This article originally appeared in AZRE magazine.
In 2020, a study by J.D. Power ranked Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport as the best major airport in the U.S. While many travelers coming to or departing from the Valley pass through Sky Harbor, it isn’t the only runway in town.
About 30 miles to the southeast is Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, which originally was an Air Force base where more than 26,500 pilots trained over a 52-year period. Gateway Airport now offers non-stop flights to 60 cities and hosts more than 40 companies, with an annual economic impact of $1.3 billion to Arizona’s economy.
The land surrounding the airport, known as Mesa Gateway, has become a magnet for industry, with developments including the 1 million-square-foot speculative industrial building Elliot 202 and an $800 million data center by Meta, the parent company of Facebook, in the works.
According to Mesa Council Member Kevin Thompson, who represents Mesa Gateway as part of District 6, the accessibility of the area is attracting more industrial users. “Just the fact that SR 24 is coming has accelerated projects that have been looming in the background for years. Developers are seeing the nexus of everything coming together and they want to be part of that,” he says.
Between the availability of land and growing connectedness of the region, development in Mesa Gateway is thriving.