4
NEWS
GILBERT SUN NEWS AN EDITION OF THE SUNDAY EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE | MAY 12, 2019
Gilbert cemetery likely to open this summer BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
T
he town s first cemetery is e pected to open for business this summer near the corner of ueen Cree oad and th treet When Gilbert Memorial Park broke ground last July, a spring debut was announced. Construction is well underway, said ryce un er, president of un er amily unerals and Cremation e are e cited about the progress.” un er attributed the delayed opening to the normal construction process such as getting approvals that took longer than anticipated. The Mesa-based business has a 99-year lease agreement to build and own the 22acre cemetery on town land. un er amily unerals will pay Gilbert rent on the land and share revenue from the operation of the cemetery. Gilbert anticipated it will receive between , and , annually in rent and revenue sharing over the course of the lease, according to town documents. According to town estimates, the proj-
ect is e pected to generate over million in revenue for Gilbert over the course of the lease, well above the million the town paid for the land in 1999. The cemetery is being built in multiple phases. he first and largest phase calls for a 10,000-square-foot funeral home with a chapel, a banquet facility and kitchen, private family estates for both burial and cremations, a cremation garden, a pond and an indoor glass-front cremation niche on acres, according to un er he cemetery will reflect the growing trend in people choosing cremation over burial, according to un er “We got several different memorialization options for cremation options to meet any budget, he said ut certainly lot of our emphasis will be to make sure people who opt for cremation have several options.” n , cremation for the first time overtoo traditional burial in the nited tates, AA reported n , the cremation rate was 51.6 percent and by 2030, it’s projected to reach percent, according to Cremation Association of North America. un er said he has a list of about
Construction of Gilbert's first cemetery, which will includes a funeral home and memorial chapel, is underway and advancing toward a summer opening date. (Pablo Robles/Staff Photographer)
people so far who’ve inquired about reserving a spot at the cemetery or about the progress of the construction. When the cemetery is completed, residents no longer will have to travel to other areas such as esa, Chandler and ueen Cree for their final resting place un er said the capacity of the Gilbert cemetery is about 75-plus years.
“We look forward to serving the community with something that is unique and different that the residents of Gilbert can be proud of, un er said To be on the list for updates on Gilbert emorial ar , ueen Cree oad, go to gilbertmemorialpar com
secondary and tertiary jobs that come with it.” Among the industries with the biggest job gains were manufacturing, technology and financial services, arney added In Mesa, AQST Space Systems relocated its headquarters to alcon ield Airport from uerto ico, while clipse Automation Inc. — a supplier of custom automated manufacturing equipment for the life sciences, energy, transportation, mining, industrial and telecommunications industries invested million in its third manufacturDennyBarney, president/CEO of the East Valley Partnership, says ing facility. job growth in the region will yield even more jobs in the future. The supplier plans on hiring (GSN file photo) more than 50 automation engineers and technicians over the then everyone else is saying, ‘hey, why next year. aren’t we there?’” he said. “As we get addieanwhile, Chandler saw a new tional pressure into the market place, that in ech startup rightside enefit nc , drives overall values in real estate and office, which hired new employees retail demand. It’s one of those ‘all ships and is looking to hire another dozen, and rise with the tide’ things. All jobs bring a Liberty Mutual Insurance location, with
expectations of 750 immediate jobs openings and 1,000 additional ones in the future. n inancial set up shop in empe, with a , s uare foot office for the online provider of mortgage tools for home loans, mortgages, electronic lending and loans. “The momentum is there. It’s not just about new jobs, but it’s about the right ind of obs, said arney e re finally getting the respect we thought we deserved.” he C attributed the region s attractiveness to a myriad of factors, including Arizona’s economic advantages as a whole — such as weather and proximity to California but also reasons specific to the East Valley. “We [the East Valley] sit in the shadows of Phoenix — it’s a great city. The whole purpose of the partnership is to make sure our message isn’t lost in that broader narrative,” he said. “We think we have a different value proposition than Phoenix, or the West Side," he added.
EV responsible for half of all new jobs in 2018 BY JORDAN HOUSTON GSN Staff Writer
T
he East Valley generated nearly half the total job growth in Maricopa County in , according to data from the C esearch, Ari ona Commerce Authority and Greater Phoenix Economic Council The PHX East Valley Partnership, which represents a coalition of business, education and municipal leaders, said 13,500 of the new , obs were born in Chandler, Gilbert, esa, empe ueen Cree and Apache Junction. Six of the top 10 major job creation announcements were also concentrated in the area, including 5,000 jobs each for Allstate in Chandler and Deloitte in Gilbert, as well as 1,200 new positions for the ells argo in empe and , from Voya in Chandler artnership resident C Denny arney said the recent job success will only bring more success. t s ind of a self fulfilling prophecy We get one or two companies here and