Rendering courtesy of American Battery Factory
By AZ Business Magazine
The Arizona Association for Economic Development (AAED) presented 11 Golden Prospector Awards and 11 Awards of Merit to recognize excellence, innovation, and creativity in economic development at its annual Fall Forum held last week in Flagstaff. The Golden Prospector Awards were established more than 20 years ago to recognize excellence in economic development. The 2023 Golden Prospector Awards were graciously sponsored by Alston Construction. Awards were presented in the following categories:
Economic Development Deal of the Year Golden Prospector Awards
The 2023 Golden Prospector for the Deal of the Year was awarded to Pima County for the “Pima County and American Battery Factory – A Generational Win for Southern AZ.” The deal resulted from a partnership between Pima County, the City of Tucson, Sun Corridor, Inc., several utility and academic partners, and American Battery Factory (ABF), resulting in a successful economic development project built around an innovative lease- purchase agreement and local financial incentives. The project will be the global headquarters for ABF’s planned nationwide network of battery manufacturing facilities, or giga-factories. It was negotiated in only 90 days, is expected to result in 1,000 new jobs, and will create an economic impact of $3.1 billion in Pima County over the next decade. Pima County recently celebrated the groundbreaking of ABF’s facility on October 26, 2023.
