Top 5 Mesa stories to watch for in 2026

Growth, development, a lawsuit against the East Valley Institute of Technology and a council election are expected to shape communities across Mesa in 2026. Here are the top five things that will be impacting the community this year.

Redevelopment at former Fiesta Mall in Mesa

Palo District, the planned redevelopment and revitalization of the Fiesta Mall site in Mesa, is to include a women’s health campus as a cornerstone of the broader Palo District redevelopment and revitalization project.

Plans revealed late in 2025 include the Palo District project including restaurants and retail, lodging, office and medical office, multifamily residential, an entertainment district and sports facilities.

In 2026 more is to be revealed about the development.

ASU looks to continue growing its presence in downtown Mesa

Arizona State University is looking to expand its footprint in downtown Mesa, or more specifically the Mesa City Center.

Out of five potential locations, three of which are for ASU and two are partner locations shared by the university and by the city, the most prominent one is the old post office on 135 N. Center St. It’s early on in the process, but it will be part of ASU’s planned center for creative technology at Mesa City Center, which is built along the Mesa city center on Main Street where the MIX Center and new council chambers reside.

Legacy Park planned near airport

Also announced in 2025 were the plans for the 200-acre mixed-use development Legacy Park to be built through a partnership between Vestar and landowner Pacific Proving LLC. It is to be near Mesa Gateway Airport and will be accessible via the new State Route 24 at Williams Field Road.

At full build-out, Legacy Park is to include 300,000 square feet of upscale retail and sit-down restaurants, 2,500 multifamily residences, a 600-room resort hotel, 3.4 million square feet of mid-rise office and corporate campus space and a more than 20-acre urban park with a large lake.

The resort hotel is to be managed by The Athens Group, a developer behind properties for Four Seasons, Montage and Marriott, including Ritz-Carlton resorts.

Three council seats up for election in 2026

An Aug. 4 primary election will be held to elect council members in Districts 4, 5 and 6 to serve four-year terms beginning January 2027, possibly changing the makeup of the council.

The general election will be held Nov. 3 for a candidate runoff, if necessary, and any other ballot measures.

School districts sue EVIT

Several school district governing boards — including those in Apache Junction, Chandler and Queen Creek — voted in 2025 to begin legal action against the East Valley Institute of Technology in Mesa as it attempts to reduce funding for career and technical education satellite programs.

Under the satellite program, students can take CTE classes on their high school campuses rather than going to two EVIT locations in east and west Mesa.

The districts fear the funding cuts could result in some satellite programs being eliminated, forcing students who want to study a particular vocation to travel to the EVIT campuses in Mesa rather than study at their respective high schools.

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