Heads UP! Eyes on Another LRT Milestone + A Major Announcement

According to a press release from Valley Metro yesterday on Friday, May 29th,  there will be a celebration to mark the arrival of light rail trains in the New Urban Downtown Mesa in front of City Hall Plaza Wednesday, June 3 @ 9:00 a.m. - good time to beat the heat and avoid the high pollution.
Read the whole press release here> Central Mesa Extension Celebration

This is the 5th Milestone Event - with a promise of a MUST-SEE SECRET REVEAL YowZa! 

Spoiler Alert: KPHO ABC 15 may have popped the cork ahead of time for Wednesday's celebration in a report about empty trains running during testing phase - take a look at Mesa Mayor John Giles keeping up with the empty light rail trains. Rumors are that service operations, with LRT riders on-board, will start before Labor Day
http://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/mesa/light-rail-extension-nears-completion-in-mesa 
Please note that the arrival is just that - the extension is going through safety-testing along the route on Main Street that will done on an as-needed schedule, according to an email from Rob Antoniak from Valley Metro.
Haven't seen a news release from the Mesa Now City of Newsroom maybe because the offices are closed Fridays.

HIGH POLLUTION ADVISORY FOR OZONE TODAY + A "Longer-Than-Normal" Ozone Season

Press Release:

ADEQ is issuing a High Pollution Advisory (HPA) for ozone for the Phoenix metropolitan area for Friday, May 29, 2015 PHOENIX (May 28, 2015) – The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) is issuing a High Pollution Advisory (HPA) for ozone for the Phoenix metropolitan area for Friday, May 29, 2015 . . . and a longer-than-normal ozone season.

Longer-than-normal? Ya mean the new normal when we accept extended periods of air contamination and don't do enough to reduce the sources of breathing unhealthy are? 

Read the High Pollution Advisory [hover and click-on leak or use your touch-screen]

ADEQ is a regulatory agency whose goal is to ensure federal clean air standards are achieved and maintained for the residents and visitors of Maricopa County. 

While the department states it "follows air quality standards set forth by the federal Clean Air Act", the facts and evidence do not support that claim: Maricopa County has a long record of non-compliance with the Clean Air Act ... they're blaming high pollution on the weather when the sources are on the ground with emissions from automobiles and industrial processes and dust in the air from construction.

From April-October it's gonna be a longer-than-normal ozone season

.

Art Assets & Good Bones? It Takes More Than That To Build a Better Downtown

Comic from Build a Better Downtown

The image here is from a May 20, 2015 post "Cindy Ornstein's Love Letter to Mesa" on another blog about Mesa Build A Better Downtown Mesa.
Please hit the link and read the whole article

Cindy Ornstein is the Arts and Cultural Director for the City of Mesa and the Executive Director of the Mesa Arts Center. 
She oversees the Arizona Museum of Natural History, the I.D.E.A. Museum, the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, and cultural events in the City of Mesa.
According to the post, Cindy got the job after an interview in 2010, not having seen Mesa or been to Arizona before that.

Put Some Meat On Those Bones!

Good Bones …  

It takes more than ‘good bones’

That's a phrase I've heard and used more than once.  It is admittedly casual and ill-defined.
In real estate it's usually used in the “distressed” property market that is our reality today.

The problem with the entire notion of good bones—to draw a further anatomical analogy—is that it lacks any discussion of the viscera: the bloodstream, neurology or fascia that flesh out, protect and inhabit this skeletal system. 

Cindy is quoted saying " . . . we manage facilities that are literally owned by the public. My mission is for every citizen to feel pride, ownership and engagement with these assets and resources. . . . It is really about finding the things that are going to be most effective, . . "
[See how the names of bones are turned into a visual in the image to the left]


A city with "good bones" would be one that is well thought out and works well for the people who live there.
Or, does saying that "Mesa has good bones" mean that we have an impressive infrastructure supporting our transportation network?

 

Old Roots: The Times They Are A'Changing

HERE'S THAT APPLE AGAIN: Hover over and click-on to enlage

You all remember that episode from The Old Testament in The Bible where Adam & Eve are forced out of The Garden of Paradise for disobeying a commandment from God not to taste or eat "forbidden fruit"??
They were sinners in the eyes of God. Now a company called Apple is at the epicenter of change in a spectrum of color.
In classical art that forbidden fruit was usually an apple. For some reason your blogger cannot avoid apples in all their varieties in this lifetime. 
Latter Day Saints may have claimed the original One-Square Mile tract of land we now call Mesa [a Spanish word] but over the years the city has expanded to over 52,000 square miles. 
We have expanded from wards and parishes to metroplex, high tech corridors, aerotropolis and industrial parks, new urban downtown, and cities of the future. 
Mesa includes all of that fast and smart growth ... so why can't we be all-inclusive of our diversity?


 

Theaster Gates: How to revive a neighborhood: with imagination, beauty and

Make No Bones about it - this is an artist who has become a social activist.Watch him

About Light Rail: Benefit or Boondoggle??

Whether light-rail systems in the United States are a benefit or a boondoggle in the communities that build them has been argued for many years. 

Proponents of light rail argue that rail transit increases community well-being by creating jobs, by boosting economic development and property values, and by reducing pollution and traffic congestion—all while providing drivers with an economical alternative to the automobile** see qualifier below . 
Opponents counter that light-rail transit provides little of these benefits to citizens and that the costs of such systems greatly outweigh any potential benefits.

