Amazon’s Presence in Mesa

Discover how Visit Mesa's focus on accessibility and quality of life played a key role in attracting Amazon's largest U.S. facility, bringing significant jobs and investment to the region.

In the summer of 2023, Mesa welcomed Amazon's 1.2 million-square-foot facility to Mesa’s Gateway Area, bringing 800 to 1,300 jobs. Notably, this is the largest facility of its kind in the nation and Amazon’s first major facility in the East Valley. Our team met with John Pombier, Senior Manager of Community Engagement at Amazon to talk about the company’s decision to open the facility in Mesa.

Visit Mesa knows how to attract people to the community by highlighting the differentiators from anywhere else in the valley.
JOHN POMBIERSenior Manager, Community Engagement, Amazon

Pombier spoke about the unique attributes of Mesa and highlighted that the quality of life offered is a major driving force for the region’s workforce--with access to that workforce being a major part of any large corporate relocation and expansion decision. Whereas several other communities in the Phoenix metro area would offer the same regionalization opportunities, “Visit Mesa is developing the environment and the infrastructure that makes people want to come to Mesa.”

Pombier specifically mentioned the accessibility of Mesa and the efforts Visit Mesa is doing in this respect and how the organization’s efforts around neuro-accessibility and inclusion in general add to the quality of life of residents, and it’s not just one initiative “but rather a commitment to being accessible and family-friendly and maturing as such... rather than being a cookie-cutter city.” Talking about the attractions offered in Mesa and the environment that Visit Mesa promotes, Pombier called it “creating that atmosphere that's inclusive across the spectrum from 18 to 80.”

The Destination Effect is a joint initiative by Destinations International and Tempest. To share your destination's success story, please email join@destinationeffect.com.

More Destination Effect Stories

Additional Resources

speedo
Destination Effect Stories Explore a series of case studies that demonstrate how destination organizations across the globe are positively… Learn More
Research Use these impactful research reports to connect the dots on how destination organizations help your community… Learn More
What is a Destination Organization? In today's globalized, interconnected world, every community must compete for its share of the world's visibility… Learn More
Destination Effect Blogs Review a collection of insights and interviews focusing on community activation and improvement strategies being pursued… Learn More