 degrees. Many of you may dispute that because you only remember that July day you flew into Phoenix, stepped out of the airport, and felt a blast of heat that you thought existed only in your image of hell.

But it’s during the more temperate periods when many visitors decide that they would like to live and work here permanently. Consequently, Phoenix has witnessed phenomenal population growth, in fact, the second highest in the country. By 2025, it is estimated that more than five million people will reside in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.

A comparably young city, Phoenix is experiencing the challenges of its youth, faced with inadequate public transportation, a historic mix of industrial and residential land use, urban sprawl, and air pollution.

But public and private investment is helping to reinvigorate the city, providing funds for the Phoenix Biomedical Campus, the Arizona State University Downtown Phoenix campus, new hotels, a new convention center, and several high rise residential developments. Infill housing is also on the rise.

In the midst of this renaissance, the city is also experiencing an increased interest in brownfield redevelopment.

Brownfields do exist in Phoenix. And because the focus of development has turned inward, the Phoenix Brownfields Land Recycling Program has experienced increased activity. The program, created in 1998, was endowed with the flexible and creative ability to respond to the needs of the real estate market in ways that would encourage private investment.

Arizona is challenged with the inability to use tax increment financing (TIF), a financial tool commonly used to help fund brownfield projects, and by no provision of funding from the state legislature. Therefore, Phoenix created a program that is self-sustaining and funded with municipal general bonds. The city chose to explore capital improvement bonds due to the obstacles posed by federal funding, though federal grants are certainly not dismissed. The commitment of municipal funds allows the program to respond to a variety of projects.

Municipal grant funds are awarded to the private sector and are used for public infrastructure improvements and development fees. The funding is provided directly to the private sector with requirements that are much the same for non-brownfield properties. While it may seem that the commitment of general and bond funds is unattainable, cities may wish to look closer at this capital source. In Phoenix, the public votes on bond programs, and there is much support for cleaning up the environment and for responsible economic development. Brownfield redevelopment accomplishes both.

For example, a neighborhood park is planned for a former 12-acre trucking facility and compressed gas manufacturing site in West Phoenix. Transit-oriented development is planned along the light rail corridor, which will encompass redevelopment of contaminated property. Other bond projects have helped create housing (affordable and market rate), as well as commercial office and retail space.

Brownfield bond funds have and will continue to contribute to responsible economic development in Phoenix.

Rosanne Sanchez is brownfields project manager for the Office of Environmental Programs, City of Phoenix.

Print article | Close window

Copyright 2009 DaVinci Graphics, Inc.
All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or any part without the expressed written permission of the publisher is prohibited. ISSN 1947-5594 and ISSN 1947-5608. Downloading and/or printing this article constitutes you agreement to the terms and conditions of service.