A 63-acre parcel of land, situated at Mesa’s Falcon Field Airport, could soon be occupied by a business park which is focused on medical research and technology. This could mean new, high-wage jobs in a part of town that is already quite prosperous.
If the project moves forward it would mean the redevelopment of citrus groves that have been there for over 60 years. A piece of Mesa’s history will be demolished to allow the new development. The city-owned piece of land is just west of the airport near Greenfield and McDowell roads.
This is, however, a prime location for the tech center because of the existing utility infrastructure and convenient access to market. This would be Arizona’s only technology park that would be focused on the medical device industry and there is already a strong existing healthcare and bioscience cluster in the Phoenix-Mesa metro area.
There are many other companies in the Mesa area that focus on medical devices and equipment. These companies manufacture imaging tools, ophthalmic instruments, ultrasound equipment, dental products, and infusion pump devices.
In the Mesa area there are seven hospitals, three surgical centers, and 10 urgent care facilities. There is also Banner Health Simulation Center which is a virtual hospital used to train physicians and nurses. This center is a complete-care simulation hospital which works with medical device design and manufacturing companies for research and testing in a simulation environment. This saves companies time and money and minimizes risk in the health care industry.
Building in this location would provide the Falcon Field Tech Center with access to two airports for corporate aircraft – the general aviation airport and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport just minutes away. There is also easy access to Arizona freeways 101, 202, and I-10.
The Falcon Tech Center is designed to expand Mesa’s technology companies and increase the number of knowledge-based jobs in the city. It is to be a place where Arizona technology companies can cluster and promote Mesa as a technology hub for growing companies. The site is particularly attractive to California-based companies because Arizona has lower operating costs and lower payroll costs.
The citrus groves may disappear to make way for medical technological advancement in the area.