A view of the proposed expansion from State Route 24 near South Mountain Road looking southwest. The architectural design for the proposed project is to complement and be consistent with the existing industrial uses in the area and the current Fujifilm facility.
City of Mesa
To accommodate increased demand projections and to allow for greater flexibility, Fujifilm is proposing to build out a 20-acre portion of the western half of their property and approximately 11 acres of newly acquired property consisting of five parcels.
A 79,745-square-foot expansion is planned at the Fujifilm Electronic Materials industrial facility on 61.6 acres north of the northwest corner of East Pecos Road and South Mountain Road in Mesa.
Fujifilm Electronic Materials has two sites in Mesa: 6550 S. Mountain Road, for the design, manufacture and distribution of specialty chemical for the semiconductor industry and plastic containers; and 7827 E. Ray Road, for the storage and distribution in support of manufacturing specialty chemicals for the semiconductor industry, it states in a document at fujifilm.com.
The look and landscaping for the development were discussed during the Nov. 18 meeting of the Mesa Design Review Board. Board members Paul Johnson and Denise Dunlop were absent.
The proposal is broken into two phases, Staff Planner Jennifer Merrill said.
“Phase 1 includes (a) landscaped entrance from Signal Butte Road, which doesn’t currently exist. The main entrance is off of Mountain. Phase 1 also includes some buildings and equipment internal to the site as well as a new screen wall along the west side of the development,” she said.
Phase 2 includes a new 63,305-square-foot building, Merrill said.
“It a warehouse and manufacturing building. It is approximately 110 feet tall and it is shown in the northern portion of the site... There’s also a new guard house that’s going to be constructed at the new entrance along Signal Butte Road and there will also be new buildings and equipment located internal to the site,” she said.
Phase 1 landscaping will be focused on the west side of the site along the new entrance drive. Phase 2 landscaping will be on the southern property line and the southeastern part where a new parking lot is being proposed, Merrill said.
“The building was designed with similar colors and materials as the existing buildings on the Fujifilm site. The lower portion of the building is the tilt-up concrete construction in that cream color that is common throughout the site with their concrete buildings. The upper portion of the building is comprised of concrete-metal panels in different shades of gray as well as some vertical fins which stick out from the building 12 inches to provide some shade and change in those shaded areas throughout the day as the sun is moving,” she said.
The law firm Quarles & Brady LLP submitted an application for a rezoning, site plan approval and design review on behalf of Fujifilm Electronic Materials U.S.A. Inc. The architectural design for the proposed project is to complement and be consistent with the existing industrial uses in the area and the current Fujifilm facility, according to a written project narrative.
“The existing raw material warehouse, solvent storage warehouse, finished goods warehouse and isotainers — special containers to store and transport hazardous and non-hazardous liquids — storage areas all need increases in spatial allotment to account for continued growth,” it states.
To accommodate increased demand projections and to allow for greater flexibility, Fujifilm is proposing to build out a 20-acre portion of the western half of its property and approximately 11 acres of newly acquired property consisting of five parcels including a recently abandoned highway easement strip obtained from Arizona Department of Transportation as part of the State Route 24 expansion and a parcel obtained after the completion of the Signal Butte interchange, it states.
“The scope of this expansion project will be developed over two phases, which will include construction of the new tank farm with chillers, control room, equipment canopy and processing towers — also known as ‘Melville’ — additional container parking, ancillary buildings for operational support,and five new building structures, totaling approximately 86,455 square feet,” it states.
The proposed site plan includes space allocated for a future publicly owned utility substation, a future manufacturing/warehouse area with associated parking, and an unallocated space for future development, it states in the project narrative.
“After the Phase 2 expansion is complete, Fuji anticipates approximately 443 total employees, of which 183 work in production and 260 work in administration. This facility is a 24/7 operation with shifts consisting of front-end days, front-end nights, back-end days and back-end nights. If the facility runs more than one shift a day, employee count will be based on the two largest shifts, approximately 160 production employees,” 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 X @rhdyer. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines, https://www.yourvalley.net/civility-checklist/.
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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