NE Valley Times

The communities that formed the East Valley Partnership found success with their decision to push for better transportation and jobs, but the human and natural resources make it a success.

“The East Valley Partnership was formed almost 40 years ago when a group of business leaders got together and decided that we had a different value proposition than the City of Phoenix,” Denny Barney, president and CEO of East Valley Partnership, told AZ Big Media. “While we are part of Greater Phoenix, we have a different story to tell. Initially, the focus was on transportation and jobs.”

The focus remains on transportation and jobs, Barney said.

With a population that is younger than the national average and well educated, technology-driven companies find communities like Chandler, Mesa and Gilbert attractive.

A workforce of more than 1 million people lives within a 30-minute commute of East Valley companies. The area’s 1.3 million residents have an average median age of 34.98, which is four years younger than the national average.

Scottsdale, once known primarily for its golf resorts, now boasts cybersecurity companies, telehealth game-changers and bioscience innovators. Tempe left its college party town reputation behind. Silicon Valley companies like NortonLifeLock, Opendoor, DoorDash and Silicon Valley Bank located here. College life still plays a big role in Tempe. Arizona State University continues to graduate more engineers than any other university. These graduates help to fill high paying positions at the tech companies.

East Valley cities and towns boost Arizona’s position as a leading technology hub. They helped the state become one of the top five states for the number of new technology businesses added between 2017 and 2018.

Major industry leaders such as Amkor Technology, Apple, Blue Yonder, Boeing, GoDaddy, Insight, Intel, Keap, Northrop Grumman, PayPal and Waymo call East Valley home. Rather than thinking of the area as the suburbs, it’s become a technology-industry center.

The East Valley Partnership’s successful efforts show in the population increase, more skilled talent taking higher-paying jobs and improved quality of life. This reflects in the boom in the technology sector, which doesn’t show any signs of stopping.

That’s a changed landscape compared to the decades when East Valley communities prospered from farming. More than half of Mesa’s residents earned their livelihoods from farming in the 1960s. Chandler and Gilbert were top cotton producers until after World War II.

Gilbert is projected to grow to more than 300,000 residents by 2030, achieving a full build-out. Less than 20 years ago, the population barely topped 100,000.

“Chandler has long prioritized the preservation of land capable of accommodating technology-related industries,” Kevin Hartke, mayor of Chandler, told AZ Big Media, “and aggressively recruited them and supported their expansion, while also supporting our education partners to produce the best workforce.”

East Valley boasts several higher education options, including the University of Advancing Technology, Arizona State University, and Maricopa Community Colleges. High school students can follow a technological education curriculum at the East Valley Institute of Technology.

“The reality is that jobs in the new economy require the right kind of workforce,” Barney told AZ Big Media, “and we have ASU in our own backyard that’s put out more engineers than any university in the world.”

More than 120,000 college students fill the classrooms at these East Valley colleges. They’ll help build the region’s talent pipeline.

Getting to this stage didn’t happen overnight. Instead, the East Valley built on early successes to keep moving forward. Intel established its Chandler manufacturing facility in 1980. A skilled workforce and the availability of natural resources contributed to opening the facility here, Liz Shipley, a public affairs director for Intel, said. Intel continued expansion of its East Valley operations. The company produces some of the world’s most advanced technology here, she said.

 “Today, we employ more than 12,000 of the best and brightest Arizonans, spend more than $4 billion each year with Arizona-based organizations, and have a statewide annual economic impact of $8.3 billion,” Shipley told AZ Big Media.

Barney said East Valley had giants like Intel and Boeing for quite a while. Now Deloitte adds more than $40 billion in revenue just from services, he said to AZ Big Media.

It’s not just the giants in technology that get welcomed to East Valley. Startups have the support of the community also.

The Phoenix East Valley Angel Investor Initiative helps tech-based entrepreneurs take advantage of capital investments that start at $5,000 and go up to help them grow. Arizona Tech Investors, the East Valley Partnership and local communities collaborate to help these entrepreneurs.

The initiative wants to fuel tech sector growth by identifying, activating and educating potential angel investors in the East Valley region.

“The critical early-stage funding and support provided by these angel investors will help Phoenix East Valley startups commercialize new technologies, create quality jobs and grow to become industry leaders,” Micah Miranda, economic development director for the City of Chandler, told AZ Big Media.