Massive project planned for Gateway area

A developer is planning to transform 230 acres of desert near the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport into a dense urban center of offices, industry, shops and hotels.

The Gateway 202 Airpark would eventually grow to 3.3 million square feet — the size of three regional shopping malls.

The development is one of the first large-scale projects proposed around the airport, which Mesa is banking on to be an economic engine for the city, if not the East Valley.

The area is expected to eventually become the Valley’s fourth-largest employment hub, with 100,000 jobs envisioned. Mesa officials say this development is the kind of thing that will make that happen.

Click for full version

“In 10 to 20 years’ time, it’s going to be a very intense employment center,” said Councilman Scott Somers, whose District 6 includes the airport area.

Phoenix-based Kitchell Development Company submitted plans to Mesa, whose Planning and Zoning Board will review the project at its meeting Wednesday.

Gateway 202 Airpark sits just south of the Loop 202 Santan Freeway, as it curves by the airport. The project, which would be bisected by the future state Route 802 freeway, would likely be built over many years, Somers said.

He said it would start as a suburban-style office park that would eventually become denser, taller and more urban. Plans call for buildings of up to eight stories.

But unlike most suburban developments, this one would likely include buildings that can be expanded in size and height, Somers said. Some buildings might start as two-story structures, but have footings and foundations that will support additional levels in the future. Also, some parking lots would eventually be replaced with taller buildings and parking garages.

Somers considers that one of the best parts of the plan. Instead of letting obsolete buildings sit idle and blighting an area, they can be refashioned in a more orderly manner, he said.

“It’s a refreshing way of doing business,” Somers said.

Mesa and the airport are concerned with one element of the plan — apartments that are in or very close to the flight path. The airport wrote a letter to the city warning the apartments could jeopardize the airport’s future by boosting the number of noise complaints. Airport officials urge extensive notifications if the apartments are built so residents know what kind of noise to expect.

Airport officials welcome the other development, but generally oppose housing within areas that have certain noise levels.

“There is room for residential near airports, it just needs to be done in a well-planned and thought-out manner,” airport spokesman Brian Sexton said.

The developer is reworking the residential plans, Somers said. The city would like to move the housing or have further evidence that soundproofing techniques will do enough to reduce noise inside the apartments, Somers said.

There is no clear schedule for the project’s development. The area won’t have access to it for about a year, when Mesa extends Ray Road from Power to Ellsworth roads. After that, Somers expects some office space and a hotel would be among the first components to be developed.

Representatives with Kitchell did not return calls for comment.