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Economic Collaborative of Northern Arizona

Supporting Minority-Owned Businesses

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Currently in Arizona, 99.4% of all businesses are small businesses, and of those, about 21% are minority-owned businesses, she said.

Three experts from different backgrounds and organizations spoke on a panel called Supporting Minority-Owned Businesses in Your Community at the Arizona Association for Economic Development Fall Forum. Although panelists Alika Kumar, Carlos Velasco and Melody Lewis represented diverse communities, they shared a passion for empowering minority groups and minority-owned businesses. The panel discussion was part of the Arizona Association for Economic Development (AAED), a three-day conference at Little America Hotel in Flagstaff.

According to Alika Kumar of the Minority Business Development Agency, people of color, women and underserved communities have been hit disproportionately by the COVID-19 crisis and ensuing economic crisis. “Now it’s estimated that 41% of black-owned businesses, 32% of Latinos in businesses and 26% of Asian-owned businesses closed, while only 17% of white-owned businesses closed as a result of the impact of COVID,” stated Kumar, executive director of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Business Center in Phoenix. The MBDA is a branch of the U.S. Department of Commerce, which provides minority certification assistance, access to capital contracts, strategic business consulting and help with import/export.

The disproportionate impact on minority businesses is a reminder of the racial disparities, said Kumar, who focused on the benefits of robust minority-owned business sectors.

“Elimination of racial disparities with increased economic efficiency – especially as the minority populations are increasing in numbers in our population – and then removing the barriers to entry and expansion will help increase productivity rate,” she said. “More jobs to generate more revenue create economic and social stability … stimulating the economy and creating a more positive future for all Americans.”

Currently in Arizona, 99.4% of all businesses are small businesses, and of those, about 21% are minority-owned businesses, she said.

Carlos Velasco of Novle, a Valley-based agency that provides businesses with tools to develop relationships with the Latino community, said, “When it comes to economic development for us, transformative work has to start with community building and community organizing and movement building. I think once you accomplish that simple work, then you can begin the market transformative work of educating, of mobilizing and getting people to move into action to empower themselves.”

“I think the three biggest barriers that we have are: one, we need to have some form of legal reform for the documented folks – that’s something that still impacts every Latino in our community; investment in education; and then ultimately, access to capital for small businesses,” said the founder and CEO of Novle.

Melody Lewis of Cahokia is a social entrepreneur dedicated to serving indigenous communities and individuals using collaborative approaches. “Social entrepreneurship is – for those of you that don’t know – I call it ‘the non-profit heart with a for-profit model,’” she explained. Her newly launched project, Cahokia, is a SocialTech and creative empowerment Artspace in downtown Phoenix.

Lewis suggested supporting indigenous populations by investing in indigenous communities. “By not taking advantage… really hiring them, really investing in their programs and not just using,” she said. “Go to the communities and engage in the communities.”

She recommended that people go to indigenous markets or powwows. “Go to learn and immerse yourself in the culture. Learn about the community, then keep showing up and keep trying. It’s about consistency and being visible and creating programs with them, not for them,” the social entrepreneur advised.

Kumar added, “It’s not a handout. It’s not just ‘the right thing to do.’ It’s the economy – we need to drive America’s business growth, economic growth and job creation by helping these communities and businesses in these disadvantaged communities. We should reduce the barriers to access of contracting opportunities and capital.”

Finding Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE)

For a list of minority-, women- and disadvantaged-owned businesses in Arizona with Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) certifications, go to utracs.azdot.gov/Search

For information about minority-owned suppliers, go to Pacific Southwest Minority Supplier Development Council pswmsdc.org.

AAED presented 10 Golden Prospector Awards and five Awards of Merit to recognize excellence, innovation and creativity in economic development at the annual fall forum. In addition, the organization presented the small population Economic Development Deal of the Year awards to the Economic Collaborative of Northern Arizona (ECoNA) and the City of Flagstaff for recruiting Whitehall Industries, a vehicle manufacturer. It recognized the City of Prescott for recruiting headquarters and manufacturing operations for CP Technologies. QCBN

By Stacey Wittig, QCBN

Big Land Sale, Big Plans

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Large land purchase in Williams expected to bring opportunities to region.

