Economic winds at West Valley's back

Economists have upgraded the West Valley's business prognosis from cautiously hopeful, the outlook a year ago, to downright optimistic. "We have the winds at our back after having a stiff wind in our face for a long time," John Graham, president and CEO of development firm Sunbelt Holdings, told business leaders last week. "The West Valley is an area we believe in." The feeling of relief was evident among about 300 members of Westmarc. The West Valley coalition of business, civic and educational leaders gathered at the Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park for the annual economic-development summit on Wednesday. The same group had gasped at last year's summit, when Arizona State University economist Dennis Hoffman showed business leaders charts illustrating unprecedented losses in Arizona jobs, businesses and population during the recession. The mood at the Wigwam was many degrees lighter. A panel of real-estate and business leaders praised the ongoing construction of Loop 303, a key highway project that they said will pave the way for a new boom in jobs and growth in the West Valley.

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