YUMA - With a bustling open-air mall off Interstate 8, a booming housing market and an $80 million riverfront hotel and condominium project in the works, this isn't your father's Yuma.
Long considered a pit stop between Phoenix and San Diego, this border city nestled along the Colorado River is experiencing an economic comeback.
"There is a lot more strength in the Yuma economy than people realize," said Charles Flynn, who is involved with the riverfront project as executive director of the Yuma Crossings National Heritage Area.
"We are under no illusion about the image that others in Arizona may have about Yuma, but this (riverfront) project is intended to transform that."
In addition to the riverfront project, Yuma has had $841 million worth of construction go up in the past three years, a significant jump from the $72 million of construction in 2001, according to city records.
With a population of 88,775, Yuma last year had a record 1,018 permits for single-family houses filed with the city, nearly double the amount in 2001. During that four-year span, Yuma's population increased almost 12 percent.
"We thought it would slow down, but it has not," Mayor Larry Nelson said. "Yuma is not a little farming community like it used to be."
Yuma recently trumped Phoenix, and the rest of the country, as the No. 1 hot spot for entrepreneurs, according to one national publication. Inc. magazine, in its May issue, gave Yuma the distinction because of its job growth, which was 8.3 percent in one year and 32 percent for five years.
Yuma, also home to a Marine air station base and Army proving grounds, led all metro areas in the nation last August as having the largest year-over-year job growth in the country, with 4,100 jobs.
"I think Yuma has finally reached the point where it's being recognized," said Randy Crist, the city's building official.
"People are coming in from California and seeing Yuma has a lot to offer."
Yuma, however, has another side.
Wages still lag the state average; the median household income in Yuma is $42,304 annually, about 9 percent lower than the Arizona average of $46,333, according to a 2005 estimate from Claritas, a marketing research firm.
And the city has a history of high unemployment.
During the same month Yuma led the nation in job creation last year, it pulled off a statistical enigma: It also led the nation with the highest jobless rate at 19.2 percent.
When the state came out with its most recent unemployment figures, Yuma had a 14.7 percent seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for March. That was worst among all metro areas and every county in Arizona.
So, if locals say things are so good, how can the government say things are so bad?
Unemployment problem?
Mark Twain once said, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
Nelson, who was raised in Safford, embraces a Twain-like philosophy when it comes to his adopted hometown and the government's unemployment figures.
"There is no unemployment problem in Yuma . . . It's just a fictitious number as far as we are concerned," the mayor said. "Everywhere you go, you will see signs that say 'hiring.' "
Nelson and others say the high unemployment figures are because of seasonal migrant workers who spend about six months in the vegetable fields then head elsewhere for work when the harvest is over.
Those who collect the data agree that the large number of migrant workers interferes with the accuracy of calculating unemployment figures.
"Our procedures don't handle mobile populations well," said Ken LeVasseur, a senior economist with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"It's definitely one of the highest unemployment-rate areas, but it's difficult to measure."
The government tabulates unemployment figures through employer surveys, census data and jobless claims.
LeVasseur said if a worker is moving around and looking for work elsewhere but lists Yuma as his or her home, that increases Yuma's unemployment rate.
Roughly 20 miles north and two miles east of Mexico, Yuma is among a handful of border cities that have high unemployment rates because it's challenging to calculate the number of employed migrant workers, LeVasseur said.
He said El Paso also traditionally has a high jobless rate. El Paso's most recent rate was 6.9 percent, down from 8.1 percent a year ago.
While metro Phoenix relies on a migrant population for some of its workforce, its seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.5 percent in March.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate takes into account fluctuations in hiring caused by weather, major holidays, school terms and harvests.
The government classifies someone as unemployed if he or she is available for work, doesn't have a job and actively has sought employment during the prior four weeks.
Business booming
Travis Hice, a commercial loan officer at Yuma Community Bank, was born and raised here. He, too, has a hard time believing the government's unemployment figures.
