Council holds first hearing on rezoning for 117,000-square-foot industrial project at Priest and Third

The Tempe City Council held an introductory public hearing Feb. 6, 2025, on a proposal to change the general-plan land-use designation and rezone an approximately 6-acre site at 1400 West Third Street from Mixed Use Urban (MU4) to General Industrial District (GID) to allow a new industrial development.

Manjula Vaz of the law firm Gammage and Burnham presented the application on behalf of the applicant, Creation LGE. Vaz said the project—described in staff materials as Priest and Third—would include approximately 117,000 square feet of new development (about 84,000 square feet of warehouse and 32,000 square feet of office), 85 vehicle parking spaces, EV charging stations and bicycle parking. Vaz said the site was rezoned to multifamily in 2022 but that covenants and restrictions limited residential use, and the applicant seeks to revert the property to industrial use.

Council members asked questions about potential tenants and site details. Vaz said the applicant is in discussions with a large employer moving from Phoenix that would use both warehouse and office space but that no tenant had signed a lease at the time of the presentation. Vice Mayor Gallaud asked whether more permeable or water-absorbing paving options could be used in the parking area; Vaz said she would research the question and return with an answer at the next hearing.

This was an initial hearing; the second and final public hearing and any vote are scheduled for Feb. 20, 2025.