2014 State of the City Tempe Mission Palms

November 14th at 7:30am

Thank you, David. I appreciate the kind introduction.

Good morning! Thank you all for being here. It’s

wonderful to see so many friendsnik, and dedicated

community members ready to hear about where our city is

headed. We have come a long way in the past year.

Tempe has a little thing called momentum, and we’re

making it work for us.

Tempe is a city on the verge. Thousands of new jobs are

coming to fill the new developments that are opening over

the next few months. Tempe is undergoing a

transformation, an economic uprising, an evolution. You

can see it every day along our skyline around Town Lake.

What do you see out there?

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That’s right, cranes! And who doesn’t love cranes on the

horizon? I can tell you right now, you won’t find a single

mayor in America who wouldn’t love the same sight.

Last year was all about being a “Can Do” City that

“Thinks Big!” I wanted Tempe to think big about our

economic possibilities, about the services and amenities

that we provide to residents, and about planning for the

Tempe of tomorrow. Over the last year, we have acted on

that plan and the evidence is all around us.

Everybody was hunkered down during the recession. As

Mayor, my vision was to be a catalyst for positive

momentum. Tempe doesn’t just want to be a part of

Arizona’s economic recovery, we want to lead it.

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That’s Tempe’s character and that’s exactly what we’re

doing right now -- thriving and leading the way. You’ll

hear more about the details this morning. But the bottom

line is-- it’s all about momentum. And we are a city in

motion.

In order to help keep Tempe on track, it takes strong

leaders. And one of the strongest testaments to the

progress we’ve made as a community is our dedicated

City Council. It has been the Council’s guidance and

direction that has resulted in the success we’re seeing

today. I would like to thank my colleagues, Vice Mayor

Onnie Shekerjian, and Councilmembers Shana Ellis, Joel

Navarro, Robin Arredondo-Savage and Kolby Granville.

Councilmember Woods couldn’t be here due to a death in

his family. I would also like to welcome our

Councilmembers-elect who will join the Council in

January, Lauren Kuby and David Schapira.

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And at the city, we owe our successes to an excellent

staff, and we’re lucky enough to have of hundreds great

individuals working for the city. I’m glad to welcome our

city manager, Andrew Ching, and our deputy city

managers, Steven Methvin and Ken Jones. We also have

a number of Department Directors and employees present.

Please give them all a warm welcome.

I would also like to recognize past elected officials in

today’s audience: Former Mayors Rudy Campbell, Hugh

Hallman and Harry Mitchell, and former Councilmembers

Don Cassano, Pat Hatton, Dick Neuheisel, and Joseph

Lewis,

______________________________________________

_________.

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We also have some visiting dignitaries here with us today:

Vice Mayor Jim Waring and Councilmembers Bill Gates,

Kate Gallego, and Daniel Valenzuela from the City of

Phoenix, Mayor John Lewis and Vice Mayor Eddie Cook

from the Town of Gilbert, Mayor John Giles of Mesa,

Councilmembers Craig Barnes and Dawn Oliphant from

the Town of Queen Creek, and the Vice President of the

Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Martin

Harvier,________________________________________

____________________________________________.

Each year, this event is hosted by the Tempe Chamber of

Commerce. We have a longstanding history of successful

collaboration with the chamber. We appreciate their

partnership. I also appreciate all of the hard work done in

preparation for this morning. Special thanks to Mary Ann

Miller, Sean Donovan, and Melody Elkin.

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And again, I’d like to thank all of you for being here

today and taking the time out of your busy schedules to be

involved in moving Tempe forward. I appreciate your

commitment to making Tempe a better community.

This morning I again want to focus primarily on the City

of Tempe’s economic gains over the past 12 months. In a

new Tempe tradition, last year, I started an annual speech

for residents called the State of the Neighborhoods. This

speech centers on city services and programs and is part

of the city’s Neighborhood Workshops and Awards.

We’re having it for residents again this year and I hope to

see you again in April.

