New Homes & Lifestyles
Mesa - State's Smartest City - Voted an American Favorite
It is the 38th largest city in the United States, and is bigger than Tampa, St. Louis, Miami and Minneapolis. But it has a low crime rate, affordable housing, superior schools and an excellent quality of life. No wonder a statewide survey ranked Mesa as the smartest city in Arizona while Money Magazine rated it as the third-best "Big City" in America.
Bordering the picturesque Superstition Mountains and Tonto National Forest, Mesa is a great place to live, with a highly attractive lifestyle and plenty of events, dining and shopping to keep residents busy all year long.
<strong>Sports and Recreation</strong>
Mesa is the spring training home of the Chicago Cubs. Playing at Hohokam Stadium, the Cubs led the way this spring in Cactus League attendance. For the fourth consecutive year, the Cubs had the highest attendance in all of Spring Training. A total of 175,891 fans went through the turnstiles at Hohokam Park, the fourth-highest total ever for a spring training facility. Half of the 16 home games were sold out.
Mesa is also home to the Solar Sox, one of six teams in the Arizona Fall League. The Mesa Solar Sox, who also play at Hohokam Stadium, has the top Minor League players from five Major League Baseball teams, including the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox.
Mesa's Parks and Recreation Division operates more than 56 parks, 12 pools, two golf courses and seven sports complexes/recreation centers. The largest park in the city, Red Mountain Park, has 1,146 acres along with lighted baseball, softball and soccer fields, a fishing lake and 12 ramadas.
<strong>Arts</strong>
Mesa is home to the largest and most comprehensive arts center in the state of Arizona. The Mesa Arts Center, or MAC, is designed to showcase a world of arts and culture-everything from art exhibitions to world-class performances to studios for art education.
The Mesa Amphitheatre is best known for its great location and tiered lawn-big enough for great acts and intimate enough for everyone to have a view of the stage. It hosts a variety of musical acts each summer. Phoenix Magazine named Mesa Amp "best concert venue" in its August 2007 edition.
The Arizona Museum of Natural History, formerly Mesa Southwest Museum, features numerous exhibits representing Southwestern natural and cultural history. It is recognized as one of the largest "dinosaur" museums in the Southwest, featuring a three-story Dinosaur Mountain that awes children as well as adults.
The Arizona Museum for Youth was founded in 1980 as the only children's museum in the United States with a focus on fine art. Since then, it has been a major destination for families in the Valley, providing the community with interactive fine art exhibits inspired to introduce children to the world of art and discover self-expression.
The Mesa Historical Museum is housed in what was originally Lehi School, built in 1913. It includes artifacts donated by members of Mesa's pioneer families. It also includes special exhibits. Currently, it hosts hosting "Thanks for Tuning In: The Wallace and Ladmo Show" with artifacts from the long-running Phoenix TV children's program.
<strong>Events</strong>
Mesa has a variety of special events throughout the year that showcase the city's downtown, diversity, history and community spirit.
<strong>Friday Night Out</strong>
The second Friday of the month, Downtown Mesa comes alive at night as about 50 businesses along West Main Street stay open late to offer dining, shopping, and entertainment.
<strong>Cinco de Mayo</strong>
This annual event, held at Pioneer Park, has music, children's activities, carnival rides and games, and authentic Mexican food. It is a national holiday in Mexico to celebrate the Battle of Puebla, May 5, 1862.
Sculptures in the Street
The 9th annual event, from Nov. 3, 2007, to April 5, 2008, includes permanent and temporary sculptures throughout downtown Mesa. The artwork is a huge hit with residents and visitors, who often stop and pose for pictures with the sculptures.
<strong>Dia de Los Muertos Celebration</strong>
This annual event is held at the Mesa Arts Center and features a two-day Mercado, community altar, altar contest and a procession on the Mesa Arts Center campus.
<strong>Shopping</strong>
Shoppers can relish hundreds of choices with the city. Downtown alone is replete with dozens of retailers, including specialty stores, art galleries, antique shops, and gift stores. The brand new Mesa Riverview is home to the only Bass Pro Shops in Arizona along with specialty shops, theatres, power center anchors, a selection of theme-style restaurants and food retailers. Dana Park Village Square is one of Mesa's newer shopping establishments, offering an exciting mix of dining and upscale retail shopping options. Mesa is also home to two shopping malls: Fiesta Mall on the west side, and Superstition Springs Center to the east.
<strong>Education</strong>
Mesa has the largest school district in Arizona and the 39th largest in the country. Mesa Unified School District comprises 58 elementary, 13 middle, seven high schools and nine focus schools. The district also offers an online distance learning program, a biotechnology academy and a health science high school.
The city is home to the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT), which trains students from 10 East Valley school districts in more than 40 occupation-specific programs, including marketing, culinary arts and health careers.
Mesa Community College, with two campuses in the city, is the largest of the 10 Maricopa Community Colleges, offering 150 programs to more than 27,000 students. Arizona State University's Polytechnic's roster includes nearly 7,000 pursuing degrees in professional or technical programs. Mesa's newest center for higher education is A.T. Still University. It includes three medical schools: the School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona, the Arizona School of Health Sciences, and the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health.
<strong>Business Climate</strong>
With two airports, three freeways, the ability to access a highly educated workforce and competitive tax structure, the city of Mesa has created a business climate hard to match in the Valley.
Mesa's third largest employer, Boeing, manufactures the Apache Longbow helicopter, which is a critical asset to soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world.
From museums to specialty stores and from spring training baseball to commercial air travel, Mesa offers so much to residents, businesses and visitors. It is also getting more state and national recognition.