The facts are important for residents in cities with existing light-rail transit and in cities considering proposals for building or expanding light-rail transit.

There are six key issues surrounding light-rail transit: 

• property values and development
• job creation
• traffic congestion and urban sprawl
• citizens' preferences for car over rail,
• air pollution
• solvency

Here are the conclusions:

Citizens can pay tens of millions of dollars annually to subsidize light-rail transit in their community. If the benefits exceed these costs, then rail transit would be socially beneficial. However, many of the argued benefits of light-rail transit, such as alleviating traffic congestion and pollution, may not come to bear.

One clear benefit of rail transit, however, is higher property values for homes and businesses located near a transit station. In fact, in many cities one can see economic development occurring around transit stations, although this may not be causal evidence of the relationship between rail transit and economic development. But again, the increase in property values and economic development are subsidized benefits and may not be greater than the subsidy costs. Both citizens and local officials should have an understanding of the costs of light-rail transit relative to the potential benefits.

Given the size of costs relative to the benefits, the creation of light-rail transit systems or the expansion of existing systems in American cities may be difficult to justify. Go to this link to read the entire details: Light Rail Publication from St. Louis Federal Reserve

**In a previous post about light rail there was a graph with Valley Metro's own statistics that only 5% of the population use public transportation - for the 3.1 Mile Central Mesa Light Rail extension there was an staggering investment of over $340 Million Dollars!
Who says we don't have "Million Dollar-Miles" in the New Urban Downtown Mesa???
 . . . and keep in mind that annual operating expenses  for lightrail will be paid by the City of Mesa with sales/use/consumption taxes to cover anticipated losses. 

Reality Check for The Mayor: We Don't Live in TV Fictional Town

Maybe we could learn a lot from the President of the Boy Scouts of America whose motto is "Be Prepared".

Robert Gates, serving for over 16 years in the two successive Presidential administrations of both George Bush and Barak Obama as Secretary of Defense and Director of the Central Intelligence, called on Thursday, May 21st to end the scouts' ban on gay adult leaders, warning the executives that  

"we must deal with the world as it is, not as we might wish it to be.”
You can watch and read the whole address from the BSA National Convention on May 20 by going to this link: http://scoutingnewsroom.org/blog/watch-and-read-bsa-president-dr-robert-m-gates-addresses-boy-scouts-of-america-national-annual-meeting/

He said recent events "have confronted us with urgent challenges I did not foresee and which we cannot ignore."
Dr. Gates cited the recent defiant announcement by the BSA's New York chapter in early April that it had hired the nation's first openly gay Eagle Scout as a summer camp leader. He also cited broader developments related to gay rights.

Here in Mesa there is continuing forward momentum on the approval of an anti-discrimination and anti-bias ordinance, despite some media reports that it is "on hold" while Mayor Giles appears to wobble on exercising the necessary leadership to support the strong feelings for all-inclusive values and justice some people like Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, openly support.
 
Gates goes on: "I remind you of the recent debates we have seen in places like Indiana and Arkansas over discrimination based on sexual orientation, not to mention the impending U.S. Supreme Court decision this summer. . . "

A Million Bucks For An Old Meeting House + A Restaurant With A Salad Bar: Whoa!

Historic Landmark Restaurant to Close May 31st  
Just 9 hours ago, The Arizona Republic published online that one of Mesa's historic properties that began as a Mormon meeting house, then an insurance office, then a college campus, and then a restaurant for the last forty years - great history of "adaptive re-use"  Huh? . . . It has been sold for $975,000, according to the report http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/mesa/2015/05/20/historic-landmark-restaurant-closing-mesa/27651717/

Perhaps the first sign of escalating property values along the Light Rail Central Mesa Extension Project?
Are the new owners - a catering company moving into a small downtown area that already has 12 long-established catering establishments - banking on "flipping" this?

The article is a very nice reporting about the current owners with details over the years and their reasons for selling the business and the property. Please take the time to hover over the link to get redirected to the whole post.
It was purchased by Aldea Catering in Peoria.

Just what downtown Mesa needs - another location for catering - there are already 12!
The source of that information comes from a talk a couple of months ago with Ray Hart, owner-operator with his wife Michele, of another historic property on the National Register built by one of the early Mormon pioneer families here in Mesa: the James A. Macdonald House Antique Wedding House . . . 
What's the context? Read more >>>

The Mayor's May 19 Media Briefing was .....Hmm, brief

Image from mayor's Facebook account

Your blogger appreciated receiving an invitation for the media briefing in City Hall scheduled for 2 o'clock.
Somewhat out of character for my punctuality usually arriving before time, I didn't get to City Hall until about 2:25 where the security station in the lobby told me the briefing was already over. Whoa! That was fast.
I had done my hours-long research on the topics ahead of time, looking forward to the Q&A, but had to settle for audio downloads from Mesa Channel 11 that were later provided @ 4:18 p.m. on the Mesa Now City Newsroom [hit the following link Mayor's Media Briefing 05.19.2015

Here's A Vision: Light Rail on Main Street inThe New Urban Downtown Mesa

It's taken from a article by a Distinguished Professor of Architecture, Michael Sorkin City College of New York. Hit this link:  City Limits: How Localizing Is the Key to Our Urban Future

QUESTION: How does a vision like this get localized?
Although many people have questioned building light rail tracks running "right through the heart of downtown Mesa", when it could have been planned on the path of earlier railways from Mesa to Tempe and Phoenix on what is now University Drive, it will now become a warp in weaving the urban fabric important to both the original "One-Square Mile" extending for blocks on/off and north/south of Main Street while creating a long-range transportation corridor.

