Franchise Opportunities in Mesa, AZ

Surf Mesa is kicking off 2023 with the soulful new single, “City Of Love” featuring Selah Sol today via Astralwerks. The new track finds the two artists telling a relatable story of beginning anew in a big city but being unable to escape the pull of the past. Selah Sol’s warm, captivating vocals are wistful yet strong while Surf Mesa entwines pensive keyboards with bright, dreamy tones that build to exhilarating peaks. Listen to it now below.

“My heart has taken its time to sit with this song for a while now,” says Surf Mesa. “I first heard the vocal from Selah Sol in October of 2021 and I spent that same night in the studio, drawing my imagination to audio. Countless versions and revisions have been made until this one and I could not be more ready to share it with the world!! This song resonates with my life and sonic sound to a T and I hope it resonates with listeners, too.”

Shot in Malibu, the official video for “City Of Love” features professional downhill skateboarder Cole Trotta. Alex Kennedy (Oh Wonder, Nightshifts), who helmed the video for Surf and Nat Dunn’s “State Of My Heart,” directed and Arshum Rouhanian produced.

“I was scrolling on Instagram when my Explore page showed me this video of some kid absolutely ripping down this hill on a long board – Cole Trotta,” recalls Surf. “I spent the next 15 minutes scrolling through and had to hit him up. I thought how cool it would be to have him tag along for the ‘City Of Love’ video! I’m so glad he was based in Cali. We met up and made it happen. Definitely check him out, he’s the nicest kid ever.”

Anticipation for “City Of Love” has been building ever since last October when Surf teased the song at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, where he opened for Gryffin. EDMTunes said, “[Surf Mesa] provided the audience with a great eclectic set, full of popular hit after hit and had some very impressive visuals.” In advance of his recent Wynn Nightlife debut at XS, the Las Vegas Weekly hailed him as “one of the brightest up-and-coming stars in the dance music world.” He’s also performed at such major festivals as Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, Ultra, Hangout Fest, Electric Zoo, Electric Forest, Splash House and more.

Big names in sports and entertainment have their eyes fixed on an upcoming athletic event in the Valley.

No, we're not talking about the Super Bowl. It's the nation's fastest-growing sport: pickleball.

What's happening: Major League Pickleball (MLP), the buzzy pro circuit, is hosting its first competition of the year at Mesa's Bell Bank Park, which kicked off Thursday and will continue through Sunday.

Why it matters: Professional and recreational pickleball's popularity has exploded, with an 11.5% average annual growth rate among recreational players over the past five years. Celebrities such as Tom Brady, Kevin Durant and Heidi Klum have purchased teams.

State of play: This weekend's tournament has two levels: the Premier Level, made up of the top 48 players drafted, and the Challenger Level, which consists of the next 48.

Zoom in: Arizona's MLP team, AZ Drive, is in the Challenger Level and faced the Atlanta Bouncers, Brooklyn Aces and Dallas Pickleball Club Thursday. The Drive won only one match and did not advance to the quarterfinals.

What they're saying: Fitzgerald isn't just a financier — he also picked up the sport as a hobby during the pandemic. And he takes his performance very seriously.

Be smart: MLP is live-streaming all the games on YouTube.

Major League Pickleball will hold its first tournament of 2023 in Mesa and will feature a team owned by Arizona sports and music legends.

MESA, Ariz. — Major League Pickleball (MLP) will start its new season with a four-day tournament from January 26-29 at Bell Bank Park in Mesa, and one of the teams playing is owned by a group of Arizona sports and music legends including former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

12Sports got the chance to catch up with Fitz, who picked up the sport of pickleball as a hobby during the pandemic.

Fitzgerald was not known for talking smack on the football field, but a video posted on social media by Barstool Sports' 'Fore Play' podcast shows that Fitz has a different attitude when playing pickleball.

"People pick fights with me and I just finish them," Fitzgerald said. "You know what I mean? I'm not out here looking for trouble. Like 50 Cent says, I don't want any problems, but if you want a problem, no problem. I got you."

Larry Legend has turned his COVID hobby into a passion and unlike in his football career, stats don't matter.

"I can play with my 6-year-old son," Fitzgerald said. "I'm just hitting the ball back and forth with him, and he can have fun with me, or you can play with your 80-year-old grandmother."

Age also becomes just a number on the court.

"I've played a lot of people," Fitzgerald said. "You look at them and you'll be like, this person, she's old and there's no way she'll be able to move. And the next thing you know, she's got you diving for balls, got you sweating, got your legs hurting, you know, you have no idea."

Business is booming in the sport of pickleball and Fitz is helping bring a Major League Pickleball team to the Valley, the AZ Drive.

The list of owners includes some of Arizona's most famous stars. Joining Larry are Suns star Devin Booker, country music star Dierks Bentley, and the most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps.

"Just being the Arizona team, having Arizona territory, I wanted to make sure I was including a collective group of people who really value what Arizona stands for, values the ideals that we all hope Arizona residents would embody," Fitzgerald said.

One legend you won't see with the team is Charles Barkley.

Barkley told 12Sports last weekend that he and Fitz are working together but on the golf course instead of the pickleball court.

The AZ Drive will play in MLP's first tournament of the year at Bell Bank Park in Mesa this weekend. Play begins on January 26 and wraps up on the 29th.

MLP consists of 24 teams divided into two levels, the Premier Level and the Challenger Level.

The teams are co-ed and are made up of two men and two women.

The Premier Level consists of the top 48 pickleball players and the Challenger Level consists of the next 48.

