By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
A major master-planned community intended for nearly 65 acres at the SEC of Signal Butte Road and Southern Avenue in Mesa has undergone a major update.
News broke last year concerning plans for Medina Station. The original plan was submitted by a group made up of Bela Flor Communities, VIVO Development Partners, Hawkins Companies and Greystar Worldwide. The plan at that time consisted of 851 multifamily units and 246.8KSF of retail and restaurant space, including an anchor tenant site of approximately 148KSF. (AZBEX; Aug. 25, 2023)
Those plans show Bela Flor and VIVO developing the commercial component, while the multifamily component would consist of three communities—two developed under a partnership between Bela Flor and Hawkins and a third under a partnership between Bela Flor and Greystar, which would have been a 55+ complex.
BEX Research last filed an updated status note in March of this year, with no new information or hearing dates scheduled by City of Mesa planning staff.
Then, last week, a local news outlet published a brief story saying Target would be the retail anchor tenant. That left BEX Research and AZBEX Editorial staff somewhat confused, as Target had already been shown in drawings as the anchor tenant when the story broke last year.
The story did, however, include a new piece of information, namely, “SimonCRE has been brought on to lead the retail development of Medina Station.”
While SimonCRE CEO Josh Simon provided few specifics in that article, he confirmed his company’s involvement and estimated the retail portion of Medina Station would be an approximately $150M investment.
That, to us, seemed to indicate there was a much bigger story afoot than just another Target store in the East Valley. We went to the City of Mesa’s project documents repository to look for updates and found the entire plan had changed.
The New Medina Station Plan
Documents from Mesa Design Review and Planning and Zoning show several submissions and updates were filed last October, including an updated project narrative from Bela Flor Communities and VIVO Development Partners. The filings then stopped until May when the whole project changed with a flurry of new submissions.
Most important among the new filings are an updated narrative filed with Design Review on May 21 and a new design guidelines document filed on July 15.
The new documents make no mention of VIVO, Hawkins Companies or Greystar Worldwide. According to the design guidelines documents, Bela Flor Communities is now the land developer and the multifamily developer. SimonCRE is the commercial developer. The various design firms mentioned in last year’s documents have now been replaced by RKAA Architects, Inc. as the “masterplan architect.” Legal representation remains with Pew & Lake, PLC.
The original plan called for Medina Station to be developed as four parcels. Parcel A was to be the VIVO commercial portion at 246.8KSF. Parcels B and C would be Hawkins’ multifamily communities of 337 and 349 units, and Parcel D would be the Greystar 55+ development of 165 units.
The new narrative from SimonCRE and Bela Flor Communities details plans for a mixture of uses including retail, commercial, restaurant, and multi-family residential. Upon completion, it is anticipated that approximately 278,750 SF of commercial space will be developed along with approximately 651 residential units, all of which may vary during the final development approvals for the Project.
Concurrent with the narrative, the developers have requested annexation of nearly 64 acres from Maricopa County into the City of Mesa, rezoning 64.6 gross/60.2 net acres from agricultural to limited commercial with a planned area development overlay and council use permit, Design Review Board approval of the master plan design guidelines, final site plan approval for the 33.1-gross acre commercial portion, preliminary plat approval for the commercial development, and conceptual site plan approvals for the 11.15- and 13.5-gross acre residential developments.
Specific Components of Medina Station
The new Medina Station plan has been reduced from four parcels down to three, referred to as Parcels A, B and C.
Regarding the Parcel A commercial component, the narrative submitted to Design Review says, “The commercial development, led by SimonCRE, envisions an approximately 148KSF anchor tenant with corresponding shops, in-line retail, and twelve Pad sites. A mixture of full and limited-service restaurants will diversify dining options for existing and future residents in this eastern area of the City and visitors traversing the US-60 freeway. SimonCRE will develop the commercial section in multiple phases. The majority of the retail center site work will be completed once permitted, while the horizontal improvements for the building pads will be installed once those sections are leased out.”
The Parcel B and C components are described saying, “The residential development, by Bela Flor, will allow for a variety of different buildings and products with dispersed parking and amenities throughout the site. By providing a mixture of height (2, 3 & 4 stories) and unit offerings, the housing development will create a strong, vibrant and diverse community that will yield an attractive architectural layout and become a solid support for the retail uses. In-line with the desired approach of the City wherein Medina Station is an urban design. The multi-family developer is requesting a reduction in parking, an increase in building height, and a smaller perimeter landscape setback between the residential projects to allow buildings to more fully engage the adjacent public and private streets.”
Parcel B is tentatively planned for 347 units, with Parcel C having 304. Planned amenities include a clubhouse, fitness center, pool, spa, shade structures, barbeque facilities, social spaces and gaming areas. Parcel B will feature connections to multiuse trails that lead to the Central Arizona Project Regional Trail System. Parcel C will include a pedestrian connection to the commercial paseo walkway.
In justifying the requests for Medina Station, the narrative says, “The proposal represents a significant opportunity to add retail, restaurant, and housing options to a growing part of the City. The mixture of uses is intended to complement the surrounding area, deliver additional quality housing for Mesa residents, and create vibrant employment and local business opportunities. The proposal provides thoughtful integration between the residential and commercial uses with strategic and friendly coordination between the pedestrian and vehicular connections, all of which will be enhanced by establishing complimentary design guidelines for building architecture and landscape that will be implemented throughout the Project.”