Mesa History Museum image

Keep in mind that Main Street was once a parking lot as you can see from the visual to the left. Traffic patterns have since moved to highways, freeways, shopping malls, sub-urban sprawls, corporate and industrial parks, technology corridors, and Aerotropolis.

Open Downtown space is now available to plan a clear vision for how the new urban downtown will evolve that is not car-dependent

What you do not see in the visual above are no cars at all - you see light rail and a lot of green with people and activities on the streets.
You see low-rise higher density buildings and vertical gardens, not asphalt-covered heat islands.

It may be a stretch of the imagination to figure out how to localize here in the New Urban Downtown Mesa the features in the urban future envisioned by Michael Sorkin, so let's imagine and seriously get together at a "grassroots" level to regenerate not only the vision of our new urban environment, but make it the world around us. If New York City can transform an old rusty abandoned elevated railway into the High Line surely we can do that on the ground here on Main Street.

Your blogger used to walk by this every day in Central Park: it stuck in my mind

You might want to contact your local organization called ULTIMATE IMAGINATIONS and find out what the Downtown Mesa Association is incorporating into their vision ....
Ultimate Imaginations Inc

You may say I'm a Dreamer, but let's trust I'm not the only one!

Follow-up to Science of Cannabis Summit @ Mesa Arts Center

Here's a YouTube video uploaded yesterday May 18th of this educational exploration into the world of Cannabis here in downtown Mesa at The Piper Theater.
Children of Cannabis: Regina Nelson Mesa AR - YouTube Video for Science of Cannabis summit Mesa Arizona▶ 27:15 www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQSA3CpHkgs 
Social media - instagram, reddit, google+, linkedin, meetup and twitter - and this blog on the New Urban Downtown Mesa, promoted this event extensively. Those attending in-person - including this blogger, certainly came away with a more informed perspective. One of the most impressive instagram sites was this one: http://yooying.com/tag/ArizonaMMJ

KLZZ's Steve Goldstein had a 05:36 interview with Lezli Engelking, president of FOCUS: Foundation of Cannabis Unified Standards. 
Go to this link to listen: http://kjzz.org/content/139202/science-cannabis-summit-coming-mesa
In the image taken at the Cannabis Summit in the closing Question-and-Answer Session, Regina Nelson is second from left and Lezli Engelking is third from left. The first person talked about the history of cannabis. On the far right is Zac Hildebrand Ph.D, Director of Science and Research of C-4 Laboratories in Chandler who talked about unlocking the therapeutic properties of cannablis at one of the morning sessions.

Big Real Estate Deal Last Week: Stone Canyon Apartments Sells for $47 Million Dollars

This isn't downtown ... but a big deal

A Southern California investor, based in Costa Mesa who immigrated to the U.S. from Iran in the 1960's, has entered the real estate market here to buy for $47 Million  the 392-unit Stone Canyon apartments ($119,899 per unit) located at 5210 E. Hampton Avenue in Mesa.
Built in 2000 on 25 acres, Stone Canyon is a gated community with 20 garden-style apartment buildings, consisting of one and two bedroom apartment homes.
The investment is the first in the Valley for Khosro Khaloghli, who is affiliated with Olen Residential Realty Corp. in Newport Beach, Calif. (Igor Olenicoff, principal). Olen Residential also owns Serena Lakes in Gilbert.
Maricopa County records show three tenant-in-common companies TIC formed by Mr. Khaloghi  acquired the Mesa apartments with a $32.5 million Freddie Mac loan issued by Centerline Mortgage Partners Inc. Khaloghli is the sole member or managing member of all three buying entities. 
The sellers were 34 TIC entities formed by SCI Real Estate Investments in Los Angeles, Calif. (Marc Paul, Bob Robbotti, co-founders) who originally purchased the property in June 2005 for $37.62 million ($91,837 per unit). See link below for more details:

Arizona Business Real Estate News May 2015 

In a press release from May 13, 2015 National Asset Services, one of the country's leading commercial real estate companies, has successfully delivered a cumulative return on investment ROI of over 95% to the tenant-in-common co-owners of Stone Canyon Apartments in Mesa, Arizona.

Stone Canyon Sale from PRNewswire May 13, 2015 

Stone Canyon Apartments is located in the proximity of some of Mesa's largest employers including; Banner Gateway Hospital, Banner Baywood Hospital and The Boeing Company. 
It's one block south of Southern just off Higley Road, very close to the Freeway.

YES: From Blabbermouth News - At The Mesa Arts Center

YES To Release "Like It Is - Yes At The Mesa Arts Center" 2CD/DVD And Blu-Ray
Read more at http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/yes-to-release-like-it-is-yes-at-the-mesa-arts-center-2cddvd-and-blu-ray/#f6vri3hXgGmQxdEY.99

In a previous post, information about Mesa came from a disclosed source far-away in The Netherlands, Plasticnews so it's not surprising to get news from another source called BLABBERMOUTH.net - this time a live performance here in Mesa will be going out to the world.

When your MesaZona blogger went on a guided public tour of the arts exhibition, performance and arts education facilities at the Mesa Arts Center, the theater spaces are amazing. The Ikeda Theater was impressive, with a media control studio up in the back behind tinted glass. 

