SUN CORRIDOR INC. CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE As a business leader and member of the Sun Corridor Inc. Chairman’s Circle, what do you consider your role and the role of your business in the region’s economic development efforts to continue generating economic development wins for the region?
I am honored to share my time with two organizations that are contributing immensely to our region’s economic development. As chair of the Rio Nuevo Board of Directors, I have witnessed first-hand the resurgence of our downtown. Not only the growth in food and entertainment but with corporate relocations and now residential development. Rio Nuevo has launched 21 downtown projects with an equal number yet to come. UAVenture Capital launched this year as a growth capital fund dedicated to the commercialization of University of Arizona technology and science. The biggest challenge facing our faculty inventors has been attracting capital to advance a company or discovery. UAVC has invested in four such spinouts in 2018 and will launch Fund II in the fall. Cooperation between public and private organizations is obviously a key to economic development success in a region, and the general opinion is that collaboration has improved over the last several years. What do the region’s economic development leaders like yourself need to focus on to keep the collaboration working for the community?
Face-to-face time has been the primary driver of these partnerships. Our government leaders have never been more accessible and the success of these collaborations is evident. I believe we are all on the same page when it comes to our role in advancing successful partnerships and helping Tucson compete.
FLETCHER McCUSKER
I would say there are two, maybe three things that are driving our success: Our thriving downtown is a case study in turning miles of empty buildings and parking lots into a vibrant urban center. Every great city has a walkable urban environment. Two, the University of Arizona has stepped up big time in economic development, with the launching of The Bridges, a downtown incubator and the improvements at the Tech Park. Tech Launch Arizona has enabled more than 1,000 patents and these new spinout companies are staying in Tucson. Finally, success breeds success. Tucson is on the radar everywhere and now attractive to Fortune 50 companies, to foodies, to millennials, to professional sports. We used to rely on our weather for economic development. This new era is the result of hard work and focus. Great weather is nice but it won’t, alone, attract the new work force to Tucson over Portland, Austin, San Diego, Denver or Seattle.
CEO UAVenture Capital
68 BizTucson
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Fall 2018
www.BizTucson.com
PHOTO: CHRIS MOONEY
What factor that significantly impacts economic development in the region has shown the most improvement in the last five years?