Twelve years ago a group made up of neighbors, business and property owners, and other local stakeholders wanted to support the growing small business community and Historic Shopping District.

The area was the first shopping district outside of Downtown Phoenix in the 1940s and continued to grow until the creation of shopping malls in the late 1950s. In the 2000s to 2014, the area saw a slow resurgence driven by business owners just starting their journey, but much of the corridor had high vacancy rates and blight.

Twelve years later, Miracle Mile on McDowell has a low vacancy rate and is actively stewarded by the Miracle Mile Merchants Association with support from local neighborhood groups like the Coronado Neighborhood association, city staff, councilmen and women, and most importantly, the neighbors and folks who support these businesses by choosing to shop and dine here.

The final goal for the Miracle Mile on McDowell supporters, business and property owners is to make the street safer between 20th to at least 7th street. McDowell Road is currently a 5-lane street where many people drive 55 plus in a 35 mph speed limit, and don’t notice the shops or people trying to get around. The goal is to have a street with protected bike lanes, a tree lined barrier between the bike lanes and 4 lanes of traffic, and a median with intermittent medians to help slow traffic further.

The Miracle Mile Merchants Association (often referred to as the MMMA) was officially formed or, in its current iteration, active as part of a revitalization push beginning in 2014. The area, located on East McDowell Road (roughly 12th Street to Highway 51), was nicknamed the “Miracle Mile” in 1954, serving as a thriving, automobile-friendly shopping district. The current, active Merchants Association is run by local business owners and residents to support the revitalization of the historic district and to hold community meetings for change and improvements.