The Scottsdale office of the Land Advisors Organization, the nation’s largest land brokerage firm, announced the successful completion of a site selection assignment for Bridgestone Corporation (BSJ) in collaboration with Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO).
BATO acquired a 281-acre agricultural site in Eloy, Arizona, to serve as the base of its agricultural research operation. This research farm will supply guayule, a Southwestern U.S. native shrub, for the company’s process research center that is planned for nearby Mesa.
Recognized for their extensive expertise in farm land transactions and specialized site selection, the Land Advisors Organization’s Kirk McCarville and Michele Pino, worked with BSJ’s site selection firm, Strategic Development Group (Columbia, South Carolina) to locate suitable agricultural parcels which culminated in the purchase of the Eloy, Arizona site.
According to a BSJ representative, “In March of this year, BSJ announced the Bridgestone Group’s plans for an extensive research project in the United States dedicated to developing guayule as a commercially viable, renewable source of high-quality natural rubber and as an alternative to the currently used Hevea tree.”
The research farm will include a multi-purpose office/laboratory building, greenhouses and a farming operation that is positioned to optimize guayule as a commercial crop and complements the existing agricultural landscape. Groundbreaking is anticipated in the third quarter of 2012.
McCarville’s expertise in agricultural land has been cultivated during his 30+ years as land broker, specializing in Pinal County, Arizona. “Farm activity is notably on the rise due to higher commodity pricing,” said McCarville. “Farm investments concentrated within Pinal County have helped contribute to significant economic growth in an otherwise recessionary market. There is substantial leading-edge research and development backing this industrial crop, allowing for a wealth of interest and investment to flourish in our area.”
McCarville was recently featured on an Italian televised news program discussing the rise in land values as Arizona’s farm land has become a player in the global agricultural arena.
Michele Pino, who previously worked as Director of Business Development for the Arizona Department of Commerce and now specializes in site selection for Land Advisors Organization mentioned, “The sale of farm land for the growth of unique biorenewable crops and the affiliated research/manufacturing facility will create numerous employment opportunities within our State. With the availability of agricultural land and the viability of these types of crops, the synergy between crop growth and manufacturing is becoming more and more prevalent in Arizona.”
