Brady PieperPhoenix is one step closer to revitalizing a roughly 20-mile stretch of the Rio Salado/Salt River corridor.
The City of Phoenix is purchasing nearly 30 acres of land that will be promoted as a prime location for semiconductors, energy, logistics and advanced manufacturing. Located on South Seventh Street just south of the Salt River, the redevelopment project will kick off years of revitalization and restoration work along the Rio Salado corridor.
The $29.6 million site will contribute to the city’s collaborative plan to transform local communities and improve public health in south Phoenix—RIO PHX. Created in partnership with local businesses and community stakeholders, the plan seeks to identify opportunities and projects for housing, employment, recreation, art and ecological restoration.
The approximately 29.4-acre Salt River site is located less than two miles from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, the largest airport and a major economic driver in Arizona. Sky Harbor is also the recent beneficiary of two federal grants for a new taxiway and the modernization and repair of the utility plant.
For the new site, the City of Phoenix will redevelop the property to attract positive investments from businesses, residents and tourists to the Rio Salado corridor. This effort will include plans for a nearly 42,500-square-foot industrial building on the site, which is leased until 2028.
The project falls within the first phase of RIO PHX, targeting Rio Salado. Nearby, the city is pursuing public-private partnerships and private developers for housing structures, pedestrian safety upgrades and restoration projects.
The RIO PHX plan is one of Phoenix’s efforts to achieve the Rio Reimagined vision, a multi-city, multi-tribe movement to transform several communities on the Gila and Salt Rivers.
Valuing diversity, Rio Reimagined features partnerships with Arizona State University, the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) and other local businesses. Gathering bimonthly, the consortium of Rio Reimagined partners examines regional revitalization projects,
identifies funding mechanisms and provides opportunities to network, secure project funding and implement improvements.
Phoenix officials will encourage contractors, municipalities, academic institutions and private businesses to get involved with Rio Reimagined and the Rio PHX plan. According to an estimated project timeline, the city is expected to conduct public hearings and adopt final plans for Rio Reimagined by fall.
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Aznaturalist via Wikimedia Commons
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