Ak-Chin commerce center hopes to attract variety of industries

The Santa Cruz Commerce Center hopes to provide employment opportunities for surrounding communities, including Maricopa, and offers advantages not found in the city.

The center is located between Maricopa and Casa Grande on the northeast corner of Murphy Road and the Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway. With 50 acres available for lease, the center combines heavy industrial and commercial businesses to bring a variety of industries to the area.

Robin Reynolds, the center’s public relations representative, said the land is zoned for I-1 and I-2 use, which is designed for heavy industrial companies. The front of the center, along the Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway, is designated for commercial businesses, she said. Lots start at 1.2 acres and can be combined to fit the needs of the tenant.

“The Santa Cruz Commerce Center is part of the reservation,” Reynolds said. “As part of the reservation there are certain taxes that don’t apply.”

Businesses in the center don’t have to pay property, city, county, construction or lease taxes. Depending on the business, Arizona sales tax also may be waived.

“Below-market lease rates are also an advantage to the tenants,” Reynolds said.

The Ak-Chin Community owns the utilities and offers rates lower than Electrical District No. 3, which supplies the city. For example, Ak-Chin Energy Services’ rates are about 24 percent lower than the electric utilities in surrounding cities and the water and sewer rates are about 18 percent lower than city rates.

Charles Carlyle, the Ak-Chin Industrial Park Board chairman, said the center is in a strategic location.

“It’s close to Interstate 8, Interstate 10 and is five minutes from the airport,” he said. “It’s accessible from surrounding areas like Maricopa, Casa Grande, the East Valley and it’s not too far from Phoenix.”

The center also offers a build-to-suit option for qualifying tenants.

“Sometimes the perception is that it’s very difficult to work with a Native American tribe because it takes so long, but that’s not really true, at least not with Ak-Chin,” Reynolds said.

She cited the UltraStar Multi-tainment Center as an example of a build-to-suit project that was completed quickly.

“They spent four months in design and 10 months in building for a $50 million complex,” she said. 

Carlyle said the environment is also important to the board and the community.