Now there's a live release of a performance from August 12, 2014  that brings the magic and wonderful music of that evening here in the New Urban Downtown Mesa to fans everywhere in the world.

Frontiers Music Srl will release "Like It Is - Yes At The Mesa Arts Center", a new concert recording from the legendary rock group YES, on July 3 in Europe and July 10 in North America.

Channel Change-Up: How about some Plastic News?

Your blogger just could not ignore a puzzling news feed: 
DSM Dyneema buys customer Cubic Tech 
where the only words I recognized were "buys" and "customer"

I'll disclose my source:  Plasticnews.com

What does this "buy" have to do with Mesa?
Here's a Clue: It's all about UHMwPE

[Curiosity might have killed the cat but its drives your MesaZona blogger]


Here's the answer in a press release from far-awayThe Netherlands:
The Netherlands, 13 May 2015 - DSM Dyneema, the inventor and manufacturer of Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMwPE) fiber, branded as Dyneema®, today finalized the acquisition of Cubic Tech Corporation. This privately owned company, based in Mesa (Arizona, USA), has specialized for more than 23 years in the custom design, development and production of innovative high performance ultra-lightweight flexible laminates and fabrics — most of them based on Dyneema®. Cubic Tech is focused on high-end solutions in applications as diverse as racing yacht sails, equipment and apparel for sportswear, outdoor and future soldier programs as well as emergency medical equipment.  
Terms of the acquisition will not be disclosed. [Italics and text color mine]
http://cubictechnology.com/news.htm 


Did You Know? Dyneema® is the world’s strongest fiber™. Dyneema® offers maximum strength combined with minimum weight. It is up to 15 times stronger than quality steel and up to 40% stronger than aramid fibers, both on weight for weight basis. Dyneema® fiber floats on water and is extremely durable and resistant to moisture, UV light and chemicals. The applications are therefore more or less unlimited. Dyneema® is an important component in ropes, cables and nets in the fishing, shipping and offshore industries. Dyneema® is also used in safety gloves for the metalworking industry and in fine yarns for applications in sporting goods and the medical sector. In addition, Dyneema® is also used in bullet resistant armor and clothing for police and military personnel. 
There are many applications for aerospace as well: successful development of flexible laminates for lighter-than-air decelerator systems - inflatable structures
 

DSM is a global plastics and chemicals maker with annual sales of more than $10 billion. 
Cubic Tech will be fully integrated into DSM Dyneema. The 26 employees of Cubic Tech are being invited to stay on after the acquisition.

Cubic Tech Corporation
4511 East Ivy Street
Mesa, Arizona 85205
USA
Office: 480-924-3100

            

SOUTHMACD: Old & New Businesses Regenerate a Block Off-Main Street

Let's give it a name: SouthMacD
The block-long area on Macdonald Street, South of Main Street to First Avenue

Bill Wahl

Your MesaZona blogger wants to start off by going back to an opinion piece from the East Valley Tribune written by Mark J. Scarp on October 27, 2012 about Mesa: 
" . . . downtowns are more than just a collection of a few big-name projects. The large landmarks are the catalyst for an equally vital component to a strong downtown: small business. This includes places to eat, to be entertained, to buy interesting products and services not usually found in a shopping mall."
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/columns/east_valley_voices/article_0321bf0e-1fc9-11e2-9957-0019bb2963f4.html 

When your blogger lived in New York City, everyone raved about SOHO, but I always said, "So What?" . . . After living in downtown Mesa for about a year-and-a-half there's no way not to get excited about the block of Macdonald Street South of Main. 
There's a back-access behind 101 Main Street and The Nile Theater that can be called "Arts Alley" -  maybe that should be called AASOM [Get it? Awesome] where you'll find a brick-paved passageway convenient for parking with colorful banners overhead on the sides of buildings for arts, theater and music organizations. 
A few steps away under the veranda sidewalk shade structures in place since the 1980's you can find the locations on the west side of the street for more than 60 years of two of the oldest "Mom & Pop" or just "Pop" service establishments in downtown Mesa: Mesa Typewriter Exchange with 3rd-generation family owner Bill Wahl and Lamb's Shoe Repair where a guy named George took over the business from his previous employer.
When asked how business is going, both owners said "Business is booming" . . . good to know these hands-on owners in skilled manual trades have been keeping customers happy and coming back for so many years when a lot of storefronts and commercial properties on Main Street have stood vacant for far too long.
Your blogger snapped Bill in the middle of taking a call from a customer from his office space at the back of the vintage typewriter displays. He's a busy guy but has taken the time on a number of days to chat about the business development of downtown and to exchange views about friendly politics.

The New Urban Downtown Mesa now has a convenience store. Just down the block a few steps from these two shops is what's called "The Inconvenience Store". It's operated by people from the Transitional Living Center, a nonprofit human services provider,  who lease space on the same side of the street. The Salt Mine Recording Studio is located on this side also.

National Historic Register Plaque

Across Macdonald Street between The Alhambra Hotel, one of the few buildings in downtown listed on the National Historic Register marking the same location since 1895, and the VFW Post at the corner with First Avenue katty-corner to Lenhard's Hardware, are two centers of activity getting fresh paint and/or new entrances or total renovations.

One, Broadway Boxing, a non-profit organization where someone told me a Gold's Gym used to be located, has been providing sports training, recreation, activities and physical conditioning for a younger group of Mesa's diverse population - not those Millenials or Baby Boomers that get so much attention as two desired demographics to attract to downtown.

