Ryan Ash

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Mesa approves $3B desert project with lake barred from municipal water

As of September 2026: Leading Vestar's development of Legacy Park

The Mesa city council on September 14 approved Legacy Park, a $3 billion mixed-use development anchored by a 20-acre public park with a 10-acre man-made lake. Arizona law bars using municipal tap water to fill a decorative lake, so the developer, Vestar, must buy private Type II groundwater rights from closed factories or mines and build a separate pipe system so the lake never connects to Mesa's drinking water.

Updated Sep 18