Office of the Mayor - Archived Speeches

2002 Chamber of Commerce Speech

Mayor Elaine Scruggs

February 5, 2002

Good afternoon.

I want to thank the Glendale Chamber of Commerce—Chairman Steve Hopkins—Chairman-Elect Bill Nelson—the Board of Directors, and Chamber President, Don Rinehart, for inviting me to once again share with you the progress Glendale is making toward our goal of achieving the best economic future for our citizens, our businesses, and the entire west valley.

When I spoke at the 2000 and 2001 Annual Chamber meetings, I expressed our belief that Glendale’s economic future is indeed vibrant because we have all of the attributes sought by companies looking to relocate. I asked you – the men and women of our valley’s business community – to step forward and partner with us in making our economic vision a reality.

Last year I presented our own critical report card on how we had done in the preceding year. My answer to whether we had achieved our goals was a resounding "no". I recognized the successes we had achieved, but admitted that overall we had not reached the level we were striving for.

So the obvious is to ask the same question this year – have we achieved all of our goals? Well, I guess the truthful answer to that question is – and always should be – NO. To say anything else would be to say that we are complacent – that we have no aspirations for development and redevelopment to meets the ever-changing trends and demands of the marketplace. To say anything else would be to say that we have enough employers and employment within our city to offer our residents freedom from miserable commutes on overcrowded freeways and city streets to jobs in other cities. To say anything else would be to say that we have no vision for our future.

Anyone who knows the city of Glendale—and anyone who knows me—knows that a lack of vision is definitely not representative of the leadership that exists in Glendale today. Glendale is a city that aims high and scores big.

So, what has happened in Glendale since one year ago when I said we were looking for—and waiting for—those who would build quality projects that will contribute to Glendale’s best possible future?

Well part of the answer to that question will be given by our co-keynote speaker, Mr. Steven Ellman. Steve and his project—and a group of men who wear sweaters, skates and helmets to work—have certainly attracted a tremendous amount of headlines—as they deserve. And as they will continue to do.

But I am very proud to tell you that there have been many other highlights in the last year also. Since the last Chamber Annual Meeting, our Economic Development Department assisted 18 companies who subsequently either located or expanded in Glendale. These companies are projected to bring approximately 1300 new jobs to Glendale.

Just four days after the announcement of the Ellman-Coyote project coming to Glendale, we made another major announcement—one we had been working very hard to make happen. Bechtel Corporation announced that they had selected Glendale as the home for their largest administrative support office in North America.

This global engineering and construction firm will employ as many as 500 accounting, human resources and computer system personnel in their new offices in The Technology Center at Talavi Business Park in north Glendale.

Bechtel will lease a minimum of 100,000 square feet of a new 150,000 square foot Class A office facility now being constructed by Ryan Companies. The project will generate an estimated $15 million in capital investment.

Recently, we were also extremely proud and pleased to announce that Federated Insurance is bringing its local support and sales office to Talavi Business Park as well. This business insurance company will initially bring 180 jobs to Glendale and is projected to grow. The company will occupy 40,000 square feet of a 75,000 square foot Class A office building being constructed by Opus West.

Bechtel will begin operations in Glendale in April. Their next-door neighbor, Federated Insurance, will open in August. Combined with Comdisco and Honeywell we now have the nucleus of a major employment center in Talavi Business Park.

Also during the past year, several other growing companies have chosen to locate new facilities here. Included among these are:

• American Ad Bag, a company that prints advertising on bags for numerous stores and other businesses
• European Fine Foods, a company that specializes in food preparation and distribution, and
• Precision Research, a corporate headquarters and advanced technology call center project

Additionally, Poly-One, a Boston-based manufacturer and distributor of color concentrates for polymers—chose to consolidate multiple offices in Glendale after a very competitive, national site search.

Each of these companies told us they chose Glendale because they recognize our city offers an opportunity to grow in an environment that provides excellent labor, an outstanding transportation network, reasonable operating costs and a very supportive political and business climate.

It is important to recognize that this growth occurred in a year that was seriously impacted by a downturn in the nation’s economy, followed by the devastating events of September 11. The effect of these two situations has slowed the site selection process for other key company relocations that we have been working hard to finalize. Hopefully those projects will be successfully completed and announced soon.

I am confident that I speak for the entire Council and staff when I say that we are very excited about the tremendous amount of economic development success we have experienced during the past year. We have been very bold about asking our economic development team to go out and make things happen. At the same time we have been very supportive by providing them the tools and leadership necessary to meet our objective of creating a well-balanced economic base for the city of Glendale.

