Developer aims to bring major employers and 'as many jobs as possible' to Maricopa
A 480-acre plan in Maricopa, 30 miles south of Phoenix, will bring additional housing to the Pinal County city, but the developer and other economic development advocates hope it could also become a home for a large employer.
The Maricopa City Council gave approval to rezone Murphy Park, located near Steen and Murphy roads, to allow a mix of residential, business park and employment uses.
“It’s the most shovel-ready site in the city for large-scale employment,” said Chase Emmerson, of Emmerson Holdings LLC, adding that he and officials from the Maricopa Economic Development Alliance have been in contact with companies interested in locating there.
The site’s water utility is Global Water Resources.
Housing, employment uses planned
The northernmost portion of the large site, located on Steen Road, has been designated for residential uses, but Emmerson said those uses could be single-family homes for sale, homes for rent, apartments, or some mix of those options. That portion, totaling about 80 acres, is likely to be the first to begin construction.
The remaining 400 acres have zoning that will allow for flexibility in development, Emmerson said. Housing could be allowed, but his goal is to attract businesses that could bolster the city’s private employment.
“Our goal would be to get a large employer and bring as many jobs as possible,” he said. “Now that we have zoning in place, an employer could come in quickly.”
Emmerson plans to sell pieces of the land to different companies to ultimately be developed, both for residential and commercial uses.
Pinal County seeing industry boom
Pinal County has been the location of choice for many suppliers to the semiconductor industry, though they have opted for Casa Grande over Maricopa. Emmerson and Maricopa economic development advocates hope Murphy Park could give Maricopa a chance to land companies in the industry or other advanced manufacturers, like suppliers to the electric vehicle industry.
Christian Price, CEO of the Maricopa Economic Development Alliance, said the group has been working to appeal to companies in advanced manufacturing, as well as warehousing and distribution industries. The city is one of the fastest growing in the western United States, he said, but there are few large private employers in Maricopa.
Price, who previously served as mayor of the city, said the growing electric vehicle production industry in Pinal County brings opportunity to Maricopa. Both Lucid and Nikola Corp. chose locations in Pinal County for their assembly facilities. Maricopa is also home to Volkswagen’s proving grounds, and Nissan has a proving ground nearby in Stanfield.
“There has been a lot of interest generated in that space,” Price said.
The county also has caught the eye of the energy industry, he said. Several large solar energy companies have locations in Pinal County, and LG Energy Solution is creating a plant in Queen Creek.
“Companies are looking at Pinal County because there is the workforce, and it’s becoming a hotbed of cheaper land, and water is available,” Price said.
Bringing some of that industrial growth to Maricopa could mean the city could get a new large employer right off the bat, Price said. Now, some of the city’s largest employers are the city government, the school district and Harrah’s Ak-Chin Hotel and Casino.
Maricopa, which marked its 20th anniversary of incorporation this year, has about 50 square miles incorporated, but has a planning area of 250 square miles, Price said, meaning large-scale growth could happen easily.
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Reach the reporter at cvanek@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @CorinaVanek.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Maricopa approves development that aims to attract large employers