When I was thinking about what I wanted to say today, I

kept coming back to something that President Theodore

Roosevelt once said -- “Far and away the best prize that

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life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth

doing.”

Any student of history knows that Teddy lived by those

words. I’ll never lead a cavalry charge, but I do my best to

take his words to heart. If there is one thing that I am

most proud of, it’s my public service. The chance to

make a difference in our community, to help my

neighbors and set a vision for Tempe with my

colleagues…

Well, it’s hard work and it’s very much worth doing. I

cannot begin to tell you how honored I am to be standing

here in front of you this morning.

I’ve grown up in Tempe. Basically, I’ve lived my entire

life within this community, and I have to say, I love it.

We are a medium-sized city, but we’re growing. We’re 7

growing economically, and with the increase in jobs,

we’re growing in population too. And luckily, the people

who work in Tempe want to stay here as they grow.

That’s one of our greatest strengths. We are a community

that has stuck together, and grown smart.

And growing smart and thinking big, well that’s led to

what I call an “economic uprising.” If you understand

momentum, you understand that all it takes is one success

to change everything. Momentum starts to grow, and

suddenly the impossible becomes attainable.

And that’s all it took for Tempe. One success—Liberty

Property Trust. They worked with the city to purchase

100 acres on the corner of Rio Salado Parkway and Priest.

This development was one of the first announcements of a

large scale employment center built since the great

recession. And it was the catalyst for the development we

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are now seeing, development that will eventually mean

border to border employment along Rio Salado Parkway.

The Liberty Center at Rio Salado, as it is now called, will

ultimately bring an estimated 6,500 jobs. The Center’s

first tenant, WageWorks, recently moved in and brought

450 employees with it. When fully occupied, its first

building will house approximately 1,000 employees.

John DiVall from Liberty Property Trust is here to tell us

more about this project and how the City of Tempe

worked with him to make it happen.

<<PLAY JOHN DIVALL VIDEO>>

Thanks, John. You have been an absolute pleasure to

work with and get to know. The City greatly appreciates

your partnership. And thank you for taking this 9

opportunity to announce your long-term lease with Drive

Time!

And on a side note, I’m glad to hear that you agree that

ASU is a world-class university! Maybe it’s time to make

good on that ASU/Wisconsin Football bet we had going a

couple of years ago. You owe me lunch!

I’d also like to thank you and Liberty Property Trust for

its commitment to building high performance, sustainable

buildings. The first building at the Liberty Center is

certified LEED-Silver, which fits our community’s

values. And we love to see that kind of environmental

growth in our city.

We are a leader in sustainability, and we always have

been. In another step forward, the City of Tempe recently

partnered with SRP and Solar City to install our largest 10

solar project to date at the South Water Treatment Plant.

It will produce more than 1.6 million kilowatt hours of

electricity-- saving natural resources, and the city $2.3

million dollars over the next 20 years.

It’s been such a success that we are currently under

construction on another solar project right next door on

top of our parking garage, and next up is the Johnny G.

Martinez Water Treatment Plant. And the best thing is

that by teaming with private industry, the city pays little

to nothing out of pocket.

These projects are all part of a larger plan to reach a goal

of using 20% renewable energy in our city buildings by

2025. This goes beyond the state’s goal of 15 percent.

And with an additional goal of reducing the city’s overall

energy use by 15% by 2025, it is clear to see that we are

serious about growing a greener Tempe. And we’re 11

excited to see real estate developers like Liberty Property

Trust working along these same lines.

You know, Mark Twain has been credited with saying,

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” Looking

at our history, and where we are today, I’d say those

words are right on.

Town Lake didn’t build itself overnight. It took over 40

years to get where it is today—A magnet of jobs and

development with an economic impact of more than $1.4

Billion dollars. That’s billion, with a B!

