Blandford Homes wants to convert about 103 acres of employment-zoned land at the southeast corner of South Hawes Road and East Elliot Road in Mesa into a mix of homes, apartments, and shops. The Mesa Planning and Zoning Board holds its second required public hearing on August 12, 2026. If the board recommends approval, the case goes to the Mesa City Council. That Council hearing date has not been set.
If you live near Hawes and Elliot, that corner is about to change
Right now, the land at the corner of Hawes and Elliot is zoned for offices, medical facilities, light industrial uses, and retail. That means daytime jobs close to home. The Village 7 proposal would replace most of that with houses and apartments. A narrow band of shops along Elliot Road would stay.
For buyers, the pressure is real. Lennar’s homes at Hawes Crossing are nearly sold out, with prices starting in the low $400,000s. KB Home won’t open models until early 2027. Adding more single-family lots could ease that pressure over time — but not quickly. Blandford Homes hasn’t even purchased the land yet. The State of Arizona still owns it.
For renters, two apartment projects are already in motion nearby. High Street Residential, a Trammell Crow Company subsidiary, has broken ground on 419 units within Hawes Crossing. A separate Fore Property Company project would add more than 200 apartments alongside 20,000 square feet of retail.
The tradeoff is real. Land zoned for jobs becomes land zoned for bedrooms. The city’s original plan set Hawes Crossing at 44 percent residential and 56 percent commercial. Village 7 is at least the third major amendment to shift that balance toward housing. Councilman Francisco Heredia has asked staff more than once whether the original ratio still holds.
What is Hawes Crossing Village 7?
Hawes Crossing is a 1,131-acre master-planned community in southeast Mesa. It stretches roughly from west of Ellsworth Road to the 80th Street alignment, between Elliot Road to the south and Warner Road to the north. It sits near Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and the Loop 202 SanTan Freeway. Mesa City Council approved the project in 2019–2020 on a 6-1 vote.
Village 7 is one of eight villages in the master plan. The proposal before the city is two linked cases filed together. Case GPA26-00161 is a Major General Plan Amendment covering 103 acres. It would change 29.7 acres from an Urban Center placetype to Urban Residential. It would also change 73.2 acres from Local Employment Center to Urban Residential. The companion rezone, ZON26-00160, covers the north 50.6 acres. That rezone would shift 23.5 acres to 27.8 acres of Limited Commercial and 27.1 acres to 22.8 acres of Mixed-Use. Together, the two cases cover a 153-acre site.
Pew and Lake law firm filed both cases. Kimley-Horn, the planning and engineering firm, prepared the application language. It describes the planned product as “a mix of high-quality single-family home sizes, elevations and types.” Proposed uses also include multifamily residential, retail, personal services, food and beverage, and business services.
The color-coded zone map shows how the 103-acre Village 7 site is divided among Mixed-Use North (27.1 ac), Mixed-Use South (29.7 ac), Limited Commercial (23.5 ac), and Light Industrial (73.2 ac) before the proposed changes. (City of Mesa planning exhibit)
The Elliot Road strip the development agreement locks in
The existing Hawes Crossing development agreement requires a mixed-use strip within the first 200 feet of Elliot Road. That requirement stays in place under the Village 7 proposal. City Senior Planner Joshua Grandlienard told the board at the July 29 hearing that the proposal keeps that strip intact. Staff considers the request consistent with the development agreement and the broader Hawes Crossing vision. Staff’s formal recommendation is adoption.
The 200-foot requirement is a binding contract term, not a policy preference. That is why the companion rezone keeps Mixed-Use and Limited Commercial labels on the north parcel rather than converting everything to residential.
The official vicinity map for case GPA26-00161 shows the hatched overlay covering the 103-acre amendment area at South Hawes Road and East Elliot Road. (City of Mesa)
The 44%/56% tension — is the commercial balance eroding?
When Mesa approved Hawes Crossing in 2019–2020, the project was set at 44 percent residential and 56 percent non-residential. That ratio was a promise: the community would generate jobs and tax revenue, not just add homes.
Village 7 is at least the third major amendment to convert employment or commercial acres to housing. Councilman Francisco Heredia has pressed staff at prior hearings on whether the ratio still holds. Staff has said the overall mix stays balanced at a community-wide level. Alternative P&Z Board member Justin Trexler noted at the July 29 hearing that enough higher-density residential capacity remains near commercial areas in the Village 7 corridor. Planner Grandlienard confirmed that view.
No member of the public spoke at the July 29 hearing. The pattern is still visible: Village 6 and Village 7 both have active commercial-to-residential conversion cases pending at the same time.
Who is already building at Hawes Crossing
Several builders are already active or committed within the master plan.
High Street Residential, a subsidiary of Trammell Crow Company, has broken ground on a 419-unit, three-story Class A apartment complex on 18 acres inside Hawes Crossing. It is valued at about $92 million and is expected to open in summer 2026.
Fore Property Company, based in Las Vegas, is planning an 11.6-acre mixed-use project. It combines more than 200 apartments with 20,000 square feet of retail. The estimated investment is $75 million. The project was reported permit-ready as of late 2025, with plans to break ground in early 2026.
KB Home and Lennar have both bought lots for single-family communities. KB Home’s Phoenix division president Ryan Bashaw said land development would begin in early 2026. Model homes are expected to open in early 2027, with sales starting in spring 2027. Lennar’s homes were nearly sold out as of late 2025, with prices starting in the low $400,000s.
When Hawes Crossing is fully built out, projections call for more than 2,000 single-family homes, 1,500 multifamily units, and more than 5,000 residents. Retail and employment uses will be concentrated along the Loop 202 and Gateway Airport corridors.
Orange dashed lines show all eight Hawes Crossing village boundaries; green outlines highlight the Village 7 site and the adjacent northern portion of Village 8 along the Loop 202 corridor. (Planning exhibit)
The August 12 hearing, and what follows it
Arizona state law requires two public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Board on any Major General Plan Amendment. The first hearing was July 29, 2026. The second is August 12, 2026. After the second hearing, the board forwards its recommendation to the Mesa City Council.
The City Council then holds its own public hearing. It may approve, modify, or reject the amendment. As of the application filing, the Council hearing date had not been set.
One more factor shapes the timeline: the land is still owned by the State of Arizona. Blandford Homes filed the rezoning before a future state land auction. Winning the rezoning now makes the parcel easier to bid on. But if the state auction has not happened, no construction can start — no matter what the city approves.
City planning documents for both cases are available through Mesa’s public agenda portal for case GPA26-00161. They include the staff report, vicinity map, resolution map, narrative, and presentation.
