Desert Ridge in North Phoenix to become bioscience, tech hub
Desert
Ridge area to become bioscience, tech hub
Efforts are under way to
develop the Desert Ridge area south of Loop 101 into a bioscience and
technology hub, just days after Mayor Greg Stanton announced plans for the
Desert Ridge Bioscience Technology Collaborative.
According to Dr. Wyatt
Decker, chief executive of the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, more concrete plans could take form
within six months, although full development of the plan is likely to take much
longer.
"We worked with the
mayor to develop the concept," Decker said, "and we are pleased with
his support for Mayo."
Mayo Hospital is the
key medical facility in northeast Phoenix.
It occupies 210 acres at 56th
Street and Mayo Boulevard, south of Loop 101. It opened in 1998.
Under the Desert Ridge
Specific Plan, development in the area between 56th and 64th streets, Loop 101
and the Central Arizona Project canal must be related to or supportive of
medical uses, including retail and residential.
Stanton's plan, announced during his inauguration speech on
Tuesday, would expand that idea west to Tatum Boulevard. Some non-medical users
already are in place in the area, including American Express and Sumco, which
manufactures silicon wafers for the microprocessing and computer industries.
Decker said
representatives from Mayo, Arizona
State University
and the Mayor's Office have begun working on the next steps. They want to
develop a "clear vision" for the future, while showing
"meaningful progress" as soon as they can, Decker said.
He foresees medical
startups based on ideas generated at Mayo, ASU or elsewhere.
Maria Baier, who as state
land commissioner controls most of the vacant property, said Stanton told her of his idea, but she does
not have a lot of detail yet. "I told him I would do everything I can to
be supportive," she said. "This idea is quite visionary and positive
for the community."
She said there has been
plenty of interest in the land throughout the Desert Ridge and Paradise Ridge
areas -- large, mostly undeveloped tracts of land along Loop 101 in northeast Phoenix.
"The question is
whether we bring it out now or wait for recovery," she said. "You
typically would not dispose of property in a down market."
The Arizona State Land
Department manages the State Land Trust and controls 9.2million acres after
selling or leasing 1.6 million acres. The department is required to
"enhance value and optimize economic return" on the land for its
beneficiaries, primarily public schools.
"We want the trust
to realize the appreciation of value in a better market," Baier said.
She said some of the land
in question already has restrictions, including a ban on buildings that would
block the view of the Mayo Clinic from the freeway. The department could come
to an agreement with the city to determine how the land could be used.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2012/01/08/20120108desert-ridge-bioscience-tech-hub.html#ixzz1izasiDDD