Momentum doesn’t just happen overnight. It can take

years to develop. It takes perseverance, dedication and a

shared vision from the Council on how best to push

forward. And now, after this Council and the ones before

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laid out a vision, we’re experiencing the fruits of our

labor.

Since I took office in 2012, the City of Tempe has added

more than $928 million dollars in capital investment.

We’ve developed or planned about 4 million square feet

of Class A office space. And best of all, since taking

office, the City of Tempe has announced the addition of

more than 14,000 jobs.

We have worked hard to attract economic development.

The more jobs-- the more we can do to improve our

community. When we gain much-needed revenue, we are

able to invest that funding back into the community--

meaning better roads, better parks, and better services.

All in all, a better quality of life, which is what our

residents expect and enjoy.

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Over the past year, it’s easy to see that Tempe is on the

right track. And with our forward momentum, you can

see why we are at the forefront of the recovery.

You can see examples surrounding this very hotel. Just

down the street, the Hanover Project is under

construction. What used to be a parking lot is now

becoming a 341 unit luxury residential development.

And Hanover chose to build here in Tempe because they

saw a vibrant downtown, and a community that invests in

itself.

When you take a look at what’s going on within our

borders, it’s pretty amazing. Yes, Tempe has a lot going

for itself. We always have. Geographically, we are the

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center of the Valley. Tempe is surrounded by 5 freeways,

and we have crucially important partners.

Our residents are forward thinking—we supported the

build out of Tempe Town Lake, the art tax, and the

Tempe Center for the Arts. Our residents also voted in

favor of a permanent transportation tax and Prop 400,

which built light rail and our robust transportation

network.

As a community, we’ve also worked to create and nurture

a vibrant downtown that is home to thousands of jobs.

We host internationally-known events—like this

weekend’s Ironman Triathlon-- and throughout the city,

we offer great fun and excellent dining options.

And, the City of Tempe is working to attract residents and

businesses by protecting our community’s diversity. In 15

February, the Council passed an ordinance to prohibit

discrimination based on characteristics such as race,

gender, sexual orientation, and veteran status.

These protections apply to areas of employment,

contracts, housing, and public places. In August,

residents overwhelmingly voted to approve adding this

anti-discrimination prohibition to our city’s Charter, and

we thank them.

Why did this Council move to prohibit all forms of

discrimination?

Because we believe diversity, equality and inclusion are

the pillars of our community, and we recognize the

opportunities that come with including these values into

all aspects of our city business. By officially

incorporating these values into our City Code and

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Charter, the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal

Equality Index just announced on Wednesday that the

City of Tempe scored a perfect 100.

This Index measures the inclusiveness of a community,

and clearly, we’re doing a great job-- and we’re one of

only 38 cities nationwide to score 100.

Fostering an inclusive and diverse community has proven

itself to be good for business. It’s attracting new

businesses to our community and helping us retain and

grow those companies already here.

But you don’t have take my word for it. I’d like you to

hear from Jyl Miller of Concentrix. Concentrix delivers

high-tech business services to some of the world’s most

prestigious brands. They partner with their clients to

transform the customer relations experience through

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technology innovation. And at the end of last month, they

launched a new flagship global services delivery center in

Tempe to keep up with their growth.

<< JYL MILLER VIDEO PLAYS>>

Jyl did such a great job of selling the city in that clip, I’m

not even sure that I need to continue! Seriously though,

I’d like to thank Jyl for sharing her company’s experience

and her commitment to Tempe. Clearly, Concentrix has

momentum. The number of employees they have is

exploding, thanks to the recovering market and a talented

labor pool.

We wish them success and continued growth and look

forward to our future partnership. Thank you again, Jyl.

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You know that saying “go big or go home?” Well, we

went big.

In fact, our biggest economic announcement over the past

year is ONLY the state’s largest office development ever

built at one time in the history of Arizona. Marina

Heights is located on the south side of Tempe Town Lake

and at 2 million square feet and a $600 million dollar

commercial investment. It’s BIG. And we’re proud that

it’s going to be home to the Regional Headquarters of

State Farm.

