Project Narrative

114 W Main St
Mesa, AZ 85201
Tel. 917.526.0323
tim@atmosarch.com
GREENFIELD
1544 N Greenfield Mesa AZ
Mesa’s canals have unfortunately been ignored and hidden by development over the past many
decades. This project integrates and celebrates the canals as a precious resource and treats
them like rivers running through Mesa, adding shade trees, buildings, and green spaces that
connect to this precious resource. Our hope is to one day have “canal view” be a major feature
on real estate listings.
Following up on the success of The Alan project, 1544 N Greenfield brings additional luxury
townhome living to Mesa, meeting a need for the “middle housing option.” The 2-story and 3-
story townhomes provide views of Mesa’s mountains and the canal, while also providing space
for growing families and professionals to thrive.
Due to the irregular shape of this bypassed property, a narrow triangle, it is necessary to seek
approval of a Planned Area Development Overlay, in addition to the requested rezoning to RM-
3. The requested deviations have allowed us to design a site that provides the required access
for waste and fire while achieving over 350 SF of open area per unit. This is a result of high-
quality design in the townhome unit design and the site layout.
11-22-1: - PAD Criteria
A. Well designed and integrated open space and/or recreational facilities held in
common ownership and of a scale that is proportionate to the use;
The project proposes a central amenity area with a pool and ramada as well as a dog
park located near the canal.
B. Options for the design and use of private or public streets;
Within the development, a private street provides access to each of the homes.
C. Preservation of significant aspects of the natural character of the land;
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114 W Main St
Mesa, AZ 85201
Tel. 917.526.0323
tim@atmosarch.com
The site is currently vacant and has limited natural character, but the highlight of the
project is the Canal that runs alongside it.
D. Building design, site design, and amenities that create a unique and more
sustainable alternative to conventional development;
This development takes advantage of existing infrastructure, reducing the need for
further city infrastructure projects and expanding the tax base that supports the
existing infrastructure.
E. Sustainable property owners' associations;
This project will be held under single ownership.
F. Maintenance of property held in common ownership through the use of recorded
covenants, conditions, and restrictions; and
Maintenance will be provided by single ownership.
G. Single or multiple land use activities organized in a comprehensive manner and
designed to work together in common and in a synergistic manner to the benefit of
both the project and the neighboring area.
The project provides a single use (residential), placing more potential users near
work, recreation, and commercial opportunities.
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114 W Main St
Mesa, AZ 85201
Tel. 917.526.0323
tim@atmosarch.com
While it is not required that the project meet the criteria for Superior Design as listed in MZO
11-31-32: - Superior Design, we are including the criteria here to demonstrate how the project
A. Holistic Approach to Project Design. Varied, high-quality, regionally-appropriate
building materials, used in distinctive building forms, building massing and detailing
that result in a note-worthy example of holistic site design, architecture, Landscaping
and signage; and
The elevations primarily use stucco that is painted Swiss Coffee, this is an off-white
color that reads as a bright white when in the Arizona sun. This reflects the sunlight
to maintain a more comfortable temperature within the units and the site. The
project contains two-story and three-story buildings as well as a shade structure in
the amenity area. While the building sizes vary, they are tied together through their
colors and the stucco textures for a holistic project design.
B. Responsive Approach to Site and Sub-Area Context. Architectural and landscape
architecture details and features that reflect the character defined in Sub-Area Plans
or the General Plan's placetype urban design characteristics, that are harmonious
with adjacent development patterns, integrate with the physical conditions of the
immediate site, and create a unique sense of place; and
On the West side of the project runs a canal. Increasingly, the canal network is seen
as a public amenity where people can exercise and even travel in a safer and more
comfortable environment than the typical city street. The design of the project
recognizes the potential of the canal as an amenity and aims to enhance it further. It
does this by having the majority of units looking towards the canal (eyes on the
street) for safety. The project site is identified as Urban Center and nearby are the
place types: Neighborhood center, Mixed Residential, and Local Employment Center.
Placing a residential use with a proposed density of 15.5 DU/Acre will place more
households near existing businesses.
C. Sustainable Design. Site design, architecture and Landscaping features that address
the local climate to reduce summer sun penetration and provide summer sun shade
protection for pedestrians, promote energy and water conservation, promote the
preservation or creation of Open Space, provide for and encourage the use of
multiple modes of transportation, utilize existing infrastructure, and create the
opportunity for social interaction; and
The site’s shape is by no means optimal for orienting the buildings for reduced heat
gain, but the design responds to this by using overhangs and recesses to increase the
amount of shade and to reduce sun penetration. As previously mentioned, the
primary color is white to reflect heat. To create more shade for pedestrians, the
sidewalk along Greenfield Rd has been set back from the street so that planting may
occur on both sides of the walkway. An amenity area is placed centrally as a
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114 W Main St
Mesa, AZ 85201
Tel. 917.526.0323
tim@atmosarch.com
courtyard with the two-story units facing it directly and the three-story units having
a convenient walkway to it so that social interaction is encouraged.
D. Exceeds Standards. Provision of details and features that exceed the criteria and
standards specified in Sections 11-5-3, 11-5-5, 11-6-43, 11-6-4 (AS applicable), 11-7-
3, 11-8-5, 11-8-6 and Chapters 30 through 34, where applicable; and
The project’s design exceeds standards in various ways; we’d like to highlight some
here:
- The requested Rezone allows for 20 DU/ac, however, the site only proposes a
density of 15.5, which is only half a unit over the maximum density of RM-2.
- The total open space requirement is 5,250 SF. This minimum requirement is
exceeded by 187% for a total of 9,847 SF across the site.
- With the requirement of 2.1 parking spaces/unit, the total amount of parking
provided exceeds the minimum requirement by twelve spaces to accommodate
visitors.
E. Great Public Spaces. Details and features that create attractive, comfortable
environments for pedestrians; ensure safe, useful and well-integrated open or public
spaces; and include high quality amenities.
The triangular central amenity courtyard serves as the heart of the community. It is
an inviting, shaded oasis designed for comfort and social connection. The pool,
shaded seating areas, and landscape zones are all visually tied to the adjacent
walkways, encouraging movement and casual encounters. The amenity layout draws
inspiration from the geometry of nearby airfields, with subtle angular paths and
lighting patterns that nod to Mesa’s aviation heritage while maintaining a human
scale. Public and semi-public spaces are defined by clear sightlines, generous tree
canopies, tactile paving, and warm lighting that ensure safety and comfort. The
result is a cohesive environment where architecture, landscape, and community life
merge seamlessly—an embodiment of Mesa’s vision for superior design.
In Mesa, higher density may occur at major intersections with changes being gradual. Located
at the intersection of the RWCD and Greenfield Road, the project creates a courtyard with the 2
story townhomes and locates an amenity space in the center.
The landscape architecture for this irregularly shaped, bypassed parcel has been designed to
create comfortable common and private open space, shaded areas and screen the sights and
sounds from the street. There are more trees and plants provided than are required by code.
See Plant Calculations on the Landscape Architecture sheet.
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114 W Main St
Mesa, AZ 85201
Tel. 917.526.0323
tim@atmosarch.com
As this project is in an Overflight Zone, all the provisions in MZO 11-19-5 will be satisfied.
There is a transition from Multifamily to Industrial on the north side. Our understanding is that
Multifamily to Industrial zoning is preferred to SFR to
Industrial. The height of the buildings are set up to give
views over the north side and balance the height, as well
as block sounds from the North. The provided trees will act
as an additional buffer.
This site was zoned originally for residential, not LI like the
rest of the triangle between the canal and Greenfield.
Zoning maps suggest that the industrial area begins at
McClellan.
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114 W Main St
Mesa, AZ 85201
Tel. 917.526.0323
tim@atmosarch.com
Greenfield RM-3 PAD Request Table
Standard RM-3 Req. Provided Rational
Key
Setbacks East 20’ 10’-8” 1
North 15’/floor 15’-0” 2
West 15’/floor 10’-0” 3,5
Landscape Yards North 15’ 0’-0” 2
East 20’ 6’-1” 1
West 15’ 0’-0” 3,5
11-5-5 30’ (2-story) 7’-5” 4
Min Separation Between Buildings on Same Lot 35’ (3-Story) 8’-0”
Maximum Lot Coverage (% of lot) 70% 72% 6
Adjacent Garages Max. 3 5 7
11-32-8(A) 8 0 8
Bicycle parking
1. Front-setback yard reduction request- Transportation adds an additional 10’ to the
ROW, however, it is unlikely that Greenfield will receive any improvements requiring
widening due to the angled intersection of the canal. No improvements are currently
planned. This means that while the front setback is reduced, there is an additional ten
feet between the buildings and the street on account of the unused ROW width.
Reducing the width of the setback is what allows the central amenity area to be the
size that it is.
2. Due to the property’s odd shape, a reduction was required to the north setback in
order to accommodate the drive aisles per Transportation, Solid Waste and Fire
standards. Despite this, we’ve been able to provide larger private open areas for the
units along the North property line. Reducing the setback was instrumental in our
ability to design an amenity space that exceeds MZO requirements and place it
centrally.
3. We are showing a reduced setback along the canal so that the units are against it and
make the canal more integrated into the design. In the development standards for
Single Family, the setback may be measured from the center line of the canal path. We
believe that this would be appropriate for this development as well.
4. The townhome buildings are placed close together, but this is appropriate for the scale
of these attached townhome units. Additionally, having the buildings close together
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114 W Main St
Mesa, AZ 85201
Tel. 917.526.0323
tim@atmosarch.com
provides shade for the walkways and the nearby buildings. This is important in our
climate.
5. Placing the western units close to the canal is both a result of requirements from
transportation and fire as well as the design intent to place units near the canal so that
it is visible from the units fronting it. Despite the reduction in private open space
depth, each unit has a minimum of 207 SF of private open space, well over the 120 sf
private space requirement.
6. In order to accommodate vehicular circulation, public and private, a large amount of
paving is required, and, in this project, it has put us over the maximum lot coverage by
2%. Even with this amount of coverage, we have provided nearly double the amount of
required open space, so the excess lot coverage is not at the expense of open space.
7. The two-story units feature architectural breaks between the garage doors, but having
the two-story units along Greenfield Rd. resulted in less space for landscaping and the
units encroaching on the PUFE. By switching to 3-story units, we’ve avoided
encroaching on the PUFE, given more room to landscaping along Greenfield and
moved the sidewalk to the outside of the units for a better pedestrian experience.
8. Residents will likely store their bicycles in the private garages that are provided. Should
guests visit with bikes, residents would likely offer their garage as a parking space for
the duration of the guests’ visit.
In summary, this is a high-quality project that meets a need in the City of Mesa. And despite the
challenges of an irregular shape and many encumbrances, the number of requested deviations
is few and more than offset by the quality and amount of open area provided.
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