Cheryl Lombard, President and CEO of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) Arizona, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the connection between Arizona’s economic growth and the infrastructure needed to sustain it.
NAIOP originally stood for the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, but today, it is known as the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, the leading organization for developers, owners and related professionals in office, industrial, retail, multifamily and mixed-use real estate.
Lombard said on June 12, 2026, NAIOP Arizona assembled the development community and government dignitaries to hear how the state’s utilities are responding to ever-increasing energy demands, how supply chain issues delay grid growth and the role natural gas plays in a diversified energy portfolio.
After seeing tremendous growth over the past decade, one of the most important questions facing Arizona is how to ensure it has the energy capacity and infrastructure necessary to support continued growth while maintaining reliability and affordability.
In managing the resources that Arizona has to power these efforts, Lombard said Arizona has been doing a sufficient job in maintaining the amounts of water.
“We’ve done a great job in terms of planning. In terms of groundwater management, we’re one of the only states that had a groundwater management plan versus the entire upper basin and probably our sister states. It’s just an important step that we’ve made for planning, but we need to do more to plan for our near future,” Lombard said.
Lombard said part of looking to the future is seeing how commercial real estate can help Arizona in a way that is sustainable. Lombard shared one executed plan that is being driven by real estate.
“We have created our advanced water purification, which is using recycled water. Those plants are built across this county and other counties, Pinal and Pima county. That’s a great interim tool, and again, real estate development is helping finance that. Growth is helping pay for that,” Lombard said.
As for energy, different sources such as nuclear, gas, water and more are all part of what will continue to power efforts for growth in Arizona, according to Lombard.