"The city wouldn't be able to grow if the unemployment was that high," Hice said. "Something is skewing those numbers. People are coming here and living here."
With housing permits escalating during the past five years to provide a larger consumer base, Wally Chester, a principal of Phoenix-based WDP Partners, said that his company developed the Yuma Palms Regional Shopping Center.
It opened in November 2004, right along Interstate 8.
"Every once in a while, you make a decision, and it turns out to be one of the smartest things you ever did," Chester said.
"My sense was that Yuma was an underserved market."
Chester said occupancy for the Westcor mall hovers between 97 percent and 99 percent, and the mall has produced $3.3 million in city sales taxes in the past 12 months, according to city records.
Macerich Co., the Santa Monica, Calif.-based parent of Westcor, has on average an occupancy rate of 93.5 percent at its 76 malls around the country, according to a spokeswoman. The national average for occupancy rates is 92.1 percent, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.
"There are ample jobs. We had a tough time hiring," Chester said.
"If there was 15 percent unemployment, then they are stealing from each other to have the disposable income to shop."
Christopher T. Hall, who is planning to build up to 1,100 homes costing $250,000 to $400,000 on the city's eastern side, said Yuma gets a "bum rap."
"Statistics about Yuma often discourage outside investors, but when you see the local opportunities, you can do well . . . This market is going through a gentrification stage, and it's a long time coming," said Hall, president of Dominion Capital Ventures.
On the plus side
While some residents chafe at the unemployment rate, the Greater Yuma Economic Development Corp., a business recruiting organization, has used it as a positive factor for the community.
The organization has told employers that Yuma has a plentiful workforce and that pitch helped lure Alside Window Company Southwest, whose parent is in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
Alside, which manufactures residential windows and doors, opened a plant in Yuma's commerce center in August. The company, which has about 170 employees, received $2 million in city incentives for creating jobs with benefits.
The starting wage is $7.30 an hour.
"If the labor market is very, very tight and you want to grow your business, that is not a place to put your plant," said Ko Das, plant manager. "This was a great central location, and there was a plentiful supply of competitively priced labor."
Long considered a pit stop between Phoenix and San Diego, this border city nestled along the Colorado River is experiencing an economic comeback.
"There is a lot more strength in the Yuma economy than people realize," said Charles Flynn, who is involved with the riverfront project as executive director of the Yuma Crossings National Heritage Area.
"We are under no illusion about the image that others in Arizona may have about Yuma, but this (riverfront) project is intended to transform that."
In addition to the riverfront project, Yuma has had $841 million worth of construction go up in the past three years, a significant jump from the $72 million of construction in 2001, according to city records.
With a population of 88,775, Yuma last year had a record 1,018 permits for single-family houses filed with the city, nearly double the amount in 2001. During that four-year span, Yuma's population increased almost 12 percent.
"We thought it would slow down, but it has not," Mayor Larry Nelson said. "Yuma is not a little farming community like it used to be."
Yuma recently trumped Phoenix, and the rest of the country, as the No. 1 hot spot for entrepreneurs, according to one national publication. Inc. magazine, in its May issue, gave Yuma the distinction because of its job growth, which was 8.3 percent in one year and 32 percent for five years.
Yuma, also home to a Marine air station base and Army proving grounds, led all metro areas in the nation last August as having the largest year-over-year job growth in the country, with 4,100 jobs.
"I think Yuma has finally reached the point where it's being recognized," said Randy Crist, the city's building official.
"People are coming in from California and seeing Yuma has a lot to offer."
Yuma, however, has another side.
Wages still lag the state average; the median household income in Yuma is $42,304 annually, about 9 percent lower than the Arizona average of $46,333, according to a 2005 estimate from Claritas, a marketing research firm.
And the city has a history of high unemployment.
During the same month Yuma led the nation in job creation last year, it pulled off a statistical enigma: It also led the nation with the highest jobless rate at 19.2 percent.
