Gateway Pulse for August 24, 2026: 196 acres on Ellsworth up for rezoning, plus Sprouts files its beer and wine license

• 🏗️ 196 acres at Ellsworth and Williams Field go to a rezone hearing Wednesday. Light industrial to mixed-use planned community.
• 🍷 Sprouts files for a beer and wine license at EastMarket. Council votes August 31.
• 🍕 Oregano's applies for a restaurant license on Signal Butte. Same August 31 agenda.
• 🏊 Mesa picks a builder for the Eastmark Aquatic Complex. Pre-construction contract, $136,295.
• 🎨 Teen mural painting at Gateway Library Wednesday. Ages 12 to 18, noon start.
• 🥬 Eastmark Farmers Market, Saturday. 7 a.m. to noon in the Great Park parking lot.
• 📋 Still tracking. Sprouts construction, Liv at Eastmark, and Brakes Plus.

Key facts

• The application: ZON25-00891, filed under the name "Legacy Park."
• Where: the northeast corner of South Ellsworth Road and East Williams Field Road, 196.3 acres.
• The change: Light Industrial to Planned Community District, the category that allows housing, retail, and offices under one plan instead of warehouse and light manufacturing space.
• Staff position: approval with conditions. Staff planner is Mallory Ress.
• When: Wednesday, August 26, Planning and Zoning Board public hearing.

What to watch: Wednesday's vote is a recommendation, not a decision. A rezone this size still goes to City Council before anything gets built. Staff report.

• 🌵 Landscape Advisory Committee, Tuesday 9 a.m. The resident-led committee meets with management staff and landscape vendors in the Classroom at The 'Mark, 10100 E. Ray Rd. Open to any resident who wants to sit in. Details.
• 👋 New Neighbor Welcome, Tuesday 6 p.m. An intro session at The 'Mark for households that moved in recently: events, resources, and how the community runs. Register in advance. Kids welcome, appetizers served. Details.
• 📖 Women's Bible Study, Wednesday. In person 10 to 11:30 a.m., virtual 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Email Barbara Breen for the location. Details.
• 🎨 Teen Mural Art, Wednesday noon. Teens 12 to 18 paint a collaborative mural at Gateway Library that hangs in the Teen Zone for the next month. No experience required. Details.
• 🥬 Eastmark Farmers Market, Saturday 7 a.m. to noon. Great Park parking lot, just south of Gateway Library. Vendor applications run through eastmarkmarketaz.com. Details.
• 💪 Funity Fit, Wednesday, September 2, 5:30 p.m. Cardio and dumbbell session in the Classroom at The 'Mark. Club leaders are Renae Burkhead and Ashok Kumar. Details.

🍷 Sprouts has filed for its beer and wine license. The application covers 5131 South Ellsworth Road, the EastMarket corner at Ray. It is a Series 10S, which lets a grocery store sell beer and wine and pour small samples in the aisle. There is no existing license at the address, which is the paperwork you file for a store that has not opened yet. Council votes August 31. Details.

🍕 Oregano's Pizza Bistro wants an address on Signal Butte. Oregano's AZ LLC applied for a Series 12 Restaurant License at 3506 South Signal Butte Road, near the Elliot end of the corridor. A Series 12 is the standard sit-down restaurant license, lunch and dinner. No prior license at the location. It shares the August 31 council agenda with the Sprouts filing. Details.

🏊 The Eastmark Aquatic Complex has a construction manager lined up. Mesa staff recommends Sun Eagle Corporation as construction manager at risk, with a pre-construction contract of $136,295. That work covers reviewing the design for buildability, pricing it out, sequencing and phasing the build, and setting a guaranteed maximum price. It is the step that turns a design into a schedule and a number. Council votes August 31. Details.

🎭 A private firm will run the Mesa Convention Center and Mesa Amphitheatre. The city is handing day-to-day management of both venues to an outside operator. Neither is close to Eastmark, but the Amphitheatre is the closest mid-size outdoor stage the city owns. Details.

🏠 538 new listings came on the Mesa market last month.

🎓 BASIS Mesa at Eastmark runs two campus tours this week. The K-5 primary tour is Tuesday at 9:15 a.m. and the grades 6 to 12 tour is Thursday at 10:15 a.m., both at 5010 South Eastmark Parkway. Curriculum, kindergarten options, and a walk through the campus. Primary tour. Middle and high tour.

⛳ Eastmark High School golf plays twice. Boys varsity hosts Crismon Tuesday at 3 p.m., and girls varsity travels to Seton Catholic Prep Wednesday at 3 p.m. Schedule.

🏐 All three EHS volleyball teams are in Prescott Wednesday. Freshman and sophomore at 4 p.m., JV at 5 p.m., varsity at 6 p.m. It is a long bus north, so figure on a late return. Schedule.

• 🛒 Sprouts at EastMarket (Ray and Ellsworth). Construction underway. Building wraps up around August, Sprouts opens Q4 2026.
• 🏢 Liv at Eastmark (NE corner Ellsworth and Ray). 208 apartments across 12 buildings, recently approved. Construction next.
• 🔧 Brakes Plus Mesa (Ellsworth and Elliot). Auto shop still working through council site plan tweaks.