Having lived in New York City for many years, and right on Broadway in the Upper Westside, there was no way not to notice this graphic on the sidewalk right in front of the door and had to ask, and find out, what's that all about?
The place was always dark inside with lights out when taking my usual morning or afternoon walking jaunts around the streets of downtown.

Click to enlarge

 It's usually open from 4-7 p.m, after normal downtown business working hours and after school times. 
Both tomorrow and Saturday the place comes alive with weigh-ins for boxers and their trainers starting at 7 a.m.  in a big event called "Battle on Broadway".
Bouts start Friday night @ 7, and Saturday afternoon starting at 2:00. Admission is $10, kids under 5 free.

Check out their Facebook page by going to the following link: 
https://www.facebook.com/BroadwayBoxingInc
Great pictures and great comments

There's training and competition for both boys and girls for local championships with outstanding competitors going on to regional finals in Utah.

Image from Broadway Boxing Facebook page

You'll have to wait until Friday, June 5th for the opening of the new next door business, Prime Cut & Sew - a Barbershop and Boutique @ 61 S Macdonald.

Stopped by yesterday noticing work was going on inside and talked to one of the owners Zeke Mendoza after snapping a few images. The front no longer looked like this; today - it had been totally opened up for the installation of new overhead doors.
There will be five cutting stations and a retail area in the front for men's clothing. There were already 3 wall-mounted large-screen HDTVs so look for something more than what you might expect inside a barbershop.

The owners already have a logo and a website
http://primecutandsew.com/

We wish them a great success and hope that it's a Prime & Prosperous Time for the new business owners here with a vote of confidence in the business potential of the New Urban Downtown Mesa.
Stop by on the First Friday Night in June while you're here for activities that fill the streets - It's Opening Night!


Before opening night on June 5th, you can contact one of the owners at this email address: zeke@primecutandsew.com 

City of Mesa Newsroom Press Release: Republic Services

Post Date:05/13/2015 11:21 AM

Republic Services Arizona 
Celebration of Freedom July 4 in Mesa

Question: Anybody want to call that "Corporate Branding" ?
The name of one corporation appearing on promotions and publicity from the City of Mesa for a celebration of independence and freedom?

Reads and sounds like a great name connected with "a celebration of freedom", but what the press release from the city newsroom doesn't tell you is that Republic Services is a waste management and recycling company with both a bad environmental record and several very high-profile violations apparently overlooked here in Mesa - with over $12.5 Million dollars imposed as fines by the Environmental Protection Agency and $36 Million dollars in remediation costs.

Whether or not this event will be The "Coolest" Independence Festival in Arizona, a prediction made by the City of Mesa on its website http://mesaaz.gov/things-to-do/arizona-celebration-of-freedom, time will tell, but you will have to wait for details . . . you can see all the hoopla from last year's event in a video produced by Mesa Channel 11 https://youtu.be/zfnIq-Z8kZA


On September 21, 2009, Newsweek released their "Green Rankings",^[19] a ranking of the 500 largest corporations on their track record on a number of environmental issues. Republic Services was ranked 448th out of 500 overall, and 46th out of 50 in their industry.^[20]

^{- according to details and information from Wikepedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_Services}

The Virginia G Piper Charitable Trust Announces Encore Prizes

 For Individuals

Recognizes individuals in Maricopa County for meeting important social needs, solving problems, and improving well-being for people and communities through the encore movement.

According to a press release dated May 5, 2015 nominations can be submitted now on only an online portal through June 15, 2015. 
For more information,  please go to whole press release with important details here : http://pipertrust.org/my-news/virginia-g-piper-charitable-trust-accepting-nominations-for-2015-piper-trust-encore-career-prize/

What you might ask is The Encore Movement?  

To nominate someone for the Piper Trust Encore Career Prize, visit www.pipertrust.org/encore for more information, including an extensive Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. Nominations are due June 15, 2015 through the online portal. The Piper Trust Encore Career Prize awardee will be selected by mid-September 2015 and celebrated at a special public event in November 2015. - See more at: http://pipertrust.org/my-news/virginia-g-piper-charitable-trust-accepting-nominations-for-2015-piper-trust-encore-career-prize/#sthash.i4rpc33W.dpuf

The encore concept—engaging people age 50+ in roles that combine personal meaning with social impact—is growing across the country, and particularly in Phoenix with its 1.1 million baby boomers. As such, it’s critical to understand this population’s great potential for positive impact on the region’s communities. . . They want to contribute to their community, act on their values and convictions, and apply their years of experience and skill to something different. . . they look for a whole new kind of work—a career at least as fulfilling and engrossing as their previous one, and maybe more so.
For them, the next step is their encore career – and many organizations are finding among these encore adults a rich source of professional and technical expertise, maturity, and vision.
In the best cases, innovative organizations and skilled encore workers create remarkable things together—new forms of human and community service, new avenues of leadership, new solutions to common problems. When that happens, all of us benefit.

Encore on First @ 25 W First Avenue

Here in the New Urban Downtown Mesa we, of course, know the award-winning 81-unit affordable housing that opened in November of last year  for "encore adults"  62 years and older - the first privately funded residential building in over 30 years.
 It was one of the first form-based zoning projects with support from LISC, City of Mesa HOME grants and funds from Arizona Department of Housing LIHTC. It was developed by Mesa Housing Associates LLC

Encore of First West

  In the image to the right, you can view the new Encore on First West Final Rendering Alt 2  a plan from Shopworks Architects of Denver of the new 44-unit, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments, oriented on the building site near the southeast corner of First Avenue and Macdonald, one block from Main Street and two blocks away from the new Light Rail station on Center & Main Street. In the Eastmark master-planned community, farther out in the urban fringe, there is also a community of homes called Encore.

