By AZBEX Staff for Arizona Builder’s Exchange
In a major win for the Tucson area, Sun Corridor, Inc. issued a press release this week that Bourn Companies will develop and build a new 200KSF regional office for GEICO at The Bridges master-planned site in Tucson.
The new building is planned on 20 acres near 36th Street and MLK way. Bourn Companies’ will purchase, rezone and develop 115 acres in The Bridges’ 350 total acre space. GEICO’s facility will be the Bourn’s first under the plan which will ultimately consist of, “a new corporate employment center, a variety of multifamily residential units and a new community park,” according to the announcement.
Construction for the GEICO office is planned to start in mid-2018 with move-in targeted for mid-2019.
Project partners include Arizona Commerce Authority, Pima County, City of Tucson, Bourn Companies and Sun Corridor Inc.
“GEICO’s decision to expand its presence in Tucson is excellent news for our state, and the latest evidence that Arizona is the best place for business,” said Governor Doug Ducey. “This state-of-the-art facility will create hundreds of new Southern Arizona jobs and positively impact our economy.”
According to a report in the Arizona Daily Star, GEICO is eligible for the Tucson’s Primary Jobs Incentive Program, which qualifying businesses receive for building-fee exemptions.
Over the next few years, GEICO plans to consolidate its operations into the new location and add 700 jobs.
The Daily Star quoted Sun Corridor CEO Joe Snell as saying Bourn Companies’ commitment to build spec office space at The Bridges could help the project become a magnet for other companies. “Currently, 50 percent of our pipeline is build-to-suit because we don’t have the existing space out there,” he said. “This is dangerous because a lot of these companies want to move within 14 months.”
The article said Bourn Companies’ CEO and Founder Don Bourn learned two years ago GEICO wanted to expand its operations but was unable to locate acceptable space. Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild was quoted as praising Bourn’s efforts to work with city and regional leaders to keep the company in Tucson.
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