PHOENIX — Maricopa County and Creighton University are working together to address a major challenge to the region’s prosperity and well-being: the growing shortage of doctors and nurses.

The Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority, backed by the Board of Supervisors, is investing $2.5 million in the construction of the Creighton University Health Sciences — Phoenix Campus, which will train new doctors, nurses, therapists and more.

Creighton’s expansion into Arizona comes at a crucial time for the state, which faces a population boom and shortage of health care workers.

Arizona currently ranks 32nd in the nation in physician availability, with just one primary care doctor per 1,500 people. That shortage is projected to grow. The state is also expecting a shortage of 50,000 nurses by 2030.

The Greater Phoenix Economic Council estimates that Creighton’s health sciences campus will create more than 250 jobs; $124.5 million in personal income; $12 million in tax revenues and more than $300 million in total economic output.

The nearly $100 million project broke ground this summer.  The seven-story, 183,000-square-foot building is set to open at Park Central in 2021.

The campus will serve nearly 900 students, invigorating Arizona’s health infrastructure with physicians, nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, occupational therapists, physical therapists and more.

It will also anchor the redevelopment of Park Central Mall, the city’s first large-scale shopping mall. Plaza Companies and Tucson’s Holualoa Companies have teamed up to change the space from a retail center to an almost 500,000-square-foot community hub suited to work, play and education.