Amazon is pushing the envelope in Mesa, looking to cement its status in the data center world with two new behemoths. The retail giant, through pre-submittal filings with the city's planning authority, is eyeing a data center duo that will sprawl across southeast Mesa. The two facilities, as the Phoenix Business Journal reported, could introduce a staggering 908,000 square feet of high-tech real estate to the locale.
Both sites, resting neatly on Amazon-owned plots, are about four miles apart. The planned structures, mirroring one another, will house two data halls each tipping the scales at roughly 227,000 square feet a pop. The company's blueprint lodged on Jan. 8 calls not only for massive data processing areas but also seeks allowances from Mesa's zoning board for height, and a parking reduction, according to ABC15. And while the papers have been submitted, there's still no word on when these behemoths will break ground.
Amazon is tight-lipped, offering only a terse acknowledgment of its due diligence. "We recently filed documents as part of the process in exploring possible data center locations," an Amazon Web Services spokesperson disclosed, as detailed by the Business Journal. The full extent of the proposed development's impact on Mesa’s infrastructure, and community is, for now, a matter of public speculation and anticipation.
The two sites, should they go from plan to reality, will bolster Mesa's position as a burgeoning hub for tech giants. One lies off Elliot Road sharing a fence with Apple's data center, while its sibling is en route for E. Pecos Road. Amazon's ambitions do not come in small packages, with each property earmarked for two main buildings and an additional smaller construct, one specifically listing 7,349 square feet dedicated to office space, as the Business Journal highlighted. But the question hangs in the air, much like Arizona's desert dust: will both projects get the green light, or will city planners cherry-pick the cream of the crop?
The steady march of server racks and data storage is a familiar tune to Mesa, and Amazon's proposed data center projects are just the latest refrain. For residents and businesses in Mesa, the developments represent potential economic boosts and tech-sector synergies. For Amazon, they're strategic steps in broadening its cloud infrastructure, pulsing with the ever-growing demands of digital consumption. Only time will unravel the tapestry of Amazon’s data domination plans in the heart of Arizona.