We believe we are making great progress—and that progress manifests itself in various ways. One of those ways is evident in the willingness of our residents to establish a half-cent retail sales tax dedicated to building one of the best multi-modal transportation systems in the entire western region. Only the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Glendale have accomplished this, and we are the leaders in creating a regional transportation system, city by city.

We will soon be finalizing our Western Area General Plan, which is critical to Glendale’s future and our ability to create quality jobs. This blueprint for success calls for much more area devoted to business zoning than is found in any other part of our city. And I assure you that we are still willing to have the patience to wait for the right developments to make Western Glendale the regional employment center for the entire West Valley.

We are also focusing on redeveloping under-performing properties in older areas of our city through our Visual Improvement Program. And in a continued commitment to maintaining a strong city core and downtown, work is being concluded on a two-year effort by our citizens and our Economic Development Department on the development of a City Center Master Plan.

Despite our concentration of effort along the stretch of 101 Freeway between Northern Avenue and Camelback Road, we remain vigilant about preserving and growing the economic vitality of all areas of our city. We are utilizing long-term planning, strategic investments, aggressive economic development, and the formation of enduring partnerships to improve the quality of life for all of Glendale.

Last year, at this very place, I made the following statements. I said, "We have one opportunity and one opportunity only in the near term to achieve our city’s unmet needs and our vision for our future. That opportunity is in our western area. We are not being unreasonable when we commit to making the most of that one last opportunity."

I went on to say, "We believe in ourselves. We believe in the value of our western area—both as a dynamic, vital part of Glendale—and as a connection to other parts of the west valley also on the brink of new development."

On March 12, 2001 we met Steve Ellman. He listened to the Glendale story of opportunity and he became a convert. Well, not exactly immediately, of course. Steve Ellman did his due diligence as only Steve Ellman can. And, of course, the city of Glendale did likewise. In a short time, we knew that we could and should be partners.

The impact of the projects Steve has agreed up to accomplish as our partner have already had—and will continue to have—a profound and lasting positive impact on the city of Glendale.

He is working in partnership with us to develop Northern Crossing, a new retail center to be located on the southeast corner of 59th and Glendale Avenues.

Now you might have expected me to say that he is going to redevelop the old Manistee Town Center, but that would not be exactly accurate. If you have passed by 59th and Northern Avenues lately you know there is no Manistee Town Center there. It has been demolished and the site is waiting for its new life as a productive community asset.

Nothing about Northern Crossing will resemble the blighted former Manistee Town Center. Rather, Northern Crossing will offer the variety of shopping and dining opportunities that our residents have been telling us they need and want. Countless meetings have been held to learn what the majority of our residents want to see happen at this site. Recognizing there is never 100% agreement on anything, The Ellman Companies will develop a new, dynamic center that will offer what the majority have said they must have in order to make Northern Crossing their place to shop and dine. Only by matching the tenant mix to those who are most likely to use the center will Northern Crossing survive and prosper.

Think about it. Ten and a half months have passed since a meeting at The Ellman Company offices on March 12, 2001 and results from our agreements are already visible. It is so easy to sit on the sidelines and criticize, to dispute, to reject. The city of Glendale and The Ellman Companies are not on the sidelines, however. We have the responsibility to create success and we have accepted our responsibility with enthusiasm. We are working hard and the results of our efforts in partnership are showing.

Then there is "that other project" that Steve is working on. The one between 91st Avenue and the 101 Freeway from Glendale Avenue south to the Bethany Home road alignment. This is the unique mixed-use project that will provide Glendale and the west valley with one of the most outstanding developments in the western United States, and possibly the entire country.

But I don’t want to say anything further about that development because it is much more exciting when Steve tells about it himself.

Before I turn the program over to Steve, I do want to leave you with one very important message. We are not done yet. We believe that we still have a long way to go. We are still aggressive and are committed to competing for every project that will help us reach our goal of "achieving our best possible future.”

We know—even more than before—that we need to work in partnership to accomplish this. We are appreciative of the partners we have—and we are committed to finding more.

I am confident that those who have teamed up with us will tell you that it is well worth the effort. We are a community that has much to offer. We still have available quality labor, large parcels of developable land, lower operating costs, and very importantly a Mayor, Council and City leadership and staff willing to do everything possible to assist you in your efforts.

We are only at the starting point of turning our vision into reality. As the Valley grows, Glendale is becoming more and more centrally located. When the Valley is built out, the intersection of the 101 Freeway and Glendale Avenue will be the center of the Valley. Those who recognize that fact now will benefit and prosper from it in the future. I hope you will be among those who will succeed along with the city of Glendale.

Thank you very much.