Good morning, East Mesa. Mostly sunny and 107 today, with lows near 86. Anything outdoors this week belongs to early morning or after dark.
- 🏗️ 196 acres at Ellsworth and Williams Field could flip to mixed-use. Planning and Zoning hears the Legacy Park rezone Wednesday.
- 🏊 Two aquatic complexes take a step forward. Council votes August 31 on pre-construction contracts for the Eastmark and Red Mountain pools.
- 🍕 Oregano's files for a Signal Butte restaurant license. The Sprouts at EastMarket files for beer and wine.
- 🥕 Eastmark Farmers Market runs Friday evening. Great Park, 5 PM.
- 🏫 The Mesa Public Schools governing board meets Thursday. 6 PM at 549 N Stapley.
- 🏠 538 new listings came on the Mesa market last month. Homes are taking about 55 days to sell.
A 196-acre industrial site at Ellsworth and Williams Field wants to become a mixed-use community
The Planning and Zoning Board hears a request Wednesday to rezone 196.3 acres at the northeast corner of Ellsworth and Williams Field from light industrial to a planned community, which would open the land to housing and retail instead of warehouses.
Key facts:
- Where: northeast corner of South Ellsworth Road and East Williams Field Road, roughly a mile south of the EastMarket site at Ellsworth and Ray.
- Size: 196.3 acres, filed under the name "Legacy Park."
- The change: Light Industrial to Planned Community District (a zoning category that lets a single master plan mix housing, retail, and offices on one site).
- Case number: ZON25-00891. Staff planner: Mallory Ress.
- Staff position: approval with conditions.
- When: Wednesday, August 26, Planning and Zoning Board public hearing.
The parcel sits in the industrial band along Ellsworth that runs south toward Mesa Gateway Airport, the same corridor that holds Legacy Industrial Park and the region's data campuses. Land zoned light industrial there has been the default for a decade. A flip to a planned community on a site this size is the kind of decision that sets what the next stretch of Ellsworth looks like from the road.
What to watch: the board makes a recommendation Wednesday. A rezone of this size then goes to City Council for the binding vote. Staff report.
Around East Mesa
🏠 538 new listings came on the Mesa market last month. The median sale price sat at $452,500, down about 1 percent from a year ago, with homes taking around 55 days to sell. Details.
🏆 Mesa's economic development office won an international award. The International Economic Development Council gave the city a 2026 Silver Award for its AI-enabled economic development intelligence system, in the innovation category. That office is the one courting the employers filling the Gateway industrial corridor. Details.
🎪 A private firm will take over the Mesa Convention Center and Amphitheater. The city is handing management of both downtown venues to an outside operator. It is a west-side story with an east-side effect: those are the two rooms most East Mesa residents drive to for a mid-size show. Details.
🥎 Worth marking now: the Veolia Arizona Open lands at Arizona Athletic Grounds on September 13. The complex sits at 6321 S Ellsworth Road. Details.
🏗️ Eastmark corridor and dev watch
What's moving along Ellsworth, Signal Butte, and the East Mesa industrial corridor. Four items land on the City Council agenda for Monday, August 31.
🏊 The Eastmark Aquatic Complex picks a builder. Staff recommends Sun Eagle Corporation as construction manager at risk, with a $136,295 pre-construction services contract. That work covers cost estimates, construction sequencing, and the guaranteed maximum price, which is the number that tells everyone what the pool actually costs. District 6. Details.
🏊 Red Mountain gets the same treatment on the same night. Sun Eagle Corporation is also the recommended construction manager for the Red Mountain Aquatic Complex, at an identical $136,295 pre-construction contract. District 5, which covers the northeast side. Two city pools, one contractor, one agenda. Details.
🛒 The Sprouts at EastMarket applies for beer and wine. SF Market LLC is requesting a Series 10S license with sampling privileges at 5131 South Ellsworth Road. There is no existing license at the address, which is the paperwork tell that the store is new rather than changing hands. District 6. Details.
🍕 Oregano's Pizza Bistro files for a restaurant license on Signal Butte. The application is for a new Series 12 license at 3506 South Signal Butte Road, with no prior license at the location. District 6. Details.
The week
Monday
- 👶 Toddlertime, Red Mountain Library, 10 AM. Early childhood storytime. Details.
Tuesday
- 🤖 No Fear AI, Red Mountain Library, 10 AM. A beginner class on what artificial intelligence actually is, with no jargon and no experience needed. Adults only, and it fills the morning slot the daytime crowd actually uses. Details.
- 📚 Preschool Storytime, Red Mountain Library, 10 AM. Details.
- 🏹 Teen Book Club, Red Mountain Library, 4 PM. This meeting covers The Hunger Games. Details.
Wednesday
- 🧶 Learn to Crochet, THINKspot at Red Mountain, 10 AM. Supplies provided, all skill levels, teens and adults. Details.
Friday
- 🥕 Eastmark Farmers Market, 5 PM. Eastmark Great Park, 5100 S. Eastmark Parkway. Evening market, which is the only sane call in a week like this. Details.
Saturday
From the schools
🏫 The Mesa Public Schools governing board meets Thursday at 6 PM at 549 N Stapley Drive. Board meetings are where boundary, budget, and calendar decisions get made for most East Mesa families. Details.
🏸 Badminton is on the calendar today. Mountain View girls badminton plays at Desert Vista at 4 PM. Skyline has JV and varsity badminton at 4 PM. Details.
Around the Valley
A few picks worth leaving the east side for this week.
⚾ Diamondbacks vs. Cubs, Chase Field, tonight. First pitch at 6:40 PM downtown. The Cubs bring the loudest visiting crowd of any team that comes through. Tickets.
🎤 ZAYN, Mortgage Matchup Center, tonight. The Konnakol Tour, 8 PM in downtown Phoenix. One night only. Tickets.
🥁 Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Evening, Celebrity Theatre, Tuesday at 7:30 PM. Bonham plays his father's catalog in a round room where every seat is close. Tickets.
🎧 Hulvey, The Van Buren, tonight at 7 PM. The Could Be Tonight Tour, in one of the better mid-size rooms in the metro. Tickets.