Gov. Katie Hobbs has signed legislation that renews Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport’s status as a Military Reuse Zone.
The Arizona Legislature created the MRZ status in 1992 to mitigate the impacts of military base closures. The airport had been home to Williams Air Force Base, which closed in 1993.
The MRZ status allows for tax incentives targeting the development of aviation- and aerospace-related businesses and for the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Authority. The designation was scheduled to expire in October 2026 but is now in place until October 2031.
The Authority and businesses can apply for a sales tax exemption and property tax reclassification after development projects are complete.
Authority officials say the savings generally equal approximately $40K/$1M spent for construction costs.
The MRZ designation saved the airport approximately $1M on costs for a new terminal project that opened this year, which will now be applied to the redevelopment of one of the airport’s runways.
The program had previously been administered by the Arizona Commerce Authority but will now transfer to the Arizona Department of Revenue under another law that was signed in March. (Source)