Q2 2019 Newsletter from City of Mesa Office of Economic Development

Let's start this off with an image from Arcgis that shows what is titled The Urban Expansion of Phoenix available online that can give readers of this blog an expanded perspective that puts Mesa in the context of area geographic development.
No one would call the kind of expansion you see  "urban", although the over-used word "suburban" might be used to describe it.
In common usage is another word with some serious negative connotations in land-use planning lingo: SPRAWL.
Your MesaZona blogger likes the word "Spawn" to describe the current future breeding grounds where people choose to live outside of older city centers - like Mesa, east and south.
What do we get beyond "urban centers" and how to develop new areas for places to live and places to work: real estate speculation for investments in vast tracts of open acreage to incentivize residential/commercial/industrial growth > spending on highways and loops and installation of utilities (water, sewer, electric and gas power lines, fiber optic/broadband hook-ups and networks) > scattered business parks, industrial and manufacturing corridors inside the "inner loops", tech centers and data centers, new employment corridors and multi-modal airport zones that can capitalize on transportation logics.
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If truth be told, the Director for the city's Office of Economic Development doesn't look like this any more.
Neither does Mesa after his arrival 12 years ago.
You might notice that this 2nd Quarter 2019 Newsletter is getting published ahead of time (it's usually April-May-June).
Along with the usual "Mesa In The News" column that just reprints what is published, Bill has highlights he wants you to know about.
THE ECONOMIC REPORTER Second Quarter 2019
The QUICK JAB
By Bill Jabjiniak
Economic growth and Opportunity Zones driving new industrial development in Mesa
"Since January 2018, more than 30 industrial buildings, consisting of nearly 2.5 million square feet, have been constructed, are under construction, or are currently in the entitlement process in the City of Mesa.
Many of these projects are located in Mesa’s Opportunity Zones.
Companies including Piper Plastics, EuroContempo, EdgeCore, and PotatoBarn have all broken ground or opened space in the last 12 months in both the Falcon District and Mesa’s Gateway Area.
In fact, so much activity has occurred in and around Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport that in Oct. 2018, the Phoenix Business Journal identified the area as “the next industrial development hot spot.”
LINK to the entire Economic Reporter Newsletter is inserted farther down
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Blogger Insert: To the left you can see a infographic taken from an April publication Community Impact for Gilbert.
Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport is the former military base Williams Field. It is very close to the Gilbert boundary.
An Employment Corridor
Take a look at the numbers from the sources they use for community impact. How's that for Return-On-Investment?
Public Investment:  $504,000,000
Private Investment: $  87,000,000
Investment dollars from the public are about 500% more than dollars from private interests.
What does that tell you? Benefits for the public _______
Benefits for private investors ______________________
(Fill-in the blanks  . . . )
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The federal Opportunity Zones program, which enables investors to defer and discount capital gains tax owed should they invest in a qualified Opportunity Fund, has driven much of the interest in industrial speculative space in Mesa.
Eleven census tracts in Mesa have been designated as Opportunity Zones, further incentive for companies and developers to invest in Mesa.
A map of Mesa’s Opportunity Zones can be viewed here.
The chart below includes a sampling of the current opportunities and industrial developments in Mesa.
As the economy continues to strengthen and more information is published about the Opportunity Zones program, we expect to see steady interest in these and other properties: 

Recent Industrial Development in Mesa
Site Name	Location	Bldgs	SF	Delivery Date	District	Opp. Zone*
Gateway  Technology  Commerce  Center	Ray Rd. between  Sossaman Rd./  Hawes Rd.	2	138,901	May 2019 Under Const.	Gateway	Yes
The Landing	Ray Rd. between  Sossaman Rd./  Hawes Rd.	6	281,085	Q2 2019 Under Const.	Gateway	Yes
Sunbelt  Holdings	NEC Elliot Rd./  Loop 202	2	286,000	TBD	Gateway	No
The Landing  202	SWC Hawes Rd./ Ray Rd.	TBD	500,000+	Q1 2020	Gateway	Yes
Falcon Field  Business  Center	3110 N. Greenfield  Rd.	1	42,228	Available Now	Falcon	No
Longbow  Gateway  One	3115 N. Higley Rd.	1	147,435	Available Now	Falcon	Yes
Falcon  Industrial  Park	1715 & 1737 N.  Rosemont	1	29,412	Apr. 2019 Under Const.	Falcon	No
Falcon  Commerce  Park	1710 N. Higley  Rd.	3	130,689	May 2019 Under Const.	Falcon	No
Majestic  Falcon  Field	NWC Higley Rd./  Ingram St.	1	85,554	Dec. 2019 Under Const.	Falcon	No
Longbow  Gateway  Phase 2	NEC Higley Rd./  Longbow Pkwy	3	211,050	TBD	Falcon	Yes
Metro  East Valley  Commerce  Center 2	709 E. Auto  Center Dr.	2	363,600	Sep. 2019 Under Const.	US 60 Corridor	No
* Denotes whether properties are in one of Mesa's Opportunity Zones. Take a look at >                (www.MesaAzOpportunityZones.com)

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Mesa’s Available Properties
Follow along if you wish and watch the developments move from concept to completion using our new Active Development map at www.selectmesa.com/mesadevelopments. Additionally, viewers can experience an aerial 360-degree, interactive tour of Mesa’s business districts at  www.AerialMesa.com.
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It is interesting to note that the right side includes contact information for members of the Economic Development Advisory Board and a link to their page on the official City of Mesa website 

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY BOARD

Voting Members

Rich Adams (20) - 1^st TermPresident & CEO
Southwest Business Credit Servicesrich@swbcs.com

 

Brian Campbell (21) - 1^st TermAttorney
Campbell Law Group of Arizona, PLLCbcampbell@campbellazlaw.com

James Christensen (19) - 2^nd TermPresident & CEO
Gateway Commercial Bankjamesc@gcbaz.com 

 

Deb Duvall (19) - 1^st TermCommunity Volunteerdebbieduvall@cox.net 

 

Jim Kasselmann, Vice Chair (20) - 1^st TermGeneral Manager
Dexcomjames.kasselmann@dexcom.com

 

Matt Likens (19) - 1^st TermPresident & CEO
GT Medical Technologies, Inc.
mlikens24@gmail.com

 

Natascha Ovando-Karadsheh, Chair (20) - 1^st TermAssociate Broker/Owner
KOR Propertiesnataschak@KORproperties.com

 

Dominic Perry (20) - 1^st TermAssociate
Avison Youngdominic.perry@avisonyoung.com

 

Ex-Officio Members

John GilesMayor
City of Mesamayor@mesaaz.gov

 

Chris BradyCity Manager
City of Mesachris.brady@mesaaz.gov

 

Sally HarrisonPresident & CEO
Mesa Chamber of Commercesharrison@mesachamber.org

 

Jeffrey S. Pitcher
Partner
Stinson Leonard Street LLPjeff.pitcher@stinson.com

 

Staff

William JabjiniakEconomic Development Director
City of Mesawilliam.jabjiniak@mesaaz.gov

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https://www.selectmesa.com/about/news-room/economic-reporter-newsletter/second-quarter-2019