What happens in this facility is that the product comes in, it’s unboxed and checked, and then they set up an appointment for the delivery to the customer. They queue up all of the deliveries and they take their trucks out in the morning and they make every one of those stops and they come back and they take your refrigerator away and they drop the new refrigerator off and install it. And that’s how it works.”
Mary McNear of Beus Gilbert McGroder PLLC, the applicant
A Costco distribution center is planned on 12 acres north of Elliot Road and east of Ellsworth Road in Mesa.
The landscaping and look of the industrial development were discussed at the Jan. 10 meeting of the Mesa Design Review Board.
The request is for an industrial building with frontage on three streets — south 94th Place, east Peterson Avenue and south 96th Street, Staff Planner Sean Pesek said at the board meeting.
“The building is proposed to be (72,623) square feet in size with an entry plaza at the northeast corner. There’s an amenity area also proposed at the southeast corner. The loading docks face the south, so it’s on the south side of the building; and then you have employee and visitor parking along the north and east sides of the site,” he said.
There will be insulated glazing, sandstone, metal wall panels and concrete, according to the materials board.
Mary McNear of Beus Gilbert McGroder PLLC is the applicant. Sunbelt Holdings is the owner.
A total of about 75 fulltime employees are to be at the site, McNear said at the board meeting.
“If you order something online from Costco, the large items will go to a direct-delivery center and then to this market-delivery operation. And then this is kind of like the last mile, the last five miles to your house,” she said. “What happens in this facility is that the product comes in, it’s unboxed and checked, and then they set up an appointment for the delivery to the customer. They queue up all of the deliveries and they take their trucks out in the morning and they make every one of those stops and they come back and they take your refrigerator away and they drop the new refrigerator off and install it. And that’s how it works.”
The 34-foot-tall merchandise-transfer building is to be constructed on a vacant parcel and developed in two phases, McNear said in a written project narrative.
“Large bulky items — furniture, appliances and electronics — will be delivered to customer residences from the merchandise transfer building. The building is oriented for easy access of loading and good separation of the onsite movement for employee cars, delivery vehicles, pedestrians and flow of distribution,” it states.
The all-volunteer Mesa Design Review Board is unique in that its composition is set by the zoning ordinance to include two architects; two from other design professions such as landscape architecture, engineering, urban planning, interior design or other design-related background; one contractor or developer; and two residents, according to the city’s website.
Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @rhdyer. To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
Richard Dyer Managing Editor | East Valley @RHDyer
Meet Richard Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.
Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions.
Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.
Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.
Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.
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