This article originally appeared in the Phoenix Business Journal.
The Union, a 1.35 million-square-foot Class A office complex planned near the Chicago Cubs' spring training home in Mesa, signed its first office tenant.
WageWorks Inc., a San Mateo, California-based employee benefits administrator, has committed to 150,000 square feet of space and plans to bring 1,000 employees to the site. The company plans to use its new space as a primary U.S. operating site, housing approximately 500 current employees and generating about 500 new jobs for the Valley.
In May 2018, the city of Mesa selected Lincoln Property Co. and Harvard Investments to develop the office park on 28.2 acres of city-owned land. The project's first phase is planned to break ground this summer.
“This area is booming, and we are proud that WageWorks has selected Mesa for their primary operating site, bringing 1,000 jobs to the epicenter of District 1," Mesa Mayor John Giles said in a statement.
The first office building will total 232,000 square feet and include a 1,120-space, four-level parking garage.
Buildings at Union will range from four to eight stories and from 232,000 to 450,000 square feet. Davis is the project architect. Layton Construction Co. is the general contractor. Ryan Orton and Scott Maxwell from Cresa represented WageWorks in the lease transaction. Lincoln Property Co. and Cushman & Wakefield are Union’s exclusive leasing brokers.
“Union continues to build out the mixed-use vision that the city of Mesa established years ago when it created this master plan and earmarked this land for premier, Class A office space,” said David Krumwiede, executive vice president for Lincoln Property Co., in a statement.
The project will be built on what is now city-owned soccer fields near Rio Salado Parkway, Dobson Road and Loop 202 and across the street from the Mesa Riverview retail development.