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NEWS .............. 2 Andersen to build Goodyear facility
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LETTERS ..........................9 BUSINESS..................... 12 SPORTS ..........................14 FEATURES .....................18 NEIGHBORHOOD......22 YOUTH ...........................23 OBITUARIES .................24 CLASSIFIEDS................26 NORTH
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September 19, 2018
Nikola forgoes Buckeye plans in favor of Coolidge By Connor Dziawura
Nikola Motor Co., the hydrogen-electric semi-truck manufacturer formerly based in Utah, is dropping its plans to build a manufacturing center in Buckeye. Instead, the company is moving southeast, to Coolidge. “Coolidge had a shovel-ready 430-acre piece of property with the infrastructure already in place that will shave years off our construction time,” said Nikola CEO Trevor Milton in a statement. “We have customers like Anheuser-Busch and US Express who are ready for their trucks, and with this move, we’ll be able to deliver much faster.” In May, Anheuser-Busch announced it placed an order for “up to” 800 trucks from Nikola. David Roderique, the city of Buckeye’s economic development director, told the West Valley View by email that Coolidge offered “an accelerated timeframe.” “We tried to find an alternative here that had infrastructure ready to go but unfortunately were not able to find anything else,” Roderique said. Nikola’s plans in Buckeye were announced by Gov. Doug Ducey during a Jan. 30 press conference at the Arizona Science Center.
Buckeye Mayor Jackie Meck speaks to media after a January 30 press conference in which Gov. Doug Ducey announced Nikola Motor Co. was coming to the city. The company has since redirected its plans to Coolidge. (West Valley View photo by Josh Susuras)
Buckeye would have been the site of a 1 million-square-foot facility on 500 acres of land at the Sun Valley and future Wintersburg parkways. It would have been at
one of the entrances to El Dorado Holdings’ and JDM Partners’ master-planned
Nikola...continued on page 2
Microsoft acquires 259 acres in Goodyear By Connor Dziawura
Microsoft has made a major investment in the city of Goodyear, though the company’s specific plans have yet to be announced. Microsoft recently acquired nearly 259 acres for just over $48 million, according to Rick West, managing partner for Care-
free Partners Investments, who formerly owned the land. The sale closed Aug. 28, he told the West Valley View. “Our plan was to have it ultimately be something of a corporate campus or a multi-tenant business park,” West said. “It’s heading the direction the way of which we envisioned.”
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West described the rough boundaries of the land, which is just south of Arizona State Route 85 and Phoenix Goodyear Airport, to have La Cometa to the west, Broadway Road to the south, and Litchfield Road to the east. I-10 is several
Microsoft...continued on page 4
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