Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Huge Growth In Western Valley

Growth rate in west valley is seeing a huge rise. The Maricopa Community College District is expecting an increase of 43% in enrolment in the coming five years. With more than 400,000 students the district is planning to buy three future college sites in the west valley.

The land prices are continuing to boom and is reaching new record high making it difficult for the community colleges to acquire land. The prices in the home building market have increased from 33 to 100 percent in a year. A population of 250,000 requires a start-up campus but valley’s soaring land prices is preventing it.

The district is planning to buy smaller sites or sites farther away from the city to build campuses. The district pays for the land with bond money the voters pay every ten years. They buy the land in one decade and develop it in the next decade. It is a challenging job for the district to find suitable land in this hot real estate market.