new luxury apartment complex in mesa to replace abandoned shopping center

The site of the one-time thriving Fiesta Village shopping center in southwest Mesa may soon be the home of an upscale 220-unit apartment complex.

The project will encompass a full block between Stewart Street and Alma School Road and will include a clubhouse and an emphasis on landscaped green space and clusters of apartment  buildings.

What is being called the Landing at Fiesta Village will be developed by the owner of the property, W.M. Grace Companies of Phoenix, and will additionally include retail and restaurant space.

The project is expected to be reviewed by Mesa’s Planning and Zoning Board later this month. To get the project underway, zoning for the site will most likely be classified as planned area development for commercial and multi-family use.

Opened in 1979, Fiesta Village was once one of the most popular shopping centers in Mesa with a theater, restaurants, and dozens of stores. It began to lose customers in the late 1990s, resulting in a subsequent exit of tenants and empty stores.

By 2010, after the last tenant had left, all of Fiesta Village was closed off and surrounded by a barbed-wire fence.

If the project is approved by the city, Fiesta Village will be demolished, with actual construction work beginning later this summer or early fall.

By Garry Boulard

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