This month’s Good Morning Winslow networking event was hosted by Atlas Global Development (AGD), the master developers looking to turn Winslow into a major manufacturing and logistics hub for rail, air, and shipments on I-40.
Dan Lupien’s plan, which would functionally build a new town on top of the current Winslow, could have the first shovels in the ground in around eight months, says Lupien. The first part of the plan would include housing for workers as the labor force of the area would have to dramatically increase in order to accommodate manufacturing companies that Lupien expects to set up shop in Winslow once the project is completed.
In order to achieve AGD’s plans, every public and private service would have to beef up their resources to accommodate, which means a new water treatment plant and a new power generation plant because APS cannot meet the demand for power on AGD’s time frame, as well as building on existing infrastructure for gas, sewer, and broadband internet. Not to mention the increased stress on the hospital, schools, and police and fire departments.
With normal city growth over a long period of time, these are just normal upgrades a city has to make, however, that changes with a master-built city plan like this that could attract large migration to the region all at once. Lupien knows that this timeline is quicker than a lot of people are comfortable with and in his presentation, he says he is willing to slow down that timeline if citizens reach out and tell him their concerns.
Lupien told those present that the jobs he plans on bringing here will pay $80,000 to $150,000 a year. According to Northland Pioneer College (NPC) President Chato Hazelbaker, the college will step in to provide technical training that this project might need and will work with manufacturers to meet their needs. Lupien says that these companies are helping design the curriculum with NPC and will also pay for their workers to attend, and those are the jobs that will pay in that range.
The current housing crisis has taken a stranglehold on the market all over the country, even in rural America. AGD plans on partnering with home manufacturer, Cavco Homes to address the issue in Winslow. The current plan, that is not yet finalized, is for Cavco to build around 500 homes for the Winslow area. These homes will be three or four bedrooms and will likely cost residents $180,000 to $200,000 or $1,500 to $1,800 for a monthly mortgage payment.
During the meeting, a resident asked the developer if he had plans to upgrade local properties because as one resident explained, “there are enough houses, just so many of them need renovations.” Lupien explained that because of Winslow’s position on the floodplain, there are regulations as to how much he is allowed to spend on repairing a home. It is capped at 50% of the home’s total value. He noted that getting old houses renovated and ready for the market again might be a good place for local investment.
Another concern a citizen brought up to Lupien was that of water. Winslow sits on a large aquifer almost the size of West Virginia, and because of that, Winslow is in a position where it does not have to compete for water in a desert like many other cities in Arizona. Lupien even said, “Without a doubt the most valuable thing that Winslow has is its water.” The resident says that Casa Grande had access to a large amount of groundwater, but with an increase in population and industry, they are facing a major water crisis now.
Lupien responded, “You’ll be surprised with the innovation happening in the manufacturing industry. They are getting a lot better with recycling their water and having closed-loop systems that just reuse the same water over and over again.” Which, if Winslow’s potential manufacturers opt for such a system, then Winslow should have more to accommodate the population and industry.
Lupien wanted to make it clear that he is still wanting to hear from the community as much as possible about their concerns with the plan. Which if it were to go through, would dramatically change and if that change is for the worse, AGD can pack up and move without any long-term repercussions which is why community participation is vital for the project. It is the residents who will have to live with any long-term problems with the plan. To contact Lupien, you can reach out to Bob Hall at the Chamber of Commerce for his contact information.
