Goodyear is living up to its name - 2008 has been a very good year for the city in terms of economic development. And the year is only a little more than half over.
The latest cause for celebration was the announcement last month that Amazon.com was going to open a fulfillment center in Goodyear, bringing 600 full-time jobs to the city as well as an addition 700 part-time jobs during the holiday season. That announcement came on the heels of the May opening of the Macy's Fulfillment Center at 16575 W. Commerce Drive, where 500 new jobs were created. Amazon.com will be next door to Macy's, at 16920 W. Commerce Drive. (Fulfillment centers are huge warehouses where orders placed by phone, catalog or the Internet are "fulfilled.")
But wait, there's more.
The area also is home to Cancer Treatment Centers of America, which will bring an estimated 500 jobs when it opens later this year. Those three businesses alone will bring some 1,100 full-time jobs to the city.
But wait, there's more.
The city also landed two big-league baseball teams, which will do their spring training in Goodyear's sports complex currently under construction. The city's Economic Development Department estimates that one team alone could generate $526 million during its 20-year contract with Goodyear.
Furthermore, the sports complex will bring an estimated 30,000-40,000 baseball fans to Goodyear each spring training season. Those people will eat in local restaurants, sleep in local hotels and generate a fortune in tax revenue.
But wait, there's more.
Goodyear and Franklin Pierce University entered into a partnership last month that will last almost a century. Franklin Pierce will build on 30 acres of city land near Estrella Parkway and Yuma Road. But Franklin Pierce is only the second university to agree to open a campus in Goodyear. In March, the city entered into a 99-year lease with the University of Incarnate Word, which will build in the same area as Franklin Pierce.
Goodyear has even more accomplishments that can't be listed in this short column, but those are some of the highlights.
Is it any wonder that in June, Goodyear was named an All-America City and one of the 15 Most Livable Cities in America by the U.S. Conference of Mayors?
Yes, indeed, it's been a very good year for Goodyear. And this is only July.
