Two mid-rise hotels, a movie theater, a major department store, office suites and apartments are on the drawing boards in Mesa.

View map of developments

Together, the proposed Red Mountain Commons, Val Vista Retail Center and another unnamed center will bring to market nearly 800,000 square feet of space, roughly the size of a regional mall.

At 427,000 square feet, Val Vista Retail Center, planned at the southeast corner of Val Vista Drive and Thomas Road is by far the largest of the three developments.

Plans call for an undetermined anchor store, such as a JC Penny or Target.

"We're out there right now combing the earth for potential anchors at this point," said Charles Carlise, president of Phoenix-based De Rito Partners Development, which is buying the property.

De Rito is also planning several smaller "junior" anchors, ranging from 10,000 to 20,000 square feet, and smaller, infill retail stores.

Another component of the project is a planned apartment complex that would be farmed out to another developer. It would host everything from studios to two-bedroom units.

Carlise said the firm hasn't identified any potential tenants for the development.

"In this business, there's a strong herd mentality," he said. "One steps up and there's a group of obvious players that go along."

RED MOUNTAIN COMMONS

Red Mountain Commons would encompass 150,000 square feet of retail space and 84,000 square feet of offices with a 120-room hotel at the southwest corner of Recker and Thomas roads.

The development would be within a stone's throw of Red Mountain Commerce Park, a project expected to be begin this summer that would bring two hotels, high-end office buildings and retail stores to a 25-acre lot.

Officials from Scottsdale-based Diversified Partners, developers of Red Mountain Commons, couldn't be reached for comment.

"It's kind of a boutique-style retail development with a movie theater anchoring it on one end," said Tom Ellsworth, a city senior planner who met with developers. "They said, 'Think Dana Park.' It's a little bit more than your common strip center."

Dana Park Village Square is a 66-acre shopping center at Baseline Road and Val Vista Drive in Mesa, which boasts an AJ's Fine Foods, Designs of the Interior and Victoria's Secret.

The project, which is in its third phase of development, could eventually include a high-rise tower with luxury apartment units, condos or offices,

Ellsworth said it would take up to a year before construction could begin on Red Mountain Commons.

NO NAME YET

Developers are kicking around potential names for the planned mixed-use development at the southeast corner of Power and Elliot roads, but Geoffrey Gilbert, the center's real estate and sales agent, wouldn't disclose many other details.

The development would encompass about 130,790 square feet and include a 103-room, four-story hotel.

Gilbert wouldn't say when the firm hopes to break ground.