By Audrey Jensen | Phoenix Business Journal
Driving near the Phoenix Goodyear Airport it’s hard to miss the array of commercial planes fronting a backdrop of the Sierra Estrella mountains.
The West Valley airport once sat as an island amid masses of vacant and agricultural land, but the surrounding area has become a fortress of industrial buildings now home to such giants as UPS, FedEx, Chewy Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.
Industrial development has boomed around the airport in recent years because of competitive incentive programs and the advent of so-called Opportunity Zones. Limited available land near Phoenix also pushed developers and companies to look toward West Valley cities like Goodyear as demand for industrial space increased.