The future is boundless for this project. Not only will it

bring literally thousands of new employees to Tempe, it

will change the landscape of Tempe Town Lake and be a

catalyst for additional development. I’m confident that

this new momentum will spawn more Class-A Office

space and high-end condominiums. 19

Just west of the Tempe Town Lake, we’re excited to be

working with Salt River Project on the development of

their land located along the 202 and Priest Drive.

The Grand at Papago Park Center is a master planned

business park which, when built, will offer over 3 million

square feet of commercial development and accommodate

over 10,000 employees and residents.

What’s great about this site is, not only does the canal run

through it and offer an amazing water feature, but it also

has access to two light-rail stations. This will be a highly

valuable transportation option for employees, and for the

individuals staying in one of the hotels onsite or living in

one of the 850 residential units.

Construction on the site has already begun, and we should

see work on these new structures over the summer.

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In downtown Tempe, we’ve got the third tower of Hayden

Ferry currently under construction. It sits at the corner of

Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway. Hayden Ferry is

THE most sought-after office space in the Valley, with a

97% lease rate! Hayden Ferry’s occupancy rate is even

above the city’s average, which is a whopping 93% for

Class A office space.

This 3rd and final tower will likely be rented out even

before it’s built! And this building is a $70 million dollar

investment in our community.

Hayden Ferry has another development coming online.

Marriott Hotels along with Woodbine Development,

recently announced the approval of a boutique hotel, the

AC by Marriot.

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The AC is a European concept that Marriott is bringing to

the U.S.-- Tempe joins New Orleans, Kansas City and

Miami. This 6-story hotel will offer another quality place

to stay in our downtown to business and leisure travelers

alike.

These new developments will deliver an immediate and

profound economic benefit to Mill Avenue with the

increased circulation of individuals. The folks working

and staying in these new developments will help sustain

our growth and bring more of the amenities we need to

the downtown.

And, we are seeing more infill into the downtown

community. We’ve got a new AMC movie theater at

Centerpoint; an amazing bakery, Delice Bistro is across

the street; Zipp’s Sports bar is around the corner; and The

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Sweet Shoppe and Nut House offers copious amounts of

chocolate. On the other side of the downtown there is the

new Revo Pizzabar, NYPD Pizza, and Ike’s Sandwich

Shop. Having momentum on our side is making Tempe a

pretty attractive, and I might say delicious, place to do

business.

On the west side of Mill Avenue, the Farmer Arts District

is beginning to take off with the opening of the new Sam

Fox concept in just a few weeks on Farmer and 1st Street.

This is Fox Restaurant Concepts’ largest project to date at

nearly 15,000 square feet, and it opens in just a few

weeks! The original industrial warehouse was built in

1960 for Thorens Showcase and Fixtures, which is

actually where I worked in high school and in college!

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The warehouse will include Culinary Dropout, as well as

two private dining rooms called “The Showcase Room”

and “The Coop.” Several other businesses will be there

too, including The Madison at Farmer Arts District, which

I’m told is a health club concept with a nightclub feel.

Oh to be 20 years younger!

I have to commend Fox Restaurant Concepts for keeping

as much of the original warehouse as possible. Not only

is this building going to be a beautiful and innovative

space with a sense of history, but it’s also going to help

future development of the Farmer Arts District.

Over on College Avenue, ASU has been working with

Upward Projects to transform the Art Annex on College

Avenue into two great new restaurants-- Postino

Winecafe and Snooze, which will be an AM eatery. 24

This historic building was originally a 1950s-style red-

brick schoolhouse that went on to house the Sun Devil

football weight room and most recently, was the Art

Annex.

With 3,500 square feet and a big beautiful patio, the

Tempe location will also be the largest Postino in the

Valley. We are so happy that Upward Projects and Fox

Restaurant Concepts worked to save these beautiful

historic buildings and give them new life.

