Consideration of a request to support an application for inclusion of an approximate 113-acre business park generally located at the northwest corner of North Cotton Lane and West Minnezona Avenue known as Prologis 303 Business Park as a magnet site within the FTZ No. 277 Western Maricopa (commonly known as the Greater Maricopa Foreign Trade Zone or GMFTZ).

ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2022-2249 CONDITIONALLY SUPPORTING THE APPLICATION FOR INCLUSION OF PROLOGIS 303 BUSINESS PARK AS A MAGNET SITE WITHIN FTZ NO. 277 WESTERN MARICOPA; PROVIDING CONDITIONS FOR THE CITY’S SUPPORT OF THE PROLOGIS 303 BUSINESS PARK FOREIGN TRADE ZONE APPLICATION AND AN EXPIRATION DATE FOR THE CITY’S SUPPORT; AUTHORIZING CITY STAFF TO TAKE ACTIONS AND EXECUTE DOCUMENTS; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (Lori Gary, Economic Development Director)

An activated Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) site provides a property tax benefit to qualified companies reducing the real and personal property tax assessment ratio from 18% to 5%. Property tax savings to companies are only realized after they are activated FTZ sites. This almost exclusively occurs only after the company has made significant investments increasing the property tax base on the property.
 

The record owner of Prologis 303 Business Park is Liberty Property L.P., which was acquired by Prologis, L.P. “Prologis”), which controls other industrial properties within the city, including Prologis Commerce Park. Prologis has agreed to certain concessions sought by city staff in connection with the development of Prologis Commerce Park.  The concessions have been included in a development agreement for Prologis Commerce Park.  Resolution 2022-2247 seeking the Mayor and Council’s approval of the Development Agreement for Prologis Commerce Park is being presented to Council for approval by separate action.  Prologis required the city’s support for the inclusion of Prologis 303 Business Park as a magnet site within the GMFTZ as a condition for entering into a development agreement that included the concessions sought by staff. 
 

One of the city’s economic development goals is to expand the city’s employment base.  The selective support of applications seeking support for foreign trade zone status for properties within the city is a development tool used to support the attraction of new industrial operations that might not otherwise locate within the city.  Supporting the inclusion of the Prologis 303 Business Park as a magnet site within the GMFTZ, will benefit the community by making it more competitive with other sites in other Valley cities and in other states thereby increasing the possibility of job creation within the city. 
 
The City’s commitment to support an application to include Prologis 303 Business Park as a magnet site within the GMFTZ is conditioned upon the adoption of Resolution 2022-2247 approving the Development Agreement for Prologis Commerce Park, Resolution 2022-2247 becoming effective, and the Development Agreement for Prologis Commerce Park becoming effective.  The City’s commitment to support an application to include Prologis 303 Business Park as a magnet site within the GMFTZ will expire two years from the effective date of this Resolution unless an application to include Prologis 303 Business Park as a magnet site within the GMFTZ is filed with the Foreign Trade Zone Board of the United States Department of Commerce and/or other applicable federal agencies within two years of the effective date of Resolution 2022-2247.
 
The inclusion of the Prologis 303 Business Park as a magnet site would result in 770 acres of property within the city of Goodyear being included as foreign trade zone sites in the GMFTZ, representing approximately 11.7% of the approximate 6,599 acres within the city planned for industrial use. Assuming the application to include the Prologis 303 Business Park as a magnet site within GMFTZ is approved by the appropriate federal authorities, the city would have three magnet sites that would be evenly distributed north of the Gila River along key transportation corridors.