A  presenta*on  of  research  done  in  collabora*on  with  

Downtown  Phoenix  Partnership        By    

New  Venture  Group  Arizona  State  University  

Who  is  downtown  now  

Why  �  What  do  they  like  �  What  would  they  like  improved  

ADrac*ng  new  residents  �  Past    �  Future  

Background  

 $1.8B    

 $794M    

 $429M    

 $728M      $611M    

 $287M    

 $-­‐    

 $200    

 $400    

 $600    

 $800    

 $1,000    

 $1,200    

 $1,400    

 $1,600    

 $1,800    

 $2,000    Annual  Economic  Impact    (in  Millions)    

SeaDle   San  Diego   Indianapolis   Denver   Portland   Phoenix  

Downtown  Phoenix:  �  Lowest  propor*on  of  workforce  in  white-­‐collar  jobs  �  Highest  propor*on  of  workers  in  basic-­‐services  and  blue-­‐collar  jobs  

Downtown  Phoenix  industries  �  Professional  /  technical  /  scien*fic  �  Hospitality  industry  �  Service  industries  (financial,  other)  

Professional,  ScienCfic,  and  Technical  Services  

29%  

AccommodaCon  and  Food  Services  

10%  

Healthcare  and  Social  Assitance  

10%  

Other  Services  

9%  Finance  and  Insurance  8%  

Wholesale  Trade  6%  

AdministraCve  and  Support  5%  

Retail  Trade  4%  

Real  Estate  4%  

InformaCon  4%   Other  

11%  

Major  Industries  in  Downtown  Phoenix  

Company  Surveys  

Interviewed  32  companies  in  various  industries  

 

0  

2  

4  

6  

8  

10  

12  

14  

Num

ber  o

f  Com

panies  

Years  in  Opera*on  

DuraCon  of  Downtown  LocaCon  

<1   2  to  8   8  to  12   12+  

In  the  last  decade,  two  largest  groups:  �  One  and  done  �  Long-­‐term  

What’s  missing?  �  A  tenancy  “ladder”  

First:    On-­‐going  development  /  investment  

Second:    Central  loca*on  

Third:    Part  of  cultural  and  spor*ng  events  

Biggest  asset:    Light  rail    

Biggest  need:    Parking  &  transporta*on  

Board  of  Director  Interviews  

2.2  

2.2  

2.3  

2.7  

2.8  

3  

3.1  

4.4  

4.4  

0   1   2   3   4   5  

Importance  of  Assets  

Cityscape/”Vision  for  Downtown”  

Perceived  Cache  of  Area/Building  

Light  Rail  

Rental  Rates  

Accessibility  of  Public  Transporta*on  

Availability  of  Employees  

Loca*on  of  Customers/Clients  

Athle*c  Stadiums  

ASU  Downtown  Campus  

They  believe  in  the  downtown  vision  

They  believe  in  an  urban  culture  

Voices  from  the  Boardroom  �  “We  believe  in  downtown.”  

�  “Our  lease  recently  came  up,  but  we  didn’t  consider  any  loca;ons  outside  of  downtown.”  

�  “Every  city  needs  a  heartbeat.”  

�  “The  downtown  core  is  important  in  a  city.”  

“Game  changers”  �  Public  transporta*on  �  Ameni*es  (residents  &  companies)  �  An  educated  workforce  �  People  

Press  release  survey  

State  and  local  incen*ves  �  Tax  incen*ves  (energy,  income,  start-­‐ups)  

Proximity  to  cri*cal  loca*ons  �  Airport,  ASU  research,  I-­‐10  

Important  local  resources  �  Workforce,  land  for  warehouses/mhrg,  solar  resources  

The  reasons  may  not  be  the  same  

What  draws  companies?  �  “Hard”  economic  aDributes:  

Tax  incen*ves,  loca*on,  local  resources  

What  keeps  companies?  � “Soh”  cultural  aDributes:  

Cultural  vibrancy,  ac*vity,  a  “heartbeat,”  ameni*es  and  people  

BeDer  metrics  �  ADrac*ng  

Rela*ve  importance  of  “hard”  aDributes  

�  Keeping  Rela*ve  importance  of  “soh”  aDributes  

Priori*zing    talking  points  �  For  aDrac*ng  new  companies  �  For  growing  resident  companies,  aDrac*ng  employees