The City of Mesa’s Planning Commission has approved a site plan review regarding a planned 100 bed mental health hospital just north of the Dignity Hospital at Ellsworth and Elliot roads.
“The developer was originally looking at a location near Niagara,” said District 6 Councilmember Kevin Thompson, but that location was in the Elliot Tech Corridor, intended to attract tech and manufacturing companies. “I really wanted their operation to be near a hospital, and the initial thought was to put them next to Desert Vista Medical Center at Crismon and Hampton because a mental health facility would have really rounded out the community care aspect there.” Unfortunately, the developers of the project and locations couldn’t come to terms and they returned with an interest at Elliot Road.
Dignity Hospital was planning to extend north for a future medical campus, so Acadia Healthcare submitted plans for review, which received initial site plan approval by the Planning and Zoning Comission in August.
Acadia Healthcare assured residents that the facility will be under constant security surveillance and will have 14 foot security walls. Acadia currently operates hospitals in Tucson and Chandler.
The project is projected to generate 158 new jobs in east Mesa.
Cassandra Ayres, attorney for Acadia, stated that there is currently a deficit of 893 beds for mental health treatment in Maricopa County. “We hope to use this facility to expand the access to quality behavioral health care,” said Ayers.