 In addition to the Piper Charitable Trust information about the encore concept, you can look into more details at this organization.

Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Accepting Nominations for 2015 Piper Trust Encore Career Prize

VIRGINIA G. PIPER CHARITABLE TRUST Press Release
May 5, 2015
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Accepting Nominations for 2015 Piper Trust Encore Career Prize
$50,000 Award for an Exceptional, Inspiring Leader Applying Experience to Improve Social Good
PHOENIX, Ariz.—Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust is now accepting nominations for the 2015 Piper Trust Encore Career Prize for an Exceptional Individual. The Trust will award one individual, who is age 50 or older and considered an encore role model, a $50,000 Prize in recognition of significant, innovative work that combines personal meaning with social impact.
- See more at: http://pipertrust.org/my-news/virginia-g-piper-charitable-trust-accepting-nominations-for-2015-piper-trust-encore-career-prize/#sthash.i4rpc33W.dpuf

 

To nominate someone for the Piper Trust Encore Career Prize, visit www.pipertrust.org/encore for more information, including an extensive Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. Nominations are due June 15, 2015 through the online portal. The Piper Trust Encore Career Prize awardee will be selected by mid-September 2015 and celebrated at a special public event in November 2015. - See more at: http://pipertrust.org/my-news/virginia-g-piper-charitable-trust-accepting-nominations-for-2015-piper-trust-encore-career-prize/#sthash.i4rpc33W.dpuf

Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Accepting Nominations for 2015 Piper Trust Encore Career Prize

VIRGINIA G. PIPER CHARITABLE TRUST Press Release
May 5, 2015
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Accepting Nominations for 2015 Piper Trust Encore Career Prize
$50,000 Award for an Exceptional, Inspiring Leader Applying Experience to Improve Social Good
PHOENIX, Ariz.—Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust is now accepting nominations for the 2015 Piper Trust Encore Career Prize for an Exceptional Individual. The Trust will award one individual, who is age 50 or older and considered an encore role model, a $50,000 Prize in recognition of significant, innovative work that combines personal meaning with social impact.
“Piper Trust is eager to launch its second offering of the Encore Career Prize. Mike McQuaid, our inaugural awardee in 2013, set the standard as an exceptional encore role model—Mike’s inspirational service to our community helps further advance the momentum of the Maricopa County’s encore movement,” said Susan M. Pepin, M.D., president and CEO, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.
Mike McQuaid, board president of the Human Services Campus in Phoenix, was awarded the first Piper Trust Encore Career Prize in fall of 2013. McQuaid was recognized as an encore career role model for applying decades of his experience as a commercial real estate developer to building the Human Services Campus. The Human Services Campus is the first of its kind in the nation and a national model that works to achieve a sustainable end to homelessness.
Piper Trust is now seeking nominations for its 2015 Encore Career Prize. Candidates are people, age 50+, leading significant social purpose efforts in Maricopa County in their encore careers. One $50,000 Prize will be awarded in recognition of an exceptional encore role model. Nominations are due June 15, 2015.
As it relates to the Piper Trust Encore Career Prize, social purpose work combines the experience of a person, age 50+, with a social cause that he/she is passionate about—a meaningful issue that someone applies years of experience and talent to, and through this work a significant difference in the well-being of people and communities is achieved.
While approximately 10,000 people in the U.S. turn 65 every day, an age often associated with retirement, many are not retiring in traditional ways, or at all. There are more than 1 million people in Maricopa County age 50+. Piper Trust recognizes that this highly talented human resource pool can help solve social problems by applying experience and innovation to meaningful work which strengthens quality of life in our community.
To nominate someone for the Piper Trust Encore Career Prize, visit www.pipertrust.org/encore for more information, including an extensive Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. Nominations are due June 15, 2015 through the online portal. The Piper Trust Encore Career Prize awardee will be selected by mid-September 2015 and celebrated at a special public event in November 2015.
About Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust:
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust supports organizations that enrich health, well-being, and opportunity for the people of Maricopa County, Arizona. Since it began awarding grants in 2000, Piper Trust has invested more than $338 million in local nonprofits and programs. Piper Trust grantmaking areas are healthcare and medical research, children, older adults, arts and culture, education, and religious organizations. For more information, visit www.pipertrust.org. View Piper Trust’s FY14 Annual Report at: www.pipertrust.org/annualreport2014
Follow us on Twitter @PiperTrust / visit us on Facebook. #pipertrustencore
###
MEDIA CONTACT:
Karen Leland, 480-556-7125 / kleland@pipertrust.org
Director, Communications and External Relations
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust
1202 East Missouri Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona 85014

- See more at: http://pipertrust.org/my-news/virginia-g-piper-charitable-trust-accepting-nominations-for-2015-piper-trust-encore-career-prize/#sthash.i4rpc33W.dpuf

Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Accepting Nominations for 2015 Piper Trust Encore Career Prize

