By Rofida Khairalla
COOLIDGE — While areas throughout Pinal County continue to see expansion in the housing and industrial markets, smaller municipalities like Coolidge simply aren’t seeing the same economic boom.
It’s a question that presents itself time and time again, as locals walk down the downtown streets only to be confronted the vacant windows of abandoned shops. Where are all the businesses?
The root of the problem stems back decades ago, said City Manager Rick Miller, when areas like Coolidge and Florence — which were thriving off the cotton industry — chose to be the home to prisons over Arizona State University.
