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NewsBriefs 2010
Quick Links to Articles Below:
- ASU Payson Campus (pdf only)
- Mayo Campus Hopes to Grow
- W. Valley has made big strides since 2000
Mayo campus hopes to grow
Mayo campus hopes to grow
by Connie Cone Sexton - Jan. 9, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
Tom Bour stood on the roof of the Mayo Clinic Hospital in northeast Phoenix and pointed to the land below.
The hospital's top administrator looked past the dozens of parking spaces and out to the east, to undeveloped acres of brush and dirt. Bour smiled and spoke of the hope for the medical buildings that may come as the hospital begins its 12th year.
Of the 200 acres Mayo owns along 56th Street just south of Loop 101, only about 20 percent has been developed. Along with the seven-story hospital, there is a hospice, hotel and child-care facility. As for the remaining undeveloped land, it will be designated for medical care. The potential is exciting, Bour said.
More than 14 years ago, Bour was part of the hospital's development.
"I was the hospital's first employee," he said. "I was hired specifically to get this up and running."
At the time, the Mayo site was not much more than grazing land.
"But just over the course of a decade, this whole thing has come together. The hospital just finished its 11th year."
Bour knows that some people, believing that Mayo is only for the rich, may never turn to the hospital.
It's a misunderstanding, Bour said.
"A major myth," he said. "Except for a few insurers, we're accessible to 3.4 million people in the Valley."
"We focus on team medicine which is best for acutely ill patients," he said. "If you find yourself needing cancer care or major cardiovascular care or organ transplantation or have a serious neurosciences problem, we'd like to think of ourselves as a place for people to go."
As the economy improves, Bour expects Mayo to expand.
"We can (build) to up two more stories on this (the main hospital) building," he said. "We started with a dusty pasture and with a little work, a little water, we're going to keep going."
W. Valley has made big strides since 2000
Last decade, the West Valley emerged from the shadows of Phoenix and stole some thunder from the East Valley in growth and development. It came into its own.
Here are key developments of the past 10 years that shaped the West Valley we know today.
• Growth
The West Valley's population has increased about 60 percent since 2000, to about 740,000 people. The population in Surprise and Goodyear roughly tripled last decade. Buckeye's population is five times what it was in 2000, and in 2006, the town completed one of the largest municipal annexations in state history: 108 square miles.
In 2000, the Dysart Unified School District had nearly 5,500 students; today it has about 24,000 students.
• Housing/foreclosure
Early in the decade, the West Valley began to outpace the East Valley in new-home construction and housing sales. In the first three months of 2003, one of four new homes sold in the Phoenix area was in the southwest Valley.
But late in the decade, few areas in the country felt the housing bubble burst like the West Valley, Arizona's ground zero for foreclosures. Late in the decade, eight of the Valley's top-10 areas for foreclosure rates were in the West Valley.
• Transportation
Completion of a 22-mile portion of Loop 101 in October 2000 created a spine for commerce in the West Valley. The Agua Fria Freeway significantly improved the movement of people and goods through the region. It connected Interstates 10 and 17, linking west to east, connecting north with south. Long forgotten are the days when surface streets and Grand Avenue were the only ways to get to and around the West Valley.
• Business and commerce
With improved transportation corridors, vacant land and diverse housing, the West Valley emerged as a "hot spot" for business. New commercial developments sprang up along and near the Agua Fria Freeway. The area near 75th Avenue and Bell Road became a major retail hub. The Westgate City Center area began to fulfill its promise as a pivotal West Valley sports and entertainment district as hotel space, restaurants and office space huddled near Jobing.com Arena and University of Phoenix Stadium.
• Glendale's sports/entertainment district
The "buzz" began with the emergence of Glendale's sports and entertainment district. It became a Valley destination.
Glendale became the new home of the Phoenix Coyotes and the Arizona Cardinals. The city earned bona-fide kudos as a go-to place for huge events such as the Super Bowl, the college BCS championship football game and major concerts.
• Professional sports
Baseball and tennis joined hockey, football and NASCAR to make the West Valley Arizona's professional-sports capital.
Surprise, Goodyear and Glendale built spring-training facilities last decade, joining Peoria and Maryvale as hosts of Major League Baseball. The Cincinnati Reds will become the ninth team to train in the West Valley when it moves to Goodyear this spring.
The Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex, which opened in 2007, staked a claim to be the premier location for pro tennis in the Valley. It has hosted senior-tour and Federation Cup events.
• Higher education
ASU West began this decade with plans for major growth. It admitted its first freshmen in 2001 and opened a dorm in 2003. It ended the decade with controversy over moving programs to other ASU campuses and threats of closing the campus entirely because of state-budget issues.
West Valley cities forged partnerships with public and private institutions to create more college-level learning opportunities. Rio Salado College and Surprise opened Communiversity, which offers programs from three community colleges and three universities. Goodyear signed a long-term lease with Franklin Pierce University to build a campus on city land, and ASU has approached the city about building a Goodyear campus.
Meanwhile, Midwestern University's Glendale campus started an expansion program that includes dental and optometry clinics and an auditorium.
• Transit
In 2001, Glendale voters approved a half-cent sales-tax increase dedicated to transit and transportation improvements. When the city joined
Tempe and Phoenix in establishing such a tax, it helped take regional-transportation planning to another level. Peoria voters approved a one-third-cent sales tax for transportation in 2005.
• Political maturity
West Valley communities learned what a force they could be when they work together on regional and state issues such as transportation and the protection of Luke Air Force Base.
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