Oct. 30, 2008
Orbital’s announcement anchors an array of positive economic news
By Mayor Boyd W. Dunn
With all the attention the nation’s fiscal woes have received in the media, you might think our economy has shut down completely. But, while the recent economic slump has understandably been a hardship to the community in a number of ways, not all is gloomy in Chandler from a development sense.
Yes, many cities and states across the nation continue to add jobs in this tight economic time, as is Chandler. We still see strong activity in the office and industrial markets, and to date, we have not experienced a net loss of jobs from this downturn. In fact, we have seen a healthy increase.
That was highlighted when we learned last month that Orbital Sciences committed to a long-term expansion project that will bring hundreds of new jobs and as much as 232,000 square feet of new research and development space. Orbital, a developer of small and medium sized rocket and space systems, has been a major corporate presence in the Ocotillo area since 1998. As part of the announcement, they have also extended the lease on an existing 355,000-square-foot facility through 2019.
That is a powerful sign that our economy will keep moving forward and lessen, somewhat, the impact of the mortgage crisis on Chandler and the region.
Here a few of the more notable projects that continue to fuel the City’s economic engine:
- Rockefellers at Chandler Corporate Center broke ground on a 70,000-square-foot office building and are ready to break ground on a second, 22-acre project.
- Gold Canyon Candles completed a significant expansion to focus on its U.S. markets but also on the European market.
- CDW chose Chandler as its next expansion site for 450 new jobs and occupancy of 70,000 square feet in the Airpark area. Along with an expansion site for Ottawa University, this quickly brought the new 90,000-square-foot office building to full occupancy.
- And Covance is nearing completion of its facility and will soon be home to 325 new jobs.
Existing employers are choosing to expand in Chandler as well:
- Countrywide Home Mortgage continues to add new jobs and its new 157,000-square-foot data center is nearing completion.
- Avnet recently completed its new facility with West Chandler being home to Avnet's Integration Center.
- ArmorWorks recently completed an expansion into Lincoln 10, on the former Ryobi site, that will add new jobs to this strong Chandler employer.
- And Wells Fargo is modifying its site at Price and Queen Creek roads to include a 410,000-square-foot data center. This modification will allow for two new additional office buildings on the site in future phases with plans still to build out at 5,000 to 7,000 employees.
We are also seeing strong activity in the office markets over the past few months with a significant number of transactions in the pipeline and close to lease signing. And the good news remains that both office and industrial vacancy rates are significantly below the Valley average here in Chandler. All of these developments, led by the recent Orbital Sciences announcement, will help us weather the current slump and aids in our efforts of an increasingly diversified job base. That bodes well for the future of our business community.
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