Sharon Bronson
Pima County
Board of Supervisors – District 3
If you were to be asked by a site selector, what is the best part of doing business in Tucson, what are the areas you would highlight?
The best part of doing business in Pima County is the clear coordination among Pima County and our regional partners. These efforts have led to newly activated, shovel-ready sites that allow for speedy development timelines for companies looking at our region. This, in addition to expedited County permitting processes, and a host of local incentives, business support services, a highly skilled and trained workforce, as well as an overall high quality of life, has created a highly desirable and competitive business ecosystem for companies to locate and grow here.
What are some of the emerging trends in your industry that could have an impact locally on site selectors looking at the Tucson region?
Pima County has seen an emergence in certain types of industry looking at our region. Due in part to the availability of developable land, our recent announcement of attracting American Battery Factory, and multiple factors spurring development, we have seen an increase in battery and energy-related industries, including battery, energy, semiconductor and photovoltaic manufacturing. We have also seen an uptick in automotive manufacturing opportunities, as well as some health and health-innovation companies. Because of the proliferation of these types of opportunities, we have seen a steady and consistent rise in the number of site selectors looking at Pima County, not only for these industries, but upstream and downstream industries directly connected to them.
Aside from the areas you would highlight to a site selector, what are you most optimistic about for the future economic development in the region?
I am most optimistic about our potential. We collaborate and strategize with our state and regional partners to ensure we are placing Pima County at the forefront of consideration for economic development projects. These collaborations center around infrastructure development, competitiveness, land entitlements and zoning, talent attraction, workforce development, and more, all of which contribute to Pima County competing on a global scale to attract jobs and investment in our community.
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