By Phil Riske
Managing Editor, Rose Law Group Reporter
When we moved to Chandler in 1983, it was a sleepy agricultural town of fewer than 60,000 people.
Since the early ‘90s, Chandler has experienced exponential growth and has been among the fastest growing municipalities in the country. In 1997, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Chandler as the 2nd fastest growing city in the U.S. and today has just more than 240,000 population.
The Arizona Republic today http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2012/11/10/20121110chandler-silicon-desert.html compared Chandler to California’s Silicon Valley because of the explosion of high-tech centers, microchip manufacturing and data center development.
I remember when the Ocotillo development and golf course were about to go bankrupt in the ‘80s, but were saved by Intel’s entrance into the area, providing residents for Ocotillo.
Intel Corp.’s ongoing construction of a $5billion, next-generation manufacturing facility known as Fab 42, which is scheduled to open in Chandler in 2013.
In September, Arizona State University President Michael Crow said the city is on track to become “the world’s most sophisticated high-tech factory town. Chandler is an emerging global technology center. It has unbelievable potential.”
The Republic says representatives of large, small and midsize technology companies operating within the city said Chandler’s rapid transformation can be attributed to relatively inexpensive commercial real estate, the presence of microprocessor giant Intel Corp. and city officials who have made it a priority to attract high-tech companies of all sizes.
Voters tell Rose Law Group Reporter city council incumbents Rick Heumann and Jack Sellers were reelected Tuesday because resident believe Chandler’s government leaders did a good job managing the city during the recession and are forward-looking.
“They have their heads screwed on straight,” said Microchip Technology Inc. Chairman and CEO Steve Sangh.
Chandler remains far behind Silicon Valley in terms of the number and variety of technology firms, but city economic-development officials say their goal is to create a world-class technology hub by luring bigger high-tech firms to Chandler while helping new startups locate and grow within the city.
