Boyd published a report concluding that rising real estate prices and higher business operating costs could slow Phoenix’s push to become a leading bioscience economy.
According to the study, it costs $9.5 million to operate a business in Phoenix, compared to $8.5 million in Sioux Falls, S.D., and $11.3 million in San Jose, Calif., the most expensive U.S. city in the study. The study said Arizona could lose its competitive edge to Midwestern cities like Sioux Falls where it is cheaper to do business.
Barry Broome, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, told the Arizona Republic that the study measured the wrong economic indicators.
“They should have measured university research facilities,” Broome said.
Broome added that San Jose might be costly, but it has compelling science that companies are looking for. If the Valley is at a disadvantage, he said, it is because of a lack of research facilities, which officials are trying to overcome.
The Boyd study also determined that U.S. cities risk losing a competitive edge to Canada, where the highest-cost area, Vancouver, British Columbia, was still less expensive than mid-priced U.S. cities such as Phoenix.
For more information:
“Study: Valley losing cost edge as it vies for biomedical firms,” Arizona Republic, 10/01/2005 (link expired)