The Arizona Technical Assistance Program (AzTAP) was instituted to afford high-level land use and real estate executives an opportunity to help communities in Arizona with difficult development and planning issues. The AzTAP team is a service offered by the Arizona District Council of the Urban Land Institute to assist Arizona municipalities, counties, regions, and non-profits in the preliminary study of unique land use planning, development, and re-development issues. The District Council’s goal is to make some of the best and brightest talent in the industry available to local government.
The City of Eloy used the results of ULI Arizona’s original AzTAP report completed in 2015 as a guideline for a five-year Economic Development Strategic Plan. In 2023, ULI Arizona engaged with the City to update the report, discussing ways for the City to continue the transition and develop a gateway to downtown, encourage and implement meaningful utilization of vacant and privately owned buildings on Main Street and create buy-in from surrounding residents and absentee property owners.
The goal of the Camelback ULI AzTAP was to advise development opportunities along the Camelback area of the light rail corridor. The corridor has a mix of international cultures as a refugee resettlement area and boasts a variety of unique micro businesses. The panel identified strategies to strengthen cultural identity around equitable economic development and community place-keeping opportunities.
The City engaged a ULI Arizona technical assistance panel to analyze development opportunities in their downtown south planning area in relation to evolving growth paradigms for historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and mixed-income housing. The panel looked at how the city’s codes could be enhanced to curate an authentic, creative place for the important legacy neighborhoods living there.
The Town of Gilbert partnered with ULI Arizona to proactively address redevelopment opportunities in the NW Employment Growth Area. While the area has not experienced significant decline, indicators signaled that an action plan was needed to promote new investment and support the area remaining economically competitive for the future.
Tempe has a vibrant and successful economy and employs innovative strategies to remain competitive. The Innovation Hub Initiative was approved in March 2018 and is an economic development initiative to enhance key employment corridors to promote new investment, job creation and placemaking that attracts and retains a quality workforce. This AzTAP focused on the long-term redevelopment prospects of the Smith Industrial Innovation Hub without compromising industrial land uses.
Casa Grande’s Neon Sign Park opened in April 2019 with 14 restored Casa Grande neon signs. This unique asset will attract visitors to the historic Casa Grande Downtown and is viewed as an opportunity for revitalization. This ULI Arizona Technical Assistance Panel focused on 0pportunities to leverage the Sign Park through redevelopment strategies for the downtown area.
A ULI Arizona Technical Assistance Panel met in Superior for a day-long discussion focused on ways to enhance the local community and economy. The Panel examined the need to diversify economic development and employment opportunities beyond the Town’s mining heritage, as well as strategies for revitalizing Superior’s Downtown area through creative partnerships in the public and private sectors, offering insight and guidance for next steps.
This Technical Assistance Panel served as an opportunity to examine how the Town of Payson can move forward to
continue to grow in a positive direction and enhance the community, creating a strong sense of place with Main Street as the hub of Downtown while enhancing the American Gulch as a natural recreational linkage connecting Main Street to Green Valley Park.
The City of Glendale contracted with ULI Arizona to conduct a Technical Assistance Panel evaluating
the Midtown District and its confluence Centerline overlay area to provide best practice, market-based advice for achieving the district’s long-standing goal of evolving into a safe, attractive and dynamic downtown environment.
Older AzTAP Reports:
President, Ross Property Advisors
AZTAP COMMITTEE EMERITUS
Thompson Thrift
AZTAP COMMITTEE CHAIR
Attorney, Rose Law Group
AZTAP COMMITTEE VICE CHAIR
Espiritu Loci, Inc.
AZTAP COMMITTEE VICE CHAIR
