Power to the (Business) People

Creating a business-friendly neighborhood doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t happen without some effort. But the North Mountain Business Corridor Alliance is demonstrating that it can be done.

“Our goal is to improve our neighborhood and make it desirable for businesses to continue to operate here and to attract new businesses,” says NMBC Alliance Chairman Marica Veidmark, who also owns Specialized Services Company  in the corridor. “We want this to be a place that is safe and flourishing.”

The organization, which was started in early 2011, finds inspiration in its neighbor.

“We’re watching our model next door, the Sunnyslope Village Alliance,” Veidmark explains. “They’ve been in action for seven years, and we’ve seen the improvements in that neighborhood. We’d like to see those improvements continue west toward 19th Avenue and to 23rd Avenue. We have an area that’s more blighted and degraded, and we’d like to see that improve. We have to lay the groundwork for this to happen.”

That groundwork begins with regular community meetings, the development of a political arm of the organization and community service efforts, including a recent food drive for the Desert Mission Food Bank.   

“We hope to establish that we have businesses that care about people in need,” Veidmark says.

The organization is also providing a training center where organizations can present various classes relevant to the business community.

“That’s a real asset to have that feature available in our own neighborhood,” she notes.

The NMBC Alliance has benefited from the support of the City of Phoenix and that of their own Councilman, Bill Gates, working with the city on zoning and participating in training to help the neighborhood safe.

Working together, Veidmark and the Alliance’s steering committee has already seen some improvements — improvements they expect to continue and to make a difference.

“We have a lot of 30-year-plus businesses here — people who’ve invested a lot in this community,” Veidmark says. “Not only do we want them to stay, but we want them to stay here knowing the future is bright.”

Get Connected
North Mountain Business Corridor Alliance
www.nmbcalliance.com

This story, written by Stephanie Conner, is part of the Chamber's monthly Arizona in Focus email newsletter. To sign up for any or all of the Chamber's email communications, click here.