MESA — City Council has given unanimous approval to development agreements for Legacy Park and Gateway Crossing, a roughly $3 billion Vestar project that Mayor Mark Freeman called a “generational” investment near Mesa Gateway Airport.
The package covers about 233 acres east of Ellsworth Road between State Route 24 and Williams Field Road, close to Arizona Athletic Grounds, ASU’s Polytechnic campus and the airport. Officials approved annexation and zoning steps, including a theme-park district meant to unlock the build-out.
Plans sketched for Legacy Park include about 400,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and fitness space, a 600-room luxury resort, 3.8 million square feet of offices, more than 2,200 apartments, a 150-key hotel and a 20-acre park. Gateway Crossing is expected to add a Sam’s Club, smaller retail and two 95-key hotels, with a pedestrian tunnel planned toward the athletic grounds.
An Applied Economics analysis cited by the city projects $58.8 billion in economic activity, upward of 13,500 jobs and $1.4 billion in tax revenue over 30 years. Developers must fund public infrastructure first; reimbursements would come later from project-generated tax revenue.
Construction is targeted to start in early 2028, with Phase 1 aiming to open in October 2029 — a long runway that will test Mesa’s appetite for megaprojects as East Valley growth presses against water, traffic and housing constraints.