UA Tech Park Has Major Regional Impact
UA News | March 5. 2015
Tech Parks Arizona has released a new study documenting the economic impact of the University of Arizona Science and Technology Park (UA Tech Park) and its significant contributions to Pima County’s economy.
The report indicates that the UA Tech Park and its resident companies have an annual economic impact of $2.33 billion on the county’s economy.
UA Tech Park tenants generated $106 million in state and local taxes in 2013.
The study also reflects that the 1,300-acre Tech Park is a center for high-wage jobs. The average wage of a worker at a UA Tech Park tenant was $91,145, which is about twice the Pima County average of $46,363. In 2013, these tenants paid $567.5 million in direct wages to their employees.
The UA Tech Park remains one of the largest employment centers in the Tucson region, hosting 45 companies and organizations that employ nearly 6,500 skilled workers and drawing employees from throughout the region — not only from areas and neighborhoods immediately adjacent to the park.
Biannually, UA Tech Park tenants are surveyed to quantify the impact that the Tech Park has on the economy. The current study, authored by independent consultant Vera Pavlakovich-Kochi, analyzes the economic and tax revenue impact of the UA Tech Park in Pima County for the calendar year 2013. The full report can be accessed online.
For the past 20 years, Tech Parks Arizona has helped to advance UA technology innovation and commercialization through the UA Tech Park. In doing so, it has contributed in significant ways to the economic development of southern Arizona and the Tucson metropolitan area. The park’s contribution to the region extends far beyond the number of tenants, wages paid or tax revenue generated. Its primary impact is in helping to advance new technology that expands and diversifies the local and state economies.
Over the past few years, the UA Tech Park has emerged as a major center for the testing, evaluation, demonstration and application of University and industry-generated technology. Validating technology concepts before they reach the market is a critical need of both industry and University researchers.
"I think we're capturing national and international attention with the results we've had," said Bruce Wright, associate vice president for Tech Parks Arizona, noting that three Israeli companies have applied to come to the Tech Park. "We want to grow even more employment and opportunity. ... This is a work in progress, and we're making good progress."
http://uanews.org/story/ua-tech-park-has-major-regional-impact