VIRGINIA G. PIPER CHARITABLE TRUST Press Release
May 5, 2015
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Accepting Nominations for 2015 Piper Trust Encore Career Prize
$50,000 Award for an Exceptional, Inspiring Leader Applying Experience to Improve Social Good
PHOENIX, Ariz.—Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust is now accepting nominations for the 2015 Piper Trust Encore Career Prize for an Exceptional Individual. The Trust will award one individual, who is age 50 or older and considered an encore role model, a $50,000 Prize in recognition of significant, innovative work that combines personal meaning with social impact.
“Piper Trust is eager to launch its second offering of the Encore Career Prize. Mike McQuaid, our inaugural awardee in 2013, set the standard as an exceptional encore role model—Mike’s inspirational service to our community helps further advance the momentum of the Maricopa County’s encore movement,” said Susan M. Pepin, M.D., president and CEO, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.
Mike McQuaid, board president of the Human Services Campus in Phoenix, was awarded the first Piper Trust Encore Career Prize in fall of 2013. McQuaid was recognized as an encore career role model for applying decades of his experience as a commercial real estate developer to building the Human Services Campus. The Human Services Campus is the first of its kind in the nation and a national model that works to achieve a sustainable end to homelessness.
Piper Trust is now seeking nominations for its 2015 Encore Career Prize. Candidates are people, age 50+, leading significant social purpose efforts in Maricopa County in their encore careers. One $50,000 Prize will be awarded in recognition of an exceptional encore role model. Nominations are due June 15, 2015.
As it relates to the Piper Trust Encore Career Prize, social purpose work combines the experience of a person, age 50+, with a social cause that he/she is passionate about—a meaningful issue that someone applies years of experience and talent to, and through this work a significant difference in the well-being of people and communities is achieved.
While approximately 10,000 people in the U.S. turn 65 every day, an age often associated with retirement, many are not retiring in traditional ways, or at all. There are more than 1 million people in Maricopa County age 50+. Piper Trust recognizes that this highly talented human resource pool can help solve social problems by applying experience and innovation to meaningful work which strengthens quality of life in our community.
To nominate someone for the Piper Trust Encore Career Prize, visit www.pipertrust.org/encore for more information, including an extensive Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. Nominations are due June 15, 2015 through the online portal. The Piper Trust Encore Career Prize awardee will be selected by mid-September 2015 and celebrated at a special public event in November 2015.
About Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust:
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust supports organizations that enrich health, well-being, and opportunity for the people of Maricopa County, Arizona. Since it began awarding grants in 2000, Piper Trust has invested more than $338 million in local nonprofits and programs. Piper Trust grantmaking areas are healthcare and medical research, children, older adults, arts and culture, education, and religious organizations. For more information, visit www.pipertrust.org. View Piper Trust’s FY14 Annual Report at: www.pipertrust.org/annualreport2014
Follow us on Twitter @PiperTrust / visit us on Facebook. #pipertrustencore
###
MEDIA CONTACT:
Karen Leland, 480-556-7125 / kleland@pipertrust.org
Director, Communications and External Relations
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust
1202 East Missouri Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona 85014

- See more at: http://pipertrust.org/my-news/virginia-g-piper-charitable-trust-accepting-nominations-for-2015-piper-trust-encore-career-prize/#sthash.i4rpc33W.dpuf

 

VIRGINIA G. PIPER CHARITABLE TRUST Press Release
May 5, 2015
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Accepting Nominations for 2015 Piper Trust Encore Career Prize
$50,000 Award for an Exceptional, Inspiring Leader Applying Experience to Improve Social Good
- See more at: http://pipertrust.org/my-news/virginia-g-piper-charitable-trust-accepting-nominations-for-2015-piper-trust-encore-career-prize/#sthash.i4rpc33W.dpuf

VIRGINIA G. PIPER CHARITABLE TRUST Press Release
May 5, 2015
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Accepting Nominations for 2015 Piper Trust Encore Career Prize
$50,000 Award for an Exceptional, Inspiring Leader Applying Experience to Improve Social Good
- See more at: http://pipertrust.org/my-news/virginia-g-piper-charitable-trust-accepting-nominations-for-2015-piper-trust-encore-career-prize/#sthash.i4rpc33W.dpuf

Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Accepting Nominations for 2015 Piper Trust Encore Career Prize