The AZ Drive will open the year in the Challenger Level and will play the first three tournaments, including this weekend's tournament in Mesa, of the year there.

After the first three tournaments, all of the Challenger Level teams will move to the Premier Level and vice versa and the league will re-draft rosters.

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MESA, AZ — The Arizona Department of Transportation moved up its construction timeline for the U.S. 60 freeway by six months, and work will begin on the eastbound lanes, starting at Dobson Road, Friday night.

Drivers, however, still have bad memories from the first phase of the project.

When crews removed the worn, rubberized, asphalt from the U.S. 60 back in November of 2021, and ran out of funds to finish, the mess for drivers began almost immediately.

Dangerous debris caused damage to cars, and thick clouds of dust covered property at nearby homes, leaving residents with health concerns.

More than 140 damage claims were filed with the state, totaling at least $85,000.

"I have contacted ADOT many times," said Mesa resident Virginia Woolf.

The issue got so bad that Woolf went beyond the state, writing a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the Biden administration to see if they could help.

In part of the letter, Woolf wrote, "I've been part of the expansion of the road when it was first connected and made into a safe clean and beautiful highway... Now it's a death trap, unsafe at any speed."

Woolf never heard back from Buttigieg, and her concerns remained. So when a flyer arrived in the mail from ADOT about a week ago, saying construction would begin again on the U.S. 60, she couldn't help but be skeptical that the ride would be any smoother this time around.

"And now they say it's going to be done at night, and they're going to clean it up, and they're going to have controls and everything, but who really knows," she said.

Woolf was shocked to learn ADOT would again be using McNeil Brothers, the same contractor as before.

"Don't we deserve better?" Woolf said.

ADOT released the following statement addressing the construction and its use of McNeil Brothers:

ADOT and this contractor responded proactively to the situation in 2021 and results were significantly improved when the work near Gilbert Road was completed in early 2022. We will continue to work closely with the contractor in limiting the size of individual work zones to minimize debris and dust that this type of work can create. The project's goal in the coming months is to improve the driving surface of this busy stretch of US 60, making for a smoother ride for drivers.

The current project will cover a 14-mile stretch of the U.S. 60 between Loop 101 and Loop 202.

ADOT will be replacing the existing asphalt with a diamond-grind surface, of which Woolf is no fan.

"It grabs your tires and moves your car," she said.

ADOT anticipates construction on the US 60 should be complete in six months.

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Trammell Crow Company, the global commercial real estate developer, and JV partner CBRE Investment Management, a global real assets investment management firm, announced that construction is complete at Elliot Gateway in Mesa, Arizona. The four-building logistics park sits on a 40.5-acre site at 9020 East Elliot Road and includes four Class A industrial facilities.

Within Elliot Gateway, three buildings remain available for lease; Building A spans 151,239 square feet, Building B spans 124,611 square feet, and Building D spans 54,640 square feet. Building C includes 186,000 square feet and is fully leased to a mechanical and electrical construction company. Each building within Elliot Gateway offers ample car parking, secure truck courts and excellent accessibility.

“Elliot Gateway is an incredibly well-located project in the City of Mesa, situated in the center of the Elliot Technology Corridor, a key demand driver and growing technological center point of the Southeast Valley that is attracting a variety of new businesses,” said Ryan Norris of Trammell Crow Company. “The remainder of the space that is available for lease at Elliot Gateway is well-suited for a variety of uses, including high-tech manufacturing and logistics. Tenants will greatly benefit from highly visible freeway frontage and direct access off the full diamond interchange at Elliot Road and the Loop 202.”

Graycor Construction Company served as the general contractor. Butler Design Group was the project architect.

“Industrial facilities have been booming in Mesa over the past several years, but Elliot Gateway is setting the bar with its sophisticated building features and offerings,” said Rusty Martin, Graycor General Manager of the Southwest. “The placement and design of Elliot Gateway turns a traditional industrial project into a dynamic, horizontal mixed-use business park that will attract heavy-hitter industrial/employment opportunities.”

The Elliot Gateway site plan was conceived with connectivity in mind with new private drive extensions, a series of interconnected sidewalks and pedestrian rest nodes featuring seating areas that are naturally shaded by tree canopies. The project’s landscape consists of native vegetation that spans the full site and visually ties Elliot Gateway together from border to border.

Elliot Gateway was also designed and developed with sustainable practices intended to reduce the project’s overall carbon footprint. Precast panels were fabricated on site from locally sourced concrete suppliers. Highly reflective TPO roof systems and desert landscaping help to reduce the heat island effect, and watering systems reduce water consumption. Clerestory windows and roof skylights reduce lighting needs and electrical usage by maximizing interior natural light. Shade canopies over entry and office components reduce adverse heat gain to the interior environment.

Evan Koplan and Serena Wedlich of CBRE are marketing and leasing the property on behalf of TCC and a fund sponsored by CBRE Investment Management.

"We are excited to deliver the highly desirable industrial product to the Mesa submarket, ideally situated on the Elliot Road Technology Corridor. Trammell Crow Company has once again delivered a best-in-class industrial development with ideal location/visibility, access, design, clear height, power and loading to accommodate a wide range of users in the marketplace," said Evan Koplan, SVP with CBRE. "Our leasing team has been thoughtful in delivering solutions to users who require immediate occupancy and is finalizing construction on spec suites in the remaining buildings at Elliot Gateway. This development has been very well received in the marketplace, including a 186,000-square-foot pre-lease at 9029 E. Peterson Avenue. User demand continues to drive this market, and we look forward to being a viable option for both local and new-to-market companies."