FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUCSON, AZ (July 16, 2025) – The Board of Directors of The Chamber of Southern Arizona has voted to support Project Blue, a more than $3.6 billion project consisting of a three-phase data center development in the Tucson/Southern Arizona region.
Project Blue’s technology campus is intended to help meet the massive demand for digital infrastructure in the United States. Data centers, the backbone of the internet and the modern world, consist of physical buildings that hold the computer systems and information technology needed to store and process data that we count on in our daily lives.
Data centers are critical infrastructure and support all of Tucson’s major industries, enabling both day-to-day operations and long-term innovation in Aerospace & Defense, Bioscience & Healthcare, Advanced Manufacturing & Mining Operations, Financial Services, Education & Research, Tourism and all levels of government.
To be developed by Beale Infrastructure, the first proposed Primary Project site will be located at Pima County’s Southeast Employment and Logistics Center (SELC) on South Houghton Road near the Fairgrounds. The Initial Phase of the Primary Project could be operational as soon as 2027.
Project Blue will create $250 million in new tax revenue over 10 years to state, county and city governments – revenue that can be used to fund services to taxpayers such as housing affordability, public safety and other critical needs in our community. This tax revenue projection is based on the Initial Phase of the Primary Project site, with additional phases expected to generate even greater economic impact over time.
The Primary and Secondary Projects of Project Blue, if fully built, are projected to create over four times the number of full-time permanent jobs as those estimated for the Initial Phase. The number of construction jobs and the economic impact would also exceed those generated by the Initial Phase by more than threefold. This is an unprecedented investment in the city of Tucson, and an economic development opportunity that will bolster city and county budgets without an increase in taxes on residents.
Beale Infrastructure will invest more than $100 million in privately funded reclaimed water infrastructure—making it the largest public infrastructure project funded by a private developer in Tucson’s history. This includes:
- An 18-mile reclaimed waterline extension that will be over-sized in capacity, enabling Tucson Water to facilitate sustainable growth in southeast Tucson and convert existing customers that use drinking water to non-potable sources.
- A new 30-acre aquifer recharge facility that will improve system-wide supply reliability and offer recreation benefits similar to the existing SHARP facility.
Project Blue will ultimately utilize 100 percent renewable water resources for industrial purposes and has committed to water positivity: 100% water replenishment,
Additionally, Project Blue will fund all Tucson Electric Power (TEP) grid upgrades completed for its direct benefit, ensuring that these costs are not paid by other customers. The rates paid by Project Blue will cover all of TEP’s associated costs of service. TEP power grid upgrades will contribute to overall reliability and support economic growth for the entire region.
“With significant capital investment and tax revenues to both Pima County and the City of Tucson, this $3.6B project would be the single largest economic development project in Southern Arizona’s history,” said Joe Snell, president & CEO, The Chamber of Southern Arizona. “In addition, the substantial infrastructure investment by Project Blue in energy and reclaimed water infrastructure improvements benefit each and every citizen here in the region. This project is a win-win for everyone.”
“The unique fact about this development is that the site will become water positive, supplying reclaimed water to the Los Reales Sustainability Campus and replenishing the underground aquifer near the Fairgrounds site,” said Fletcher McCusker, treasurer, The Chamber of Southern Arizona and chair, Rio Nuevo District. “We should stand for sustainability developments of this scale and set ourselves apart from communities without those sustainability priorities.”
For an updated Beale Infrastructure FAQ on Project Blue, click here.
Media Contact:
Laura Shaw, Chief Communications Officer
The Chamber of Southern Arizona
520-609-5972
