An ambitious project designed to bring new life to the site of the former Fiesta Mall in Mesa has received an important green light.
Located at 1445 West Southern Avenue, the more than 1 million square foot mall was completed at a cost of around $55 million in 1979 and shortly became one of the most successful shopping centers in southern Arizona with more than 150 stores.
The mall underwent an extensive renovation in 1989 before suffering from a decline in foot traffic beginning in the late 1990s thought to be owing to the opening of the 1.2 million-square-foot Arizona Mall in nearby Tempe.
The subsequent exit of two anchor tenants led to the Fiesta Mall’s subsequent closing in 2019. After several bids to purchase and upgrade the mall in the years to follow went nowhere, the mall was demolished in 2023.
Now members of the Mesa City Council have given their approval to the rezoning of the nearly 80-acre former site of the mall as a necessary step to the building of a large mixed-use development.
As envisioned by the Tempe-based Verde Investments spearheading the project, the redevelopment will see the building of up to 4,000 residential units, as well as just under 2 million square feet of commercial and retail space.
The project’s developers have put a special emphasis on making the site walkable, designating some 500,000 square feet of the site to open space.
According to city documents, what is being called Fiesta Redefined has qualified as an official infill project that will include “design standards and guidelines that will ensure the project develops as a high-quality mixed-use development.”
A schedule for when work may begin on the site has not yet been announced.
December 12, 2024
By Garry Boulard
