Creative PlaceMaking >> Emerging Economic Growth Opportunities Here in The New Urban Downtown Mesa

Site Visit to Mesa 14 July 2015

Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams believes the creative economy -- all the activities and institutions under the umbrella of arts and culture -- is a force for economic growth and the key to solving complex community problems.

A July 14, 2015 tour of Creative Place Making activities and opportunities in downtown Mesa [see an earlier post on this site from 01 August "Transit Means Smart Growth"] proved his point.

Here are some snippets, plus additional information and editing,  from an e-announcement received earlier today, to encourage private lenders and investors to expand both their comfort levels and their understanding of and interest in community development.

Williams and other officials from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco saw firsthand the problems and solutions for revitalizing downtown Mesa and the surrounding neighborhoods during a three-hour site visit organized by LISC Phoenix.

John Williams

When a national monetary policy leader, a self-described pragmatic, data-driven financial expert, champions the merits of an emerging economic growth opportunity, lenders and investors should take note.

Local transit-driven growth along the corridor established by the Valley Metro Light Rail 3.1-mile Central Mesa Extension will attract more mixed-use transit-oriented development to what was looked/toured in the site visit  here in Mesa:The Mesa Arts Center, affordable housing like Encore On First and Encore On First West presently under construction, Escobedo at Verde Vista where Phase 2 is now welcoming new residents, and El Rancho del Arte also where new residents are arriving and approval received for the construction of Phase 2. Plans are in the works for ArtSpace Lofts/Mesa

Increasing data that touts the vitality of the creative economy should compel private lenders and investors to expand their understanding of and interest in community development.

The Western Fed is a leader in Creative Place Making, a fast-growing community development movement in which public, private and community partners develop and implement a strategy to improve the physical and social character of a community through arts and cultural activities. To this end, it co-sponsored the 2015 Creative Placemaking workshop series with LISC Phoenix.

Public investment and foundation grants seeded much of the early success in creative placemaking. But a successful creative economy hinges significantly on banks and private investors acquiring a comfort level with a new type of community development investment. All businesses, including arts and culture based businesses, need the ability to borrow and to attract capital investment.
See this link for e-Announcement 
What SF Fed Saw in Mesa
Here are some links to YouTube videos by SF FRB about Creative Placemaking

Creative Placemaking: Connecting Community Development and the Arts 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaFfxpaCPTI

LINK TO THE COMPLETE PLAYLIST: 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2mKVrKqc3YD3hjiLpC8Pd18k3FQ9MxzA