 Express Lane Development
GPEC creates programs to speed up commercial building process
By Noelle Coyle
Even in a real estate market like the region, where construction projects seem to pop up on a daily basis, the process of finding an appropriate location and meeting zoning requirements can take months or even years — affecting greater Phoenix when competing for projects. The Greater Phoenix Economic Council, however, is taking steps to lessen the headache caused by this scenario and increase the number of quality relocation/expansion projects through its recent launch of the Community Building Consortium (CBC).
The CBC was formed in the summer of 2006 to assist the needs of the commercial real estate community. The goal is to ensure greater Phoenix remains a competitive entity in the real estate arena. Greg Coxon, senior managing director of CBRE Phoenix and chair of the CBC, says the consortium is essential to GPECs mission of building a sustainable economy.
“It makes sense to anticipate the needs of buildings and occupants, and to make sure the needs of those occupiers are in place,” he says.
In order to meet these needs, the CBC created two programs: Shovel-Ready and 90-Day or less Certified Permitting. The Shovel-Ready program provides a list of sites throughout greater Phoenix that are immediately available for sale or lease and already have infrastructure needs in place. The 90-Day or less Certified Permitting program helps streamline the permitting process, decreasing the waiting period to begin construction on qualified projects. Both programs save time and money, which are both high commodities for the construction and development industries.
“Time is money to business owners,” Coxon says. “When you can put a business in sooner rather than later ... if they can do that faster, it provides a competitive advantage and more for the greater Phoenix area.”
To qualify as a Shovel-Ready site, the site must meet a list of criteria, including zoning and land use, availability of various utilities and transportation accessibility. Additionally, the 90-day or less Certified Permitting program has a checklist to follow.
John Hagen, economic development director for the city of Surprise, says the city has been following the CBC’s plans closely because the programs will be beneficial to the community and enticing to developers. “Everyone wants things faster, cheaper, better,” he says. “As we get into it, we’re always going to be trying to increase the speed at which we process projects. We must assure we get high-quality projects at the end and find ways to do it smarter, so that we get a better product at a quicker time frame with lower cost to people.”
He estimates that Surprise currently has about 10 projects on the shovel-ready list, and says they are preparing to submit more for approval. He explains that both programs are important because they will help eliminate risk within the market.
“When you have a shovel-ready site, that gives the potential business investor or company thinking about locating in your region the confidence that preliminary due diligence has been done,” Hagen says. “It saves them research time and makes their job easier.”
Jacobs Carter Burgess was among the initial investors and charter members of the CBC. Senior Project Manager Deane Foote says the company is an active member of GPEC and believes these programs will improve what has become a critical issue. “We saw the need for an improved permitting system and improved the site location system, because not a lot of sites are available for certain types of projects,” Foote says. “It’s an opportunity to make a difference and help provide some of the product.”
Foote explains that the greater Phoenix area is competing with cities such as Denver, Austin, Albuquerque and Salt Lake City for new development, and that these programs will give greater Phoenix a leg up in the race. The programs will also ease his job as a site consultant.
“What we’re doing is turning to economic development groups for the information we need for clients,” he says. “When we see a site that is shovel-ready or certified, it tells us that a lot of the homework has already been done. We’ll look at other sites as well, but it may be that the shovel-ready site is easier to deal with.”
 Coxon says the CBC is looking into other programs that will address the region’s economy, sociability and environment, and will develop those soon. Issues they plan to address include LEED certification, regional financing tools and infrastructure.
“All these things relate back to real estate and how the real estate community can assist GPEC and the region in creating more jobs,” Coxon says, adding that these programs demonstrate how “GPEC has embraced our community and how it should grow.”
www.gpec.org
www.cbre.com
www.c-b.com
www.surpriseaz.com
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