Across State Route 24 from Cadence at Gateway, a long-vacant stretch of the former General Motors proving grounds is being positioned for one of the largest development projects proposed in the East Valley.
Legacy Park is a planned mixed-use district at the northeast corner of Ellsworth and Williams Field roads in southeast Mesa. Current plans combine upscale retail and restaurants with apartments, offices, a resort hotel, a large public park and a lake.
But the most important fact right now is also the simplest: Legacy Park has not broken ground.
Latest update — September 6, 2026: Mesa has advanced a notice of intent for a Legacy Park and Gateway Crossing tax-incentive agreement, and related annexation and zoning ordinances were introduced August 31. These steps do not establish final approval of the development agreement or an opening date. Read our report on the Mesa council vote and what happens next.
What is planned at Legacy Park?
Vestar and Pacific Proving are presenting Legacy Park as a regional destination rather than a conventional neighborhood shopping center.
At full buildout, the developers’ public materials describe:
Approximately 300,000 square feet of upscale retail and restaurants
About 2,500 multifamily residences
A 600-room resort hotel and conference center
Approximately 3.4 million square feet of office and corporate-campus space
A public park of more than 20 acres organized around a large lake
Walking paths, plazas and connected green space
The retail and restaurant component has been compared with Scottsdale Quarter, where shops, restaurants, offices and residences are combined in a walkable outdoor district.
No specific retail or restaurant lineup has been publicly released. Vestar has said it is pursuing chef-driven restaurants and retailers that would be new to the East Valley, but those descriptions should not be treated as tenant announcements.
What could be included in the first phase?
The current Legacy Park leasing brochure places the project’s major lifestyle components in the initial phase.
Those plans show approximately 700 rental residences, the retail district, office space, the lake and park, a fitness center and the resort. The brochure specifically identifies a 600-room JW Marriott and a roughly 100,000-square-foot Life Time Fitness.
Those names appear in current project marketing materials, but neither business has published a project-specific opening date. Until additional announcements are made by the companies involved, they are best described as planned components rather than open or under-construction locations.
Project details may also evolve during zoning, design, leasing and construction. Even current materials contain small differences in some square-footage totals, another reason to treat the numbers as plans rather than fixed promises.
Where would Legacy Park be located?
The site sits at the northeast corner of Ellsworth and Williams Field roads, immediately south of State Route 24 and beside Arizona Athletic Grounds.
For Cadence residents, Legacy Park is close—but it is not part of Cadence. The existing neighborhood sits across SR 24 from much of the proposed development area.
The project is also near Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, ASU Polytechnic and the growing employment corridor extending through southeast Mesa, Gilbert and Queen Creek.
Its freeway exposure is a major part of the plan. Developer materials emphasize access from two SR 24 interchanges and a regional trade area reaching Mesa, Gilbert, Queen Creek and San Tan Valley.
This is not the former Legacy Park sports complex
The name is likely to create some confusion.
Arizona Athletic Grounds, the large sports complex next to the proposed development, previously operated under the names Legacy Park and Bell Bank Park.
The new Legacy Park discussed here is a separate mixed-use development proposed on adjacent land. It would contain retail, housing, offices, hospitality and public open space rather than sports fields and athletic facilities.
When could Legacy Park open?
Vestar’s public announcement identified 2027 as the expected groundbreaking year.
City economic-development meeting records from December 2025 said construction of the first phase was expected to take approximately 24 months, with the fitness center, hotel, lake, park and apartments being built concurrently.
If groundbreaking occurs in 2027 and that schedule holds, major portions of Phase 1 could arrive around 2029. That is an estimate based on the stated construction window—not an announced grand-opening date.
Projects of this size commonly move in stages, and the full office and residential buildout could continue for many years after the first shops and amenities open.
Legacy Park approval timeline and latest coverage
August 26, 2026: Mesa’s Planning and Zoning agenda listed case ZON25-00891, a request to rezone approximately 196.3 acres from Light Industrial to Planned Community District.
August 27, 2026: The council adopted a notice of intent for a proposed tax-incentive agreement, according to Mesa Independent. The reported vote was 6–1; the city’s online minutes remain draft.
August 31, 2026: Mesa Independent reported introduction of the related annexation and rezoning ordinances. Introduction is distinct from final adoption.
Next planned step: Mesa staff’s council report identifies September 14, 2026, at 5:45 p.m., or a later meeting, for consideration of the development agreement. Check the posted city agenda for changes.
Our August council actions explained includes links to the city report, resolution, zoning case and the reporting behind the vote tally. This guide will collect future substantive updates here.
What Cadence residents should watch
For nearby residents, Legacy Park could eventually change the range of restaurants, shopping, recreation and hospitality available within a short drive.
It could also affect traffic and construction patterns around Ellsworth Road, Williams Field Road and the SR 24 interchanges. Road capacity, access points and the timing of surrounding improvements will become more important as the project advances.
The biggest milestones will be:
Final city zoning and development approvals
Confirmation of the hotel and fitness components
The first named restaurants and retailers
A construction contract and formal groundbreaking
Opening dates for the initial phase
Until those steps occur, renderings should be understood as a vision for the site—not a picture of work already underway.
What remains unknown
Several of the questions nearby residents are most likely to ask still do not have firm public answers.
There is no announced list of shops or restaurants, no confirmed grand-opening date and no visible construction activity on the Legacy Park site. A 2027 groundbreaking remains the developer’s target rather than a guarantee.
East Valley Explorer will update this story as the zoning case moves forward, tenants are announced and work begins on the property.
