By Adrienne St. Clair for Arizona Builder’s Exchange
Orsett Properties, LTD has submitted a rezoning request and project proposal to the City of Mesa to build two industrial office buildings in the Ray Road Commerce Center North near PHX-Mesa Gateway Airport. (AZBEX, March 6)
Each of the two office buildings is planned to be 32.7KSF. Each building will have its own yard behind it, complete with truck wells. Both will be set up to accommodate both warehouse and office use.
One of the buildings will be used for Identico Print Services, a toner manufacturing company originally based out of Chandler. According to the project proposal, the architects anticipate Identico Print Services will use 21KSF of the building — 75 percent of the total square footage. The company may expand to the rest of the building in the future, but the current plan is that the remaining 11KSF will be used as spec space to be rented out. The other building will also be spec and rented out to tenants. Because the buildings will be built on separate lots, the owner is able to more easily sell the second if needed.
The site runs along Power Road and is across from a well-trafficked shopping center.
The property is currently zoned as Light Industrial. The developer plans to keep this zoning but requested a special use permit for a reduction in the parking requirement. Mesa’s Planning & Zoning Commission heard and approved the request in August.
The proposal argued that because the other tenants are currently unknown, parking needs could not be accurately estimated. However, since the buildings are intended for both office and warehouse use, the developer anticipates the parking needs will be less than those required by the original zoning designation.
The proposal states the developer has still provided enough of a buffer in the plans for parking. The ultimate goal of the special permit request is to allow for “flexibility without overkilling the site with parking,” according to city documents.
The developer has also promised to “engage the surrounding property owners and residents within 1000 feet from the site.” A plan is in place to notify and provide community members in the area to let them learn about and give feedback on the project.