(Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Atlas Global Development Group and Global Logistics Development Partners.)
By Shawn White | Painted Desert Tribune
Last week, Winslow City Council and staff outlined how two large-scale development projects differ in structure, location and oversight, while clarifying how potential uses such as data centers fit within the city’s land use framework.
Economic Development Director Jack Fitchett outlined a development effort involving Global Logistics Development Partners, or GLD. The GLD project centers on approximately 311 acres the company plans to lease from the city north of Interstate 40 near the Second Mesa exit, with a focus on logistics, distribution and commercial support services rather than heavy industrial use. Fitchett said Winslow is one of three locations being developed as part of a broader I-40 trade corridor, alongside sites in Kingman and near Albuquerque, intended to support the movement of goods from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles inland. “Their main focus is not so much industrial as it is our logistics partner,” he said, explaining that the project is designed to capture existing freight traffic along Interstate 40 and create local economic activity tied to that flow.
Unlike the Atlas Global development, which is centered south of town and involves a large-scale industrial park, the GLD project is expected to include distribution centers, truck mobility services and smaller-scale manufacturing operations, along with supporting commercial uses such as hotels, restaurants and related amenities.
Fitchett said the city’s agreement with Atlas Global Development, which includes roughly 1,170 acres currently being financed by the developer, already contains restrictions addressing one of the central concerns raised by residents.
