Potential buyer
News reports in late June 2021 point to Rivian, Inc. as the potential buyer. UPDATE: Rivian decided against Gold Canyon and chose a location in Texas instead.
Because of the remarkable lack of transparency surrounding the planning process, we cannot be certain at the time of this writing regarding what company is interested in buying the land in question. However, as Reuters and others reported in late July 2021, the "interested buyer" that presumably caused the AZ State Land Department to seek reclassification by Pinal County of this particular parcel of land in Gold Canyon to "Employment" is RIVIAN, a startup luxury electric vehicle company backed by Ford, Amazon, Fidelity, and others (see https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/exclusive-rivian-ready-invest-5-billion-second-us-assembly-plant-document-2021-07-27/).
What we do know, however, is that the Major Comprehensive Plan Amendment application includes references to 20,000 jobs as well as to a planned rail spur.
While it is true that the AZ State Land Department can auction any land it owns, it is not entitled to a change in the classification of the use prior to sale. At present, this land is classified for "open space" and "residential" ONLY. Land use designation is decided by Pinal County.
Rivian, Inc. would bring an e-vehicle assembly plant (like its factory in Normal, Illinois, pictured above and below) and, in addition, a battery cell production facility to Gold Canyon, providing an estimated 20,000 jobs. Extensive workforce and freight traffic is not supported by the already insufficient existing infrastructure.