It is being billed as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

One of the largest privately-owned parcels of land in Northern Arizona is currently in escrow and is scheduled to close this year.

The sale, and the proposed ambitious, multi-use development of the 500-acre parcel of land, is big news for the Old West town of Williams, 30 minutes west of Flagstaff.

The prime parcel is located downtown at Interstate 40 and Grand Canyon Blvd., and offers views of Bill Williams Mountain, the 35-acre Gonzales Lake and stands of pine trees.

The land is owned by Phoenix entrepreneur Max Biegert and is listed for $20 million. The sale is nearing the completion of a two-year marketing campaign, represented by principals Brent Moser and Mike Sutton of Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services.

“Max is the man who resurrected the railroad in the late 1980s,” Moser explained. “He spent around $85,000,000 of his own cash on the railroad, engines, personnel and infrastructure. He subsequently built the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel. Max had a vision to build Williams into a national tourism destination.”

Biegert is continuing his vision for Williams with this sale to developers, who envision a new mini-master-planned community of custom homes and other housing options.

Negotiations are also underway with an undisclosed theme park entertainment design company to develop 85 acres of the land into a possible Western-themed story park, as well as other hospitality uses.

Williams is already a tourism destination, as evidenced by Bearizona, the drive-thru wildlife park that enticed 500,000 visitors in 2020 alone.

“This new development will bring much-needed housing and diversity to our strong tourism offerings in Northern Arizona,” said Gail Jackson, CEO of Flagstaff-based ECoNA (Economic Collaborative of Northern Arizona).

“The property is unique because of its size and scope in a very high barrier-to-entry market,” Moser said, primarily because the federal government owns “at least 90% of the land adjacent to I-40 in Coconino County.”

In fact, beginning in the 1800s, a large amount of land in Arizona has been owned by the federal government, with statistics showing that ownership hovering around 42%, primarily held for conservation and development of natural resources, grazing and recreation.

“A project of five to 10 acres would typically be considered large in Williams, to give you an idea of how big a 500-acre project would be for the area,” Moser said. “The project will consist of entertainment, hospitality and housing options across all price ranges.”

About 90 acres of the total parcel will be designated as Low Density Residential (LDR) and used for private custom lots that will be elevated about 100 feet over the lake and available for purchase by the general public.

A project of this magnitude, with such substantial acreage, has never been master planned for mixed-use development in Williams, Moser noted.

“Excited does not do justice for our feelings on this project,” he said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be involved with a project that is not only crucial for Williams and Coconino County but the entire state of Arizona. To keep the vast amounts of tourism dollars in our state and in the area is critical, in my opinion.”

The Western-themed story park is a “game changer for Arizona,” Moser said, and will help keep more Arizona dollars in the state, instead of losing them to other states for their themed attractions.

Details about the buyers and developers of the large parcel are not available at present, Moser said, and he is their spokesman for now.

“The team consists of a consortium, including businessmen from Wichita, Kansas and an Arizona-based investor/developer who has been active in Coconino County for close to 30 years. The LLC purchasing the property is named Kansas Development.”

The long-term goal of this project would be to help solidify and grow the tourism economy of Williams and the greater Flagstaff area.

“It has the potential to be a catalyst for economic prosperity in Williams by galvanizing area hoteliers, merchants and restaurants,” Moser said. “We believe the entertainment component will help to grow the average Williams tourist stay from approximately 1.5 days to three days, which will be a boon for Coconino County.”

The need for housing is really the driving force behind the project, Moser said, and the process has begun to get all the approvals and entitlements in place, with the goal of breaking ground in early 2022.

Moser is an Arizona native who lives in Phoenix.

“As a teenager, I was actually on one of the initial voyages of the Grand Canyon Railroad,” he said. “Mike and I work all over the state of Arizona, including current activity in the Flagstaff area.”

Additional details about the project are expected to be released in the coming months. QCBN

By Betsey Bruner, QCBN