A case study from our economic development video series for the Gila River Indian Community and Pima Leasing & Financing Corporation.
In March 2025 we took a small crew to the Gila River Indian Community, just south of Phoenix. The Community is home to the Akimel O’otham and Pee-Posh peoples, and its land runs across the desert floor below the Sierra Estrella mountains. Over the shoot we filmed a basket weaver at work under a shade ramada, a singer with his gourd rattle out in the desert scrub, and wide stretches of open land that are now becoming four new commercial developments.
The films were for Pima Leasing & Financing Corporation (PLFC), the Community’s economic development corporation, which needed to introduce those sites to national developers. Since the five films launched, PLFC has landed a national gas station and convenience store company to build a travel center on one of the sites, projected to bring $29.1 million in net present value over 20 years and 50 permanent jobs. In September, the campaign also earned PLFC a Golden Prospector Award for Multimedia Promotion from the Arizona Association for Economic Development (AAED).
We’re grateful to PLFC, and to everyone in the Community who sat for interviews and shared their work with us.
The challenge
PLFC had four sites to market along a commercial corridor a few miles from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and downtown Phoenix:
- Seed Farm Plaza: travel center
- Maricopa Commons: commercial, mixed use, medical and professional, big box, auto mall
- Estrella Square: big box retail, hospitality, family entertainment, dining
- Wild Horse Crossing: eatertainment
The locations are strong, and the site data backed that up. What developers didn’t have was a feel for the Community itself, including its history, its values, its commitment to sustainable building, and what a long-term partnership with a sovereign tribal nation looks like. That’s hard to get across in a brochure or a site plan, and it’s what PLFC asked us to help with.
Our approach
We spent time with PLFC and Community members before we planned any shots, so we understood what they wanted developers to know about them. From there we made a five-part economic development video series: an overview of the Community and its vision, and one film for each site.
The overview film opens on the land itself, with sunrise over the desert, wild horses, the mountains, and the river and canals that have supported farming here for centuries.
Community leaders and artists speak for themselves on camera. We wanted developers to hear from the people they would actually be working alongside.
Each site film uses the corridor’s new visual identity, a set of concentric-circle icons based on the desert sun and rippling water, so the four sites read as parts of one plan.
And we kept the developer audience in mind throughout. Location, access and long-term opportunity are all covered, presented the way a serious investor expects to see them.
“StoryTrack took the time to understand who we are before they ever picked up a camera. Our history and our future belong in the same story, and the overview film tells it with respect, in our own voices. Developers who watch it understand that a partnership here is a long-term commitment to a community, not just a transaction. That is the kind of partner we want building our future.”
Teresa Mandelin, Executive Director, Pima Leasing & Financing Corporation
The results
| Result | Figure |
|---|---|
| Projected net present value | $29.1 million over 20 years |
| Permanent jobs | 50 |
| Films produced | 5 |
| Recognition | AAED Golden Prospector, Multimedia Promotion, 2026 |
“We had four development sites minutes from Sky Harbor International Airport and downtown Phoenix, and we needed to show developers both the economic viability of each site and why the Gila River Indian Community is a worthwhile partner. StoryTrack’s five-film series gave them the full picture and moved conversations past site selection into real results. Since launching the series, we’ve landed a national gas station and convenience store corporation to develop a travel center on one of the Community’s sites that is projected to deliver $29.1 million in net present value over 20 years and 50 permanent jobs. For any developer marketing multiple sites or a complex, high-profile project, I’d recommend StoryTrack without hesitation.”
John M. Martin, Real Estate Leasing Manager, Pima Leasing & Financing Corporation
AAED presented the award at its Fall Forum in Flagstaff in September 2026. Golden Prospectors go only to entries scoring 90% or more from a three-judge panel. (AAED release, award criteria)
Economic development video at StoryTrack
A lot of our work is for commercial real estate, and this project is a good example of why we enjoy it. Developers and economic development groups usually have the numbers covered. Where we can help is in showing people why a place is worth committing to.
StoryTrack is a woman-owned studio that makes films for developers, builders and economic development organizations. If you’re marketing a site or a project and want to talk about what film could do for it, get in touch.