VIRGINIA G. PIPER CHARITABLE TRUST Press Release
May 5, 2015
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Accepting Nominations for 2015 Piper Trust Encore Career Prize
$50,000 Award for an Exceptional, Inspiring Leader Applying Experience to Improve Social Good
PHOENIX, Ariz.—Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust is now accepting nominations for the 2015 Piper Trust Encore Career Prize for an Exceptional Individual. The Trust will award one individual, who is age 50 or older and considered an encore role model, a $50,000 Prize in recognition of significant, innovative work that combines personal meaning with social impact.
“Piper Trust is eager to launch its second offering of the Encore Career Prize. Mike McQuaid, our inaugural awardee in 2013, set the standard as an exceptional encore role model—Mike’s inspirational service to our community helps further advance the momentum of the Maricopa County’s encore movement,” said Susan M. Pepin, M.D., president and CEO, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.
Mike McQuaid, board president of the Human Services Campus in Phoenix, was awarded the first Piper Trust Encore Career Prize in fall of 2013. McQuaid was recognized as an encore career role model for applying decades of his experience as a commercial real estate developer to building the Human Services Campus. The Human Services Campus is the first of its kind in the nation and a national model that works to achieve a sustainable end to homelessness.
Piper Trust is now seeking nominations for its 2015 Encore Career Prize. Candidates are people, age 50+, leading significant social purpose efforts in Maricopa County in their encore careers. One $50,000 Prize will be awarded in recognition of an exceptional encore role model. Nominations are due June 15, 2015.
As it relates to the Piper Trust Encore Career Prize, social purpose work combines the experience of a person, age 50+, with a social cause that he/she is passionate about—a meaningful issue that someone applies years of experience and talent to, and through this work a significant difference in the well-being of people and communities is achieved.
While approximately 10,000 people in the U.S. turn 65 every day, an age often associated with retirement, many are not retiring in traditional ways, or at all. There are more than 1 million people in Maricopa County age 50+. Piper Trust recognizes that this highly talented human resource pool can help solve social problems by applying experience and innovation to meaningful work which strengthens quality of life in our community.
To nominate someone for the Piper Trust Encore Career Prize, visit www.pipertrust.org/encore for more information, including an extensive Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. Nominations are due June 15, 2015 through the online portal. The Piper Trust Encore Career Prize awardee will be selected by mid-September 2015 and celebrated at a special public event in November 2015.
About Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust:
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust supports organizations that enrich health, well-being, and opportunity for the people of Maricopa County, Arizona. Since it began awarding grants in 2000, Piper Trust has invested more than $338 million in local nonprofits and programs. Piper Trust grantmaking areas are healthcare and medical research, children, older adults, arts and culture, education, and religious organizations. For more information, visit www.pipertrust.org. View Piper Trust’s FY14 Annual Report at: www.pipertrust.org/annualreport2014
Follow us on Twitter @PiperTrust / visit us on Facebook. #pipertrustencore
###
MEDIA CONTACT:
Karen Leland, 480-556-7125 / kleland@pipertrust.org
Director, Communications and External Relations
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust
1202 East Missouri Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona 85014

- See more at: http://pipertrust.org/my-news/virginia-g-piper-charitable-trust-accepting-nominations-for-2015-piper-trust-encore-career-prize/#sthash.i4rpc33W.dpuf

Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Accepting Nominations for 2015 Piper Trust Encore Career Prize

VIRGINIA G. PIPER CHARITABLE TRUST Press Release
May 5, 2015
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Accepting Nominations for 2015 Piper Trust Encore Career Prize
$50,000 Award for an Exceptional, Inspiring Leader Applying Experience to Improve Social Good
PHOENIX, Ariz.—Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust is now accepting nominations for the 2015 Piper Trust Encore Career Prize for an Exceptional Individual. The Trust will award one individual, who is age 50 or older and considered an encore role model, a $50,000 Prize in recognition of significant, innovative work that combines personal meaning with social impact.
“Piper Trust is eager to launch its second offering of the Encore Career Prize. Mike McQuaid, our inaugural awardee in 2013, set the standard as an exceptional encore role model—Mike’s inspirational service to our community helps further advance the momentum of the Maricopa County’s encore movement,” said Susan M. Pepin, M.D., president and CEO, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.
Mike McQuaid, board president of the Human Services Campus in Phoenix, was awarded the first Piper Trust Encore Career Prize in fall of 2013. McQuaid was recognized as an encore career role model for applying decades of his experience as a commercial real estate developer to building the Human Services Campus. The Human Services Campus is the first of its kind in the nation and a national model that works to achieve a sustainable end to homelessness.
Piper Trust is now seeking nominations for its 2015 Encore Career Prize. Candidates are people, age 50+, leading significant social purpose efforts in Maricopa County in their encore careers. One $50,000 Prize will be awarded in recognition of an exceptional encore role model. Nominations are due June 15, 2015.
As it relates to the Piper Trust Encore Career Prize, social purpose work combines the experience of a person, age 50+, with a social cause that he/she is passionate about—a meaningful issue that someone applies years of experience and talent to, and through this work a significant difference in the well-being of people and communities is achieved.
While approximately 10,000 people in the U.S. turn 65 every day, an age often associated with retirement, many are not retiring in traditional ways, or at all. There are more than 1 million people in Maricopa County age 50+. Piper Trust recognizes that this highly talented human resource pool can help solve social problems by applying experience and innovation to meaningful work which strengthens quality of life in our community.
To nominate someone for the Piper Trust Encore Career Prize, visit www.pipertrust.org/encore for more information, including an extensive Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. Nominations are due June 15, 2015 through the online portal. The Piper Trust Encore Career Prize awardee will be selected by mid-September 2015 and celebrated at a special public event in November 2015.
About Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust:
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust supports organizations that enrich health, well-being, and opportunity for the people of Maricopa County, Arizona. Since it began awarding grants in 2000, Piper Trust has invested more than $338 million in local nonprofits and programs. Piper Trust grantmaking areas are healthcare and medical research, children, older adults, arts and culture, education, and religious organizations. For more information, visit www.pipertrust.org. View Piper Trust’s FY14 Annual Report at: www.pipertrust.org/annualreport2014
Follow us on Twitter @PiperTrust / visit us on Facebook. #pipertrustencore
###
MEDIA CONTACT:
Karen Leland, 480-556-7125 / kleland@pipertrust.org
Director, Communications and External Relations
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust
1202 East Missouri Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona 85014

- See more at: http://pipertrust.org/my-news/virginia-g-piper-charitable-trust-accepting-nominations-for-2015-piper-trust-encore-career-prize/#sthash.i4rpc33W.dpuf