Both of these restaurants are examples of what is called

adaptive reuse. Basically, this is the process of

repurposing old buildings into new businesses, while

working to maintain the character of old buildings.

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Recently, Tempe passed an ordinance easing some

building codes that might make it difficult or prohibitive

to bring some of our older buildings up to our modern

standard. This ordinance doesn’t compromise safety, but

it may reduce the number of required parking spaces or

bathroom fixtures-- spaces that are not easily enlarged in

an older building. It allows our staff some flexibility, and

inspires the renovation and revitalization of buildings that

may be sitting vacant, awaiting someone to come along

and see their potential.

One of Tempe’s first examples of adaptive reuse is now

one of our nation’s most treasured establishments-- a

brewery. No truly, and I know you’ve all heard of it, and

likely visited it, maybe even closed it down on a Saturday

night… Yes, it’s our very own Four Peaks. Let’s hear a

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little about the building and the business from Jim Scussel

himself.

<<Play video of JIM SCUSSEL re: adaptive reuse>>

From an 1890s creamery, to being named as America’s

Favorite Craft Brewery by the Travel Channel, our very

own Four Peaks has had quite a transformation over time.

And as a connoisseur of your Peaks beer, I’ve known that

Four Peaks is the best craft brewery in America, but I’m

glad to see that everyone else is catching up! But, when

it’s busy, there will always be a table for me, right Jim?

Another classic building we know well-- the Twin Palms

Hotel-- has been completely refurbished and renovated

into The Graduate Tempe. The new design uses colors

and patterns to portray the distinctiveness of Tempe. I’ve

often said that Tempe is different, The Graduate helps

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prove it. And they’ve teamed up with ASU’s College of

Life Sciences for some local inspiration and installed an

ant farm behind the front desk.

Two restaurants will also be onsite, The Normal is already

open, and I have to say, it lives up to the style of the hotel.

Tapacubo, the hotel’s Mexican restaurant will be opening

in November. I know both restaurants are going to be

great successes, offering residents and travelers, a quality

dining experience.

The City of Tempe has also been teaming up with

Arizona State on numerous projects. In fact, just last

month I helped President Crow announce the master

developer of ASU’s Stadium District.

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First, let me say that this project is an example of

innovative thinking. It encompasses the equivalent of 50

city blocks! There could be up to 10 million square feet

of mixed use on the property-- from Class A office, to

research and technology space, to residential. The sky is

really the limit.

And ASU chose to go forward on this massive project

with Catellus, which has an excellent reputation for taking

urban industrial sites and transforming them into amazing

commercial, business and residential communities. They

are also known for incorporating sustainable products and

uses into their developments, which exactly fits the values

of ASU and the City of Tempe.

The development of the Stadium District is going to help

the renovation of one of my favorite places in Tempe, Sun

Devil Stadium. It has also increased the interest in the

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property around Tempe Town Lake, including a section

of land owned by the City of Tempe called Pier 202.

We’re working with an exciting new partner, TrendEx, to

develop this land into something that the city and our

residents can be proud of.

I’d also like to thank ASU for helping the city transform

College Avenue into a pedestrian friendly streetscape.

This is a great new “front door” to the stadium and the

university, and it’s going to be a amazing gathering space

for game day and other community events. The Council

and I have been working on how we can expand our

downtown beyond Mill Avenue, from Farmer all the way

to College Avenue, activating all of the side streets from

3rd to 7th Street.

With the completion of the streetscape and the College

Avenue Commons, ASU has been an excellent partner in 30

helping to see the first step of that vision realized. Of

course, it doesn’t hurt that the new College Avenue

Commons is a LEED-Gold Certified beautiful building.

And of course, a project that I am truly excited to be

working with ASU on, the Hotel Conference Center, USA

Place. It will feature a 330-room luxury hotel, the city’s

largest conference center, and a state-of-the-art basketball

facility for USA Basketball. We’re hoping to be

celebrating a groundbreaking in the new year.

