Downtown Mesa
A Connected Urban Core for Growth, Talent, and Innovation
Downtown Mesa offers companies and investors a rare mix of transit access, higher education assets, adaptive reuse potential, and a growing innovation ecosystem. For executives evaluating expansion, relocation, or investment, Downtown Mesa provides the talent access, business support, and partnership environment to help organizations grow.
Transit-served and centrally connected: Downtown Mesa is served by Valley Metro Light Rail, giving businesses direct access to Downtown Phoenix, ASU, airport connections, and the broader East Valley from a walkable urban core.
Skilled labor within reach: Nearly 1.2 million adults live within a 30-minute commute, and more than half of that labor shed holds an associate degree or higher, supporting employers that need educated, trainable talent.
Built-in activity and visibility: Downtown Mesa blends employers, higher education, arts, events, and local retail in one walkable district that attracts about 2.5 million annual visitors and strong daily foot traffic.
Downtown Mesa Map
Companies Choosing Downtown Mesa
Education / Innovation Anchors
ASU at Mesa City Center / MIX Center
Benedictine University at Mesa
LaunchPoint Technology Incubator
Mesa Business Builder @ The Studios
Mesa Community College
Businesses / Organizations
Arizona Distilling Co.
Cider Corps
Delta Hotels by Marriott Phoenix Mesa
Downtown Mesa Association
Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken
Mesa Chamber of Commerce
Strive Pharmacy
Unscripted by Hyatt
Businesses / Organizations
Pedal Haus Brewery
PXG Parsons Xtreme Golf
Republica Empanada
Valley Metro
Visit Mesa
Worth Takeaway
Primary Industry Clusters & Opportunities
Education, Creative Technology, and Workforce Development
Downtown Mesa is well positioned for organizations tied to higher education, workforce development, media arts, design, and creative technology. The concentration of ASU at Mesa City Center, Benedictine University, Mesa Community College, and the Mesa Center for Higher Education supports talent pipelines, applied learning, and collaboration.
Key Institutions: ASU MIX Center, Benedictine University, LaunchPoint Technology Incubator, Mesa Business Builder @ The Studios
Arts, Culture, Hospitality, and Experience-Driven Business
Mesa Arts Center, museums, public art, signature events, and year-round activity make Downtown Mesa a strong environment for hospitality, retail, creative firms, and experience-driven development. Mesa Arts Center alone attracts more than 400,000 annual patrons.
Key Institutions: Mesa Arts Center, Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Arizona Museum of Natural History, idea Museum
Retail, Dining, and Local Services
Downtown Mesa is one of Arizona’s oldest and largest historic commercial districts and a strong fit for retailers, restaurants, hospitality concepts, and service businesses. The district combines a walkable Main Street environment with local boutiques, galleries, breweries, restaurants, and daily activity generated by employers, students, residents, and visitors.
Key Institutions / Businesses: Downtown Mesa Association, Visit Mesa, Pedal Haus Brewery, Cider Corps, Espiritu
Downtown Mesa as an Innovation District
Downtown Mesa is emerging as a compact, transit-served innovation district anchored by higher education, entrepreneurship, and creative technology. ASU at Mesa City Center’s MIX Center strengthens the district with programs in immersive media, film, design, and entrepreneurial development, while LaunchPoint adds incubator space, business support, and startup networking in the urban core.
The district also offers practical space and support for founders and growing firms. Mesa Business Builder @ The Studios provides free workspaces, tech studios, and business resources, while the broader Mesa Business Builder program adds free consulting, training, webinars, networking, and Mesa-funded college coursework through Educates U. Downtown entrepreneurs also benefit from coworking and maker resources such as CO+HOOTS, Expansive Mesa at Newberry Station, HeatSync Labs, and THINKspot.
Incentives that Improve Project Feasibility
Downtown Mesa sits within an established opportunity zone, Central Business District and Redevelopment Area, where qualifying projects may be eligible for an 8-year GPLET tax abatement. New qualifying small businesses may also access a 25% reduction in electric and water bills for three years through the Downtown Small Business Attraction Utility Rate Program. Additional tools include expedited plan review, self-certification for eligible projects, structured parking lease options, patio encroachment review, sign and façade programs, and a dedicated downtown project manager for larger development efforts.
Public-Private Partnership Support
Mesa’s redevelopment vision for Town Center includes continued adaptive reuse, mixed-use infill, and public-private partnerships that strengthen Downtown’s economic and cultural role. For developers and occupiers, that means a city focused on implementation as well as planning.
Workforce and Market Access
Downtown Mesa gives employers access to one of the region’s largest labor pools while offering a more urban, collaborative setting than many suburban submarkets. Downtown Mesa reports a labor force of 1.2 million within a 30-minute drive.
For companies that need both talent and visibility, Downtown Mesa combines regional labor access with a business environment shaped by students, professionals, residents, visitors, and civic institutions. That mix supports office users, innovation teams, education-oriented organizations, retail, and mixed-use projects.
Labor Market / Educational Attainment
Downtown Mesa offers employers access to a large, educated labor pool within a short commute. The district’s workforce reach and educational attainment support office, innovation, education, healthcare, and service-sector employers seeking both talent and long-term scalability.
Labor Market
(age 16+)
| Year | 20-Minute Commute | 30-Minute Commute |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 615,897 | 1,194,173 |
| 2030 | 659,010 | 1,277,766 |
Source: Esri Business Analyst (2025). Market Profile Reports: 20- and 30-Minute Drive-Time Analyses for COM Business District Center Points; Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity (2024). Employment Projections Trends: Long-Term (2024–2034) Industry Employment Projections, Maricopa County; City of Mesa Office of Economic Development analysis. Center point – Main St. & Center St.
Educational Attainment
(age 25+, highest level completed)
| Degree | 20-Minute Commute | 30-Minute Commute |
|---|---|---|
| Associate Degree | 9.7% | 9.0% |
| Bachelor’s Degree | 26.5% | 25.8% |
| Graduate/Professional Degree | 16.0% | 16.0% |
Source: Esri Business Analyst (2025). Educational Attainment Tables, Population Age 25+, Market Profile Reports for COM Business District Drive-Time Analyses.
Available Properties / Development Opportunities
Downtown Mesa offers flexible options for users and investors, from adaptive reuse buildings and office space to redevelopment sites and mixed-use opportunities in the Town Center core. Explore available properties and tools to identify the right fit for your next location or project.
Robust Infrastructure
Infrastructure Ready for Growth: Explore office space, redevelopment sites, startup space, and mixed-use opportunities in Downtown Mesa’s transit-served core, supported by strong utility service, fiber availability, and city partnership.
We’re here to help businesses grow – with purpose and partnership.