While other Valley cities have aimed to restrict the spread of electronic billboards over concerns about aesthetics and safety, El Mirage leaders are embracing the bright, flashing displays. City Manager Spencer Isom has negotiated a 30-year contract with Optical Outdoor Signs to install two digital billboards on city property along Grand Avenue. It's a way for cash-strapped El Mirage to improve its bottom line. The agreement states El Mirage will receive 20 percent of the net advertising revenue from the billboards each year, projected to be about $24,000. Isom said electronic billboards allow the city to create a "different aesthetic" to redevelop the frontage road along Grand in El Mirage. He would not elaborate, but the area is composed largely of run-down storefronts and industrial ... Continue reading →

When executives with Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. were scouting the Phoenix metro area last fall, they found their target site in Glendale's Westgate City Center. It had a lot going for it. The 38-acre site bumped against Loop 101. Nearby sports stadiums would draw in potential shoppers. Best of all was the speed with which the deal could be done. "We felt the city was going to be cooperative," said Tom McDonough, Tanger's executive vice president and chief operating officer. "In general, this went quicker than most." Those are all factors that have helped West Valley cities rebound from the economic recession. Local economists said that the West Valley has key advantages. Major projects set for Surprise, Peoria, Glendale and the Southwest Valley could ... Continue reading →