STATE FARM JOBS

How to apply: Visit statefarm.com /careers, then click “Search Jobs” — Keyword: AZ. Job-seekers who have skills for a job that is not posted can post a resume on the site. though State Farm will be choosing jobs based on varying skill sets through an application process, he believes that the community is filled with enough talented individuals to fill them.

Earlier, Councilman Joel Navarro said he believes that Marina Heights and the State Farm regional headquarters are cause for celebration for Valley residents who have long cited jobs as their No.1priority.

For Tempe residents critical of slow Town Lake development, which took a nosedive during the economic downturn, the project will mean new businesses on undeveloped land along the lake’s edge.

State Farm has begun hiring for the estimated 900 jobs that will be added to the insurance giant’s existing Valley workforce of about 2,100.

“It’s tremendous,” Navarro said. “There’s a lot of opportunity for the city to really take advantage of the growth and a lot of opportunity for the region.”

Downtown Tempe is expected to benefit from the thousands of workers who are expected to spend money at Mill Avenue District restaurants and shops.

“It’s the ultimate goal we are trying to achieve,” “Navarro said. “It means more sales-tax revenues.”

Tempe may be mostly landlocked but has spotlighted its convenient location in the Valley.

“The big plus is that we’re so centralized within the region,” Navarro said. “A lot of people enjoy the fact that they can find a home and live, work and play in Tempe.”

Navarro said that corporations expanding in today’s market are attempting to locate in places with easy commutes, urban living, strong schools and an educated workforce. Tempe has all that, he said.

The city is home to the nation’s largest university campus by enrollment. Many who live in Tempe are young professionals who prefer urban over suburban living. Suburban homeowners in Scottsdale, Chandler, Mesa and the Ahwatukee Foothills area of Phoenix live close enough to freeway access to make working in Tempe a viable option.

Robert Villegas, a State Farm spokesman, said that it is difficult to predict demand in the insurance business as far out as 2017 when the entire Marina Heights project is to be completed but that current analysis is so strong that State Farm is hiring en masse to boost its service to the growing metro Phoenix market.

“With the 900 jobs openings that we have right now ... we are continuing hiring throughout the rest of 2013,” Villegas said.

“It’s fun because of the amount of hiring we’re doing.”

Villegas encourages those interested in working at State Farm to check the company’s website, because new jobs are added regularly.

Navarro said that the new developments are a tipping point for Tempe, spotlighting prospects for businesses and a hotel-conference center.

“State Farm is just the beginning,” he said. “There’s so much more coming down the road.”