The City of Phoenix Launches the Innovation 27 World Class Workplace Training Facility

In an effort to revitalize the former Metro Center Mall area in Phoenix and the surrounding local community, the city, in partnership with Arizona State University (ASU), Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD), and Western Maricopa Education Center (West-MEC,) has purchased a former Kmart storefront where they intend to launch a new workplace training and development educational facility called Innovation 27.

In a press release from the city, the goal of the facility is to:

“…Provide advanced education opportunities and workforce development to support this area of Phoenix in both its workforce and businesses…In 2022, the Phoenix City Council approved the 27th Avenue Corridor Community Safety and Crime Prevention Plan, which directly focuses on the community. Innovation 27 is an essential part of the solution to help combat those safety and economic issues. Residents currently experience barriers to education opportunities, food deserts, and access to transportation to other training facilities in the valley. Training opportunities anticipated for this site are expected to prepare individuals for careers in the semiconductor, public safety, bioscience, information technology, food innovation, and healthcare fields.”

This is a continuation of city programs designed to help residents train for the jobs of the Twenty-First Century. Last July, Phoenix leaders, with leaders from Maricopa Community Colleges,  launched the Route to Relief, “an education initiative that will both help post-secondary students impacted by the Coronavirus and provide highly skilled workers (in many of the same areas as intended to Innovation 27) to the industries that are propelling the fifth largest city in the country to a leading technology Mecca.”

Commenting on the purchase of the old Kmart storefront at I-17 and Northern, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego stated:

“With the Innovation 27 Workforce Training and Education Collaborative, we are taking a major step forward in providing our community with the resources and opportunities needed to develop a strong workforce here in Phoenix. This state-of-the-art facility will be a hub for training and education that will empower our residents to become leaders in critical fields and help drive economic growth in our city.”

Later on social media, she posted:

Phoenix Councilwoman Betty Guardado added:

“We are working hard to bring opportunity to the residents of West Phoenix. Thanks to the vision and determination of our local neighborhood leaders, Innovation 27 will become an education and workforce catalyst for the entire community.”

According to the City of Phoenix press release, classes will start in the fall of 2024.