These are just two of our many collaborations with ASU.

These projects will help Tempe to see its full potential.

And I’d like to thank President Crow for his partnership

and leadership.

At last year’s State of the City, I was announcing the

addition of Go Daddy’s Global Technology Center to the 31

ASU Research Park in south Tempe. Now, I’m proud to

say it’s open for business and looks like a terrific place to

work. I’m not kidding, not only does this place have the

latest in technology for its employees, but it has a

basketball court, a yoga room, a climbing wall, and a slide

from the second floor down to the cafeteria. And let me

tell you, it’s one fast slide, check it out!

<< Play video of the Mayor going down the slide>>

Here to tell us a little more about Go Daddy’s new Global

Technology Center and why they chose Tempe as their

new site is the CEO, Blake Irving.

<< Play video of Blake Irving video>>

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This building is going to provide new space for over

1,100 Go Daddy employees, and in the months ahead, Go

Daddy is looking at hiring an additional 250 employees

for this site. Thank you, Blake, for choosing Tempe!

Right down the road from Go Daddy, Amkor is building

their new US Headquarters. Amkor is one of the world’s

largest providers of semi-conductors. In looking for a

new home they found the ASU Research Park, located in

our Technology Corridor. Amkor is making an

investment and constructing over 100,000 square feet,

with room for approximately 350 employees. We’re

hoping to see this new building open by January, 2015.

These global companies all chose our community because

it’s clear, that if you’re in the technology industry, Tempe

is the place to be.

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Google sees it too! They just named Tempe Arizona’s

2014 Google eCity. This award recognizes the “digital

capitals” of all 50 states by evaluating which city has the

strongest online business connection. This makes

complete sense when you learn that Tempe has the

highest concentration of tech companies statewide.

We are a city in motion… Every day, Tempe takes a step

forward, and our momentum keeps gaining.

Which brings me to one final bit of news that we are all

extremely excited about-- I’ve been waiting to announce

this until it was finalized… I’m very happy to tell you all

that Shutterfly is coming Tempe!

This exciting high-tech online publishing company will

join our Discovery Business Campus, which is also a part

of the Technology Corridor. The project is estimated to

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create over 325 new jobs, in addition to the 250 current

employees that will be housed onsite with an annual wage

of $46 thousand dollars. These are good quality jobs.

And Shutterfly is making a $50 million dollar capital

investment in this facility! We’re happy to welcome

Shutterfly and its employees to our Tempe community.

And what’s coming next? At last year’s speech, I was

announcing the formation of our Character Areas, and

now I am pleased to announce that the first two areas are

completed. On December 2nd, the City will be releasing

the finalized plans for Character Areas 7 and 8-- Kiwanis

/The Lakes and Corona/South Tempe, respectively.

With the input of hundreds of residents, the city put

together some guiding principles for these areas—what

kind of housing they would like to see, types of

businesses to look at attracting, whether or not mixed

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used and adaptive reuse can be incorporated and

encouraged, developing sidewalks and pathways that are

walkable, and much more.

All of the work that Council and our city staff put into the

Character Areas reflects the feedback that we heard from

our residents. This is about improving your quality of life

and your neighborhoods. And I’m happy that so many

residents got involved in the process. We know that they

will appreciate the outcome of all of the work put in.

And as your City Council, we’re going to keep working

on the big ideas and the initiatives that maintain our

momentum and keep our citizens happy. Everything we

have talked about today will help to improve the quality

of life we offer to residents. It’s so important to foster a

vibrant economic atmosphere to help us pay for the types

of programs and services that our residents deserve and 36

that make Tempe great. We’ve worked hard for all of the

successes you’ve heard about today. They are going to

help Tempe realize its best future.

Thank you so much. So many people in this room are

responsible for Tempe’s economic recovery and

momentum. Let’s commit to keep it going! Please give

yourselves a hand. Let’s have another terrific year!

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