DMB Associates, Inc. (DMB), an Arizona-based, diversified real estate investment and development firm, today announced that First Solar will acquire approximately 135 acres within the Mesa Proving Grounds project for the first phase of its next solar module fabrication plant and future expansion. The manufacturing facility will generate approximately 600 clean-tech jobs for the region in its first phase.
Construction is anticipated to begin in the second quarter of 2011 and be completed in early 2012. Approximately 400 to 500 jobs will be created during the construction of the project.
“DMB’s Mesa Proving Grounds is planned to serve as a major regional employment core,” said Eneas Kane, DMB’s President and CEO. “We are proud to welcome First Solar as Mesa Proving Grounds’ first employer. The site is an ideal match, offering a premier location at the center of the Southeast Valley with access to major transportation corridors and the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.”
First Solar considered a number of locations around the country before focusing on the Mesa Proving Grounds property. “Thanks to the work of Governor Jan Brewer, Arizona Commerce Authority Director Don Cardon, Maricopa County and Greater Phoenix Economic Council’s CEO Barry Broome, this deal came together for Mesa and for Arizona. This was a true team effort with Mayor Scott Smith leading the charge for Mesa and the East Valley, and ultimately for the state,” Kane said.
“DMB has been an invaluable partner in the effort to bring First Solar to Mesa Proving Grounds,” said Mesa Mayor Scott Smith. “This facility is a significant first step in the development of the Gateway area into a major center of economic growth, innovation and high-wage jobs.”
“It is exciting to see First Solar and DMB working to create hundreds of high-paying solar manufacturing jobs in Mesa,” said Vice Mayor Scott Somers. “Solar energy is one of many technology-based endeavors that are helping fuel the economic growth of the Power Knowledge Corridor.”
The 3,200-acre Mesa Proving Grounds site, located at the southeast corner of Elliot and Ellsworth Roads in Mesa, was acquired by DMB in 2006 and is the largest contiguous land holding in the Southeast Valley. Recognizing the importance of the development to the economic future of the East Valley, DMB conducted an extensive community outreach program soliciting community opinions and priorities as part of the planning and entitlement process. The result is a carefully conceived land plan that responds to the current and future employment, tourism and housing need
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