Downtown Mesa is the City's central business district in the original square-mile town site. It features boutiques, sidewalk cafés, salons and antique shops in addition to restaurants and other local businesses. A long-term goal is to support the retention and expansion of existing businesses and the attraction of new businesses throughout downtown Mesa.

  Innovation District

Create a physical space and environment for entrepreneurs, academic innovators, city staff and citizens to work together to explore solutions for improving the quality of life for our community.

Benefit to the City Downtown Mesa is on the cusp of an urban renewal that will bring exciting innovations with a trained workforce, new housing, collaborative work spaces and higher education opportunities. The City Center Design Concept is the first step in the design and development of a distinctive place which will capture and enhance the urbanizing momentum of Mesa's downtown.

Status  Some projects in development include:

• ASU @ Mesa City Center is a three-story academic building that will house programs offered by the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. 
• The Plaza @ Mesa City Center is a two acre gathering place, located just south of the ASU building, with a large open community space, water features and seasonal ice rink. 
• The City’s LaunchPoint assists startup entrepreneurs with a flexible space for business development, networking and training opportunities. Located in Mesa Center for Higher Education, more than a dozen companies reside there with nearly 60 full-time employees.
• CO+HOOTS (a collaborative coworking space) will be a tenant in The GRID, a seven story mixed project near Mesa Drive and Main Street. 

  Downtown Digital Kiosk

Mesa has partnered with Smart City Media to install ten dual screen smart digital kiosks throughout downtown Mesa and along the light rail corridor east to Gilbert Road. The digital kiosks will each offer two 55-inch touch screen displays with way finding functionality for people to locate specific businesses or receive Mesa focused content such as event promotions and safety alerts.

Each kiosk offers multi-language support. The kiosks are connected to the City of Mesa’s Wi-Fi network and there is a companion mobile application for both IOS and Android.

Examples of Mesa focused content offered by the kiosks include events at the Mesa Convention Center, Mesa Arts Center and downtown museums; mapping to City offices and local resources; public service announcements; and real-time bus and light rail information. In addition, local Mesa businesses will have access to promote and advertise themselves, and the Downtown Mesa Association will have direct access to promote activities and events. One fun part of the kiosks is that they are “selfie” stations giving you the ability to take selfies and send them via email or text.