The motorsports destination that’s in the works in the Casa Grande and Pinal County areas is projected to add more than 6,000 jobs to the area, according to a recent report released by the project’s developers.
Approximately 61 percent of the future Attesa employees will reside in Pinal County, according to updated projections from an Economic Impact Study prepared by Elliott D. Pollack & Company.
Casa Grande is projected to benefit the most from incremental local economic activity associated with nearly 5,000 Attesa employees. Maricopa, the county’s second largest city, is projected as the home of nearly 1,600 Attesa employees upon buildout.
Attesa, a $1.1 billion project, will initially recruit over 8,000 workers in the construction and building industry as it produces two racing circuits, a 300-room hotel and 20,000-square-foot conference center, driving club, multi-use venue, waste water treatment plant and solar canopied plaza. Post grand opening, workers will be needed for ongoing home and commercial building, new on-site high tech and motorsports/transportation design companies, retail and hospitality partners, air park businesses, maintenance, security and more.
Tim Kanavel, director of economic development for Pinal County, said, “It will start with construction and then go from there. Jobs are going to be created, ongoing, and most of those people will live in Casa Grande, Maricopa, Eloy and Coolidge. The influx of new visitors and residents will create more jobs at restaurants, retailers and other consumer companies. Attesa is going to bring a lot of jobs and new residents. We’re glad Attesa chose Pinal County as their home.”
“We’re essentially going to build a mini-city,” said Dan Erickson, member/manager of Danrick Builders, the company developing Attesa. “We’re going to welcome tech companies who need to research, develop and test, and people who have a passion for performance cars and driving them at speed, and guests who want to be entertained with uncompromised customer service. To provide the best experience possible, in all those areas, we’re going to need people. And most of them will be local, within the County.”
In addition to those jobs projected for residents of Casa Grande and Maricopa, the report indicates that Attesa will provide employment opportunities for residents of Coolidge (313 estimated jobs), San Tan Valley (over 200 jobs), Arizona City (200 jobs), Florence (160 jobs) and Apache Junction (almost 100 jobs).
Attesa anticipates over 15,000 direct and indirect jobs upon buildout. From groundbreaking, scheduled for first quarter 2018, through Attesa’s subsequent industrial, retail and tourist attraction partner growth, the world’s first motorsports, technology and entertainment community is going to need a wide variety of workers.
“Our partners who test and build and do business at Attesa are going to need workers, that’s for sure,” said Pat Johnson, president of Danrick Builders. “But so will Phoenix Mart, Lucid Motors, DreamPort Village and every other new development planned for Pinal County. And as we develop our 2,500-acre community, and as the other new companies start up and grow, Casa Grande, Maricopa and the rest of the cities in Pinal County had better be ready.”
Since Attesa was announced, the Casa Grande area has been getting a lot of calls about prospective economic development projects. Last November, Lucid Motors announced it will build a $700 million electric car manufacturing plant in the area.
Attesa is working with state universities, community colleges and vocational schools toward making sure the employees of tomorrow can receive the training and education they’re going to need today.
“We’re already collaborating with Arizona at Work and Central Arizona College,” added Kanavel. “We understand what the future holds and we’re darn well going to be prepared.”
Attesa is presently undergoing the entitlement process in Pinal County.