When the state came out with its most recent unemployment figures, Yuma had a 14.7 percent seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for March. That was worst among all metro areas and every county in Arizona.
So, if locals say things are so good, how can the government say things are so bad?
Unemployment problem?
Mark Twain once said, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."Nelson, who was raised in Safford, embraces a Twain-like philosophy when it comes to his adopted hometown and the government's unemployment figures.
"There is no unemployment problem in Yuma . . . It's just a fictitious number as far as we are concerned," the mayor said. "Everywhere you go, you will see signs that say 'hiring.' "
Nelson and others say the high unemployment figures are because of seasonal migrant workers who spend about six months in the vegetable fields then head elsewhere for work when the harvest is over.
Those who collect the data agree that the large number of migrant workers interferes with the accuracy of calculating unemployment figures.
"Our procedures don't handle mobile populations well," said Ken LeVasseur, a senior economist with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"It's definitely one of the highest unemployment-rate areas, but it's difficult to measure."
The government tabulates unemployment figures through employer surveys, census data and jobless claims.
LeVasseur said if a worker is moving around and looking for work elsewhere but lists Yuma as his or her home, that increases Yuma's unemployment rate.
Roughly 20 miles north and two miles east of Mexico, Yuma is among a handful of border cities that have high unemployment rates because it's challenging to calculate the number of employed migrant workers, LeVasseur said.
He said El Paso also traditionally has a high jobless rate. El Paso's most recent rate was 6.9 percent, down from 8.1 percent a year ago.
While metro Phoenix relies on a migrant population for some of its workforce, its seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.5 percent in March.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate takes into account fluctuations in hiring caused by weather, major holidays, school terms and harvests.
The government classifies someone as unemployed if he or she is available for work, doesn't have a job and actively has sought employment during the prior four weeks.
Business booming
Travis Hice, a commercial loan officer at Yuma Community Bank, was born and raised here. He, too, has a hard time believing the government's unemployment figures."The city wouldn't be able to grow if the unemployment was that high," Hice said. "Something is skewing those numbers. People are coming here and living here."
With housing permits escalating during the past five years to provide a larger consumer base, Wally Chester, a principal of Phoenix-based WDP Partners, said that his company developed the Yuma Palms Regional Shopping Center.
It opened in November 2004, right along Interstate 8.
"Every once in a while, you make a decision, and it turns out to be one of the smartest things you ever did," Chester said.
"My sense was that Yuma was an underserved market."
Chester said occupancy for the Westcor mall hovers between 97 percent and 99 percent, and the mall has produced $3.3 million in city sales taxes in the past 12 months, according to city records.
Macerich Co., the Santa Monica, Calif.-based parent of Westcor, has on average an occupancy rate of 93.5 percent at its 76 malls around the country, according to a spokeswoman. The national average for occupancy rates is 92.1 percent, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.
"There are ample jobs. We had a tough time hiring," Chester said.
"If there was 15 percent unemployment, then they are stealing from each other to have the disposable income to shop."
Christopher T. Hall, who is planning to build up to 1,100 homes costing $250,000 to $400,000 on the city's eastern side, said Yuma gets a "bum rap."
"Statistics about Yuma often discourage outside investors, but when you see the local opportunities, you can do well . . . This market is going through a gentrification stage, and it's a long time coming," said Hall, president of Dominion Capital Ventures.
On the plus side
While some residents chafe at the unemployment rate, the Greater Yuma Economic Development Corp., a business recruiting organization, has used it as a positive factor for the community.The organization has told employers that Yuma has a plentiful workforce and that pitch helped lure Alside Window Company Southwest, whose parent is in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
Alside, which manufactures residential windows and doors, opened a plant in Yuma's commerce center in August. The company, which has about 170 employees, received $2 million in city incentives for creating jobs with benefits.
The starting wage is $7.30 an hour.
"If the labor market is very, very tight and you want to grow your business, that is not a place to put your plant," said Ko Das, plant manager. "This was a great central location, and there was a plentiful supply of competitively priced labor."
