Southeast Mesa Is Finally Getting the Retail It Was Promised. Here's What Buyers Need to Know.

Southeast Mesa has one of the most interesting real estate stories in the East Valley right now, and most people outside of it don't fully know it yet.

For years, communities like Eastmark, Cadence at Gateway, and Augusta Ranch attracted buyers with their amenities, their proximity to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, and their access to the Loop 202. But the one consistent criticism was retail. Residents drove 10 to 15 minutes for groceries. The dining scene lagged years behind the residential growth. That gap is closing quickly.

What's Coming: Medina Station

The most significant development underway in southeast Mesa right now is Medina Station, a $150 million mixed-use project developed by Scottsdale-based SimonCRE at the southeast corner of Southern Avenue and Signal Butte Road.

The project covers 64.5 acres. Approximately 40 acres are dedicated to retail and dining, and the remaining 23 acres are planned for residential use, with around 650 multifamily units across three- and four-story apartment buildings.

The retail component includes up to 305,335 square feet of commercial space. According to ABC15 and Connect CRE, Target opened its 148,000-square-foot location at the site in July 2026, the first new Target in Mesa since 2004. The Target includes a CVS Pharmacy, Starbucks Café, and Target Optical and will employ more than 190 people. Dick's Sporting Goods is following with an 80,000-square-foot two-story flagship. Boot Barn is also confirmed.

The restaurant lineup is substantial. According to SimonCRE and reporting from ABC15 and 85209.com, confirmed dining tenants include OHSO Brewery, Café Zupas, Mission BBQ, Hawaiian Bros Grill, Handel's Homemade Ice Cream, Five Guys, Einstein Bros. Bagels, CAVA, and Cold Beer & Cheeseburgers. Service tenants include Zara Nail Bar, GoodVets, Pacific Dental Services, V's Barbershop, America's Best, Brooklyn Bedding, U.S. Bank, and My Dr. Now.

The project was approximately 70% pre-leased as of early construction, per multiple commercial real estate sources, and initial tenant openings are underway in summer 2026.

What Else Is Developing in Southeast Mesa

Medina Station is the anchor, but it's part of a broader pattern of commercial development filling in a corridor that has been residential-heavy for years.

According to local real estate reporting from JessieVuk.com on what's happening in southeast Mesa, the Hawes Crossing district, a 1,100-acre master-planned development around Hawes Road and Elliot Road, is adding its first multifamily housing with openings expected around summer 2026, followed by restaurants, neighborhood retail, and eventually office and employment space.

Along the SR-24 freeway corridor, which opened significant development opportunities between Mesa, Queen Creek, and San Tan Valley, developers are pursuing sites for larger regional anchors. The SR-24 creates a genuine connective spine between these communities that didn't exist as recently as five years ago, and commercial activity is already beginning to cluster around it.

The Mesa Southeast Library is also under construction adjacent to the Great Park in Eastmark, a 28,146-square-foot facility at 5036 S. Eastmark Pkwy. that was highlighted in AZ Big Media's 50 commercial real estate projects to know for 2026. It will serve as a community resource for the rapidly growing southeast quadrant.

What This Means If You're Buying in Southeast Mesa

Here's why this development pattern matters from a real estate perspective.

Eastmark, which turned 10 years old in 2023, has grown to 7,000 homes and 20,000 residents, with 10 to 12 million square feet of industrial and commercial space hosting companies including Apple and Meta, according to the Mesa Tribune. It's one of Arizona's best-selling master-planned communities five consecutive years running. The schools, the parks, the Great Park amenity, the Loop 202 access, and the Boeing and aerospace employment base nearby have all contributed to that track record.

But the missing piece, retail proportional to the population, is genuinely arriving now. For buyers who looked at southeast Mesa a few years ago and passed because the amenities didn't match the price point, this is the moment to look again.

The demographic profile of the corridor is strong. The trade area within five miles of Signal Butte and Southern has over 100,000 residents, average household incomes above $84,000, and continued residential growth from surrounding communities in east Mesa and Queen Creek.

What commercial investment at this scale typically signals: developers with research teams who have validated the consumer base don't commit $150 million and lease to national brands unless the fundamentals support it. That validation matters.

A Note on Pricing

Mesa's median sale price sits in the mid-$400,000s to low-$500,000s depending on segment and source, with southeast Mesa's newer master-planned communities like Eastmark generally at the higher end of the city's range. According to Redfin's mid-2026 data, the city's median sale price was approximately $455,000, with homes selling in around 50 days.

Mesa is a large and diverse city. What you get for your money changes significantly depending on which part of town you're in. Southeast Mesa, specifically the Eastmark zip codes (85209 and 85212), carries a premium for the amenities and newer construction, but that premium now comes with something it didn't have a few years ago: a retail and dining infrastructure that's actually catching up.

If you're thinking about southeast Mesa and want to talk through what neighborhoods make sense for your situation, we are happy to help you understand the full picture.

Sources: ABC15 (May 2026), Connect CRE (June 2026), SimonCRE press releases and blog (March 2025, May 2026), 85209.com (February 2026, April 2025), East Valley Now (March 2025), Farnsworth Realty (May 2025), AZ Big Media 50 commercial real estate projects 2026, Mesa Tribune (2023 Eastmark 10-year anniversary), Redfin Mesa housing market data (May 2026).

Deena Fischer and Sam Wagner are licensed real estate agents with Fischer Home Group at DeLex Realty, serving the East Valley including Gilbert, Queen Creek, San Tan Valley, Chandler, Mesa and Tempe. Find them on Instagram at @FischerHomeGroup and @swaghomesaz.