It’s an idea that’s been considered for at least a decade, but now it looks like it might move forward.
The Town of Marana, on the edge of Pima and Pinal Counties hopes to annex land to the north, including Pinal Airpark, as the community seeks opportunities for economic growth.
Heath Vescovi is Marana’s economic development specialist. On June 11, 2019, Vescovi presented information to the Council during their Study Session on the potential of annexation into Pinal County, including the Pinal Airpark.
Pointing out ‘Mega Projects’ taking place in Pinal County, Vescovi noted the potential jobs, development incentives, Opportunity and Foreign Trade Zone incentives.
Viscovi described the land the Town of Marana hopes to annex as a potential economic development hub and current economic activity center. The proposed annexation includes areas both on the west side and the east side of Interstate 10.
The area under consideration is approximately 3,000 acres, or 4.7 square miles.
Pinal Airpark assets include major utilities, such as water, wastewater, fiber, and electric although some of the infrastructure systems are quite aged and will require updating and investment.
Mayor Ed Honea noted, “Pinal Airpark can be a gold mine for us… Pinal County is looking seriously at trying to do some expansion and bring some more jobs to Pinal Airpark. The thing about annexing the Airpark is that it belongs to Pinal County so any infrastructure upgrades or whatever are not necessarily ours, they would be Pinal County’s upgrades. But we could have an impact on what’s built there… Most of those people are going to live in North Marana, right across the street from the gate.”
“It offers us some opportunity,” Honea continued. “This has been a dream of mine to go up there for a long time.”
“I wasn’t quite on board over the years, but I like it,” Councilwoman Roxanne Ziegler said.
Mayor Honea suggested they direct staff to move forward with due diligence to scope out what they need to do in order to accomplish this annexation. Councilwoman Ziegler made a motion to that effect, which passed unanimously.
