Mesa Approves $3B Legacy Park Under Strict Desert Water Rules

Water Policy Mesa Approves $3B Legacy Park Under Strict Desert Water Rules The Mesa City Council approved Legacy Park and Gateway Crossing on Sept. 14, a roughly $3 billion mixed-use development that will support a growing area, including Mesa Gateway Airport, Arizona State University's Polytechnic campus, Arizona Athletic Grounds and State Route 24. The two projects are planned as connected mixed-use destinations with hospitality, dining, retail, office and residential development, along with a public park. The developments also include pedestrian connections and transportation and utility improvements. "Legacy Park is a generational opportunity for Mesa and the largest private investment in our city's history to date," said Mayor Mark Freeman in a news release. "This is the kind of investment that can shape Mesa's economy for decades to come." Phase 1 of the project is a $1-billion infrastructure and public park build targeting an October 2029 opening. A highlight of this phase is a 10-acre man-made lake that needs special permits and cannot use municipal tap water. To fill the lake without using Mesa's municipal water, developer Vestar must buy private Type II groundwater rights. Under Arizona law, these rights are transferable water tickets that aren't tied to any specific piece of land. This means a developer can buy the rights from a closed-down factory or mine and transfer them to their own project, and use them to pump water from a new private well. Because of this rule, engineers must build a completely separate pipe system for the lake so it never accidentally hooks up to or mixes with Mesa’s clean drinking water. And because the lake is in a hot desert climate, the team has to use special plastic liners and engineering tricks to keep private well water from evaporating. While buying Type II rights gives Vestar the legal authority to pump groundwater, regulators emphasize that drilling a major commercial well requires a specific state review. “When non-exempt wells (wells pumping more than 35 gpm) are permitted, they must submit a well impact analysis to ensure withdrawals from the proposed well will not cause unreasonably increasing damage to surrounding land or other water users,” says Arizona Department of Water Resources spokesperson Doug MacEachern. Filling a big lake in the middle of a desert is also heavily restricted. "Arizona law prohibits the use of any water to fill or refill all or a portion of a body of water for scenic or recreational purposes, with specific exceptions," says MacEachern. Vestar's project works because the lake sits inside a master-planned park destined for public ownership. The project qualifies under a state exemption for bodies of water "located in a recreational facility that is open to the public and owned or operated by the United States, this state, a city, town or county ..." A recent analysis says the development could generate approximately $58.8 billion in economic activity, 13,500 jobs and $1.4 billion in tax revenue over 30 years. Under this agreement, Vestar must pay for all initial infrastructure upfront. The city will gradually repay them through a rolling tax-sharing plan using sales and lodging taxes collected on-site, with total reimbursements capped at $76.4 million. The city won't release the full funds until Vestar hits milestones, secures the water rights, and hands over the completed 20-acre park by the final December 31, 2034 deadline. A general contractor has not yet been selected for the infrastructure work.