Phoenix rising, and rising, and rising

POPULATION, MEDICAL DEVELOPMENT CONTINUE TO GROW AT A STAGGERING PACE

By John Mugford

Phoenix’s forecasts for population and healthcare growth during the next few decades are quite staggering.

The population of the metropolitan area, currently at an estimated 3.6 million, is expected to increase by nearly 1.6 million people in the next 14 years or so, to about 5.2 million by the year 2020, according to the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.

“The growth is tremendous, both in in-migration and internal,” says Sharon Harper, president and CEO of one of the area’s longest-established medical and senior living developers, Peoria-based The Plaza Cos. “And we definitely have an aging population, which means healthcare will continue to grow.”