Cultivating Relationships & Delivering Spec Industrial in Mesa

Being a good partner and corporate citizen in the communities where we work is important to us, and it reflects positively on our clients' brands as well. With every project, we work hard to build relationships with community leaders, civic and nonprofit organizations, neighbors and residents, earning their respect and ultimately making the project better.

Our Longbow Gateway One development in Mesa, Ariz., exemplifies our commitment to being a good community partner in several ways. Last year we initiated the development, consisting of a 150,000-square-foot spec industrial facility within the Longbow Business Park and Golf Club. Industrial space is in short supply in Mesa, so spec industrial products are in demand. Therefore, Longbow Gateway One is a much anticipated, welcome product that will entice more businesses to settle in Mesa. In a prime location across the street from a two-million-square-foot Boeing Co. helicopter manufacturing facility, Longbow Gateway One is designed to meet the needs of aerospace and defense users, as well as other modern industrial users.

Collaborating with Stakeholders a Vital Step in Development

We consider collaborating with local stakeholders a vital step in the development process. It ensures our plans, or our clients' plans, align with the community's vision for the area, fostering goodwill toward the project and the people behind it.

During the land acquisition process for Longbow Gateway One, we worked with the landowners to ensure our vision for the development complemented their master plan for the rest of the property. We also formed a strategic partnership with the City of Mesa. We've worked closely with them from the beginning on everything from site planning and design reviews, to the groundbreaking ceremony and working with the economic development team.

“When we first learned Opus was considering the Longbow Gateway One project, we were very excited since we know what a good corporate partner they are," said Aric Bopp, deputy director, strategic initiatives for the City of Mesa. “I've always had a great admiration for their team and their desire to do projects the right way from start to finish, involving the community, corporate neighbors and neighborhood leaders."

Community Partnership Extends to Philanthropic Support

In addition to investing in Mesa from an economic development perspective, we are also investing in philanthropic organizations that support the community. In June 2017, the Opus Foundation awarded a $20,500 grant to our Longbow Gateway One neighbor Sunshine Acres Children's Home. Since its inception in 1954, the nonprofit has provided a home to more than 2,000 children separated from their parents, helping them establish long-term relationships with parental figures to prepare them for success in adult life. The funds are being used to launch a literacy program for K – 12 students who have dyslexia or other reading impairments, a strong fit with the Opus Foundation's youth development focus area. In addition, several of our team members volunteered on a project to renovate a playground area at Sunshine Acres.

For a construction project at Sunshine Acres, we also delivered 28,900-cubic-yards of earthwork and site building and foundation fill to Sunshine Acres. It required transporting approximately 1,800 truckloads of fill to Sunshine Acres – an investment we covered.

We want to build strong relationships with our neighbors, which is why we reached out to Boeing Co. about additional giving opportunities in the Mesa area. They recommended Child Crisis Arizona, a Mesa-based nonprofit organization that provides emergency shelter, foster care, adoption, counseling, early education, home visitation and parenting support services to Arizona's most vulnerable children and families. In 2017, the Opus Foundation awarded a $30,000 grant to Child Crisis Arizona to support a technology-based language and literacy program for preschool and pre-K children from two of the lowest-income zip codes in Phoenix. (Child Crisis Arizona came to us with multiple strong recommendations, including from Byron Sarhangian, a partner in the Phoenix office of Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. and a board member for Child Crisis Arizona.)

At Opus, we care deeply about supporting your vision by developing, designing and building exceptional buildings. We also care deeply about people and making your community a better place to work, live and raise families. As your developer, we feel this is our responsibility and privilege, whether we're working together for more than a year or building an industrial building over the span of six to seven months.

• More about Longbow Gateway One