The Daily Courier
(Editor’s note: Posting opinion pieces does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Rose Law Group.)
Long-range planning is something a government has to do, even though it often turns out that, once that long-foreseen future comes to pass, the reality scarcely resembles the world planners envisioned.
That said, the current quest of the City of Prescott to annex about 500 acres of the Deep Well Ranch north of town could be an intriguing and, if all goes according to plan, beneficial addition to the area’s current mix. Retail space, medical offices, industrial capacity and, as a centerpiece, a new north campus for Yavapai Regional Medical Center are proposed for the property, with some construction, assuming the annexation goes through, beginning in 2018, just five years from now.
The medical center itself, though, won’t be breaking ground until 2022, and industrial development won’t begin until 2025, according to a cost/benefit analysis prepared for the city by Applied Economics of Phoenix. The study predicts that the annexed area will be home to more than 4,000 new jobs and the source of millions in taxable revenue when all is said and done.
