Hype-Up Everything!
Hyper Warp-Speed Now!
Just how big could SkyBridge be?
Barney thinks he has an answer.
SkyBridge development launches PHX East Valley into the stratosphere
LINK > AZ BIG MEDIA 13 March 2019
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HERE'S THE OPENING:
"Aviation has always pushed boundaries and been at the forefront of innovation and progress. But a long-term development at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport is expected to take innovation to a new level and revolutionize the way products are transported from the U.S. to Mexico. In turn, experts say the development
- will create thousands of jobs
- provide economic opportunities for companies
- offer students another way to gain invaluable knowledge and experience.
SkyBridge Arizona is a 360-acre, long-term development at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport that will allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Mexican Customs officers to work side by side to jointly inspect and process shipments in preparation for international transit."
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Ryan Smith, director, communications and government relations, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Authority.
“We view Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport not as much as an airport, but as a large redevelopment project that just happens to have an airport. So when you look at a project like SkyBridge, with lots of acreage and direct access to three 10,000-foot runways, the possibilities are limitless as to what you can produce there and what can locate at SkyBridge.”
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey
> SkyBridge is a $230 million commercial development that will have
- 2 million square feet of warehouse space
- 1 million square feet of office space
- 800,000 square feet of air cargo operations
- 900,000 square feet of light industrial and flex space
- 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurants.
> Growth of air freight between Arizona and Mexico grew 180 percent from 2011 to 2015, outpacing all other modes of transport, according to Ducey’s office.
> Air freight trade between Arizona and Mexico currently totals $390 million per year and is expected to expand to $650 million by 2025.
Kevin Cosca, senior vice president, CBRE [commercial real estate company]
" . . . the former Williams Air Force base was antiquated when East Valley municipalities took it over a long time ago. Since then there has been a considerable amount of work done to bring the airport up to standards for “passenger routing, hangar-type businesses, aircraft manufacturers, and aerospace and defense companies. With three runways, the airport’s capacity is unmatched.”
That growth since the airport was established as Williams Gateway Airport in 1994, and then renamed Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in 2008, has led to five commercial airlines flying to more than 45 destinations, hosting more than 40 companies on site, and the airport area is developing as an international aerospace center with aircraft maintenance, modification, testing, and pilot training.
Denny Barney, president and CEO of East Valley Partnership
“It’s almost like Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport has become an overnight success that took 10 years, . . .The City of Mesa installed the Ray Road Loop and put all the infrastructure in and then had to wait for the alignment of the stars. Then, you saw one building, then two buildings and then eight buildings. It’s almost like they put water in the ground and they started popping up. And it’s going to continue to grow.”
BLOGGER NOTE: All financed by Mesa taxpayers
CBRE Senior Vice President Jackie Orcutt
". . . the activity and success of the five commercial carriers out of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway and Arizona State University’s Polytechnic Campus within the airport’s boundaries, in addition to several flight schools and well-established manufacturing businesses, is likely what spurred initial interest in SkyBridge more than two years ago.
Phoenix-Mesa Gateway recognized that they had a 360-acre land parcel just southwest of the runway. There are very few tertiary commercial airports across the country that have this much land available for development,” Orcutt says. “With SkyBridge’s proposal to bring a unique international cargo expediting process to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, they were ultimately able to negotiate a land lease that would enable them to bring this project to life.”
Gabriel Massey, general manager of Able Aerospace Services [Textron]
“Able’s original campus is the result of a successful public-private partnership between our company, the City of Mesa and the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Authority,”
With a new expansion that includes additions to their original 191,000-square-foot building, Able supports almost 1,500 civilian and military customers in 60 countries worldwide with more than 10,000 FAA-approved component repair, overhaul, parts and aircraft completion services.
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OTHER PROGNOSTICATIONS + BIG PREDICTIONS:
1. The leaders of SkyBridge estimate 10,000-12,000 new jobs will be created within the next decade on site, based on the mixed use of the 3.5 million square feet slated for development, and that’s just within Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.
“SkyBridge has already been approved to develop on two parcels of land and the remaining 355 acres will likely receive FAA approval by summer 2019,” Orcutt says. “At that time, the master plan can move forward. That plan includes 3.5 million square feet of state-of-the-art facilities geared towards attracting various industries to the area.”
2. Potential tenants at SkyBridge will range from flight schools, which train commercial, private and government-related pilots; to original equipment manufacturers.
3. “Additionally, SkyBridge has a collaboration with Arizona State University Polytechnic campus, which offers several programs focused on aerospace, technology and defense-related technology,” Orcutt says.
That collaboration will be a way for the airport and ASU to not only educate students, but provide opportunities for learning, growth and the potential for full-time employment.
ADDED VALUE:
1. In addition to the educational component, SkyBridge has the potential to add great value to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport through trade, e-commerce and economic development opportunities that will be presented through on-site companies and potential tenants.
“If you’ve driven past the airport recently, you see there is tremendous growth happening, especially at the north end,” Denny Barney says. “A lot of that is larger warehouse and manufacturing facilities, which take up a lot of square footage, but don’t necessarily translate into a high number of jobs.
SkyBridge is transforming that into a higher-tech, higher-demand, higher-value proposition that we think elevates the entire jobs market around the airport and makes it into a true center of excellence.”
2. Companies currently on site at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway include
- aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul MRO
- aircraft operations
- airlines
- aviation shops, supplies and distribution
- building development
- consumer and construction services
- education and flight training
- government
- manufacturing
- rental cars
- food and beverage and retail.
3. “Our central location, as it relates to the Southwest U.S., and proximity to Latin America and Mexico, makes us a unique setup and once you involve and include the unified cargo processing program and lots of land, it’s really a setup unlike any other in the entire country,” Ryan Smith says.
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Not only is SkyBridge going to impact companies on site at the airport like Able, but Jackie Orcutt says,
SkyBridge is quickly becoming a target for users in various industries, including manufacturing
- e-commerce
- air cargo and logistics
- corporate hanger users
- freight forwarding
- defense contractors
- electronic manufacturers and distributor
- airline manufacturing
- MROs
- general-purpose warehousing.
“SkyBridge is not only going to revolutionize the aircraft industry,” she says, “it has the potential to revolutionize the distribution and e-commerce industries.”
