Business and Economy

Greater Flagstaff Economic Council (GFEC) has been an important economic development agency in Northern Arizona since 1992. Working hand-in-hand with Coconino County’s sustainable economic development initiative, GFEC has targeted specific industries that add to the economic base of the community, offer high paying jobs for workers, and maintain sustainability of our area. Among the companies we worked to attract to the region are those in the biosciences and medical devices, renewable and sustainable resources, and technology.

Flagstaff should be an easy sell for relocating companies because it is repeatedly recognized by national organizations as one of the best places to live in the country, and it has outstanding transportation infrastructure for a city of its size. But a lack of suitable land for development in the Flagstaff area has hampered business startup, expansion, and relocation.

Recently, however, a solution has emerged out of a collaborative effort involving GFEC, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Arizona National Guard. These organizations worked together to propose an “Eco-Industrial Park” on over 800 acres of federal land at the National Guard’s Camp Navajo training site 12 miles west of Flagstaff. This land has been made available for commercial private development under the army’s Enhanced Use Leasing program. Already, Federal Development Group has been designated the developer for the project, and plans are underway. The park is expected to become home to a variety of “green industry” companies including a small diameter wood-based products campus and a bio-mass power generating facility, and it will house low-impact warehouse and freight facilities. All of these operations are expected to pay higher than average wages for members of the local community.

With its Eco-Industrial Park in place, Northern Arizona will be well positioned as a desirable location to do sustainable business with renewable resources. This project is expected to get underway in fall of 2007 with first tenants moving in during summer of 2008.

Stephanie McKinney has served on a variety of boards including the Northern Arizona Bioscience Steering Committee. GFEC ceased operations as an economic development agency in August 2007, but remains as an all-volunteer nonprofit organization monitoring economic development in the Flagstaff area.




From the report "Sustainability For Arizona: The Issue of Our Age" by Morrison Institute for Public